Henry Ernest KEATING
Personal
Born: 1895
Birth registration: Victorian Births, Deaths & Marriages Registration No. 5072
Birthplace: Toolern Vale, Victoria
Parents: Edward Symonds Keating (1855-1934)
Mary Ann Jane Morand (1857-1946)
Died: 16 April, 1918
Cause: Killed In Action
Burial place: Nieppe Bois British Cemetery, Plot 1, Row B 24, Vieux-Berquin
Awards and Honours
- British War Medal 1914-20
- Victory Medal
- 1914-1918 Memorial Plaque
Battalions
60th Battalion, 9th Reinforcement
Events
Enlistment
Regimental Service Number: 3418
Enlistment date: 19 May, 1917 Melbourne
Age at enlistment: 19 years 3 months
Address at enlistment: Rockbank, Victoria
Religion: Roman Catholic
Marital Status: Single
Next of kin: Father: Edward Symonds Keating, c/- Rockbank Post Office
Physical Description: Height: 5 feet 5 inches
Weight: 137 pounds
Complexion: Fresh
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
Distinctive marks: Scar thumb, left hand
Embarkation ship: HMAT A16 Port Melbourne.
Rank: Private
War Service Summary
06/07/1917 - Embarked for duty overseas aboard HMAT A16 Port Melbourne from Sydney
16/09/1917 - Disembarked Liverpool; marched in to Hurdcott
08/01/1918 - Proceeded overseas to France
11/01/1918 - Marched out to unit
14/01/1918 - Joined 60th Battalion
20/02/1918 - Transferred to 2nd Machine Gun Company, 60th Battalion, in the field
01/04/1918 - Designation changed to 1st Machine Gun Company
16/04/1918 - Reported Wounded in Action but amended to Killed in Action
War Service Commemerated
Killed in action.
Date: 16 April, 1918
Red Cross Report:
“Just after dinner the enemy started shelling again and after about half an hour – between 12 and 1 p.m. a shell landed right by the side of the men on shift. Pte. H.E. Keating was nearest to it and was very severely wounded. Shell pieces struck him in many places and he was picked up unconscious. He was immediately carried away on a stretcher but never regained consciousness. We can therefore believe that he would not suffer at all.” Lieut. D.S. Baird
16/04/1918 – Buried: Bois D’Aval Military Cemetery, 3 miles South East Hazelbrouck
Buried: Nieppe Bois British Cemetery, Plot 1, Row B 24, Vieux-Berquin
Australian War Memorial Commemorative Area location: Panel 175
Effects returned via Australcrag:
Diary, religious book, rosary, bone brooch
Additional Information
The Bacchus Marsh Express
5 May, 1917, p. 2
Mr. and Mrs. E. Keating, of Rockbank, have been officially informed that their son, W. D. Keating, has been wounded. H. D. Keating has recently enlisted, making three sons from this family.
The Argus
12 April, 1919, p. 13
KEATING. - In sad but loving memory of our dear son and brother, Private H. E. (Harry)
Keating, No, 3418, 2nd Machine Gun Company (formerly 60th Battalion), killed in action in France, April 14, 1918.
Death will find us soon or later.
On the deck or in the cot;
And we cannot meet it better
Than in working out our lot.
Our brave brown-eyed laddie.
- (Inserted by his sorrowing but proud father, mother, brothers, and sisters, Rockbank.)
Sources
Service Record
Newspaper accounts