Profile

HEARN, John Thomas
(Service number 27290)

Pte John Thomas Hearn — (Supplement, Auckland Weekly News, 9 August 1917, p.34 )

Messines, 2017 — On a visit in 2017 John Hearn's great-niece, Margy Ineson, was able to visit the field where John was killed - and where he was buried with no known grave. (Courtesy of M Ineson )

Temuka War Memorial, pictured in 2007 — (South Canterbury Museum 2013/155.25 #01)

Temuka War Memorial dedication inscription, pictured in 2007 — (South Canterbury Museum 2013/155.25 #05)

Temuka War Memorial plaque, names G-M, pictured in 2007 — (South Canterbury Museum )

Memorial Cross, St John's Church, Temuka, pictured in 2010 — (South Canterbury Museum 2013/155.24 #01)

Rangitata Island School Honours Board — (Courtesy of L Naughton )

Aliases
First Rank	Private	Last Rank	Private

Birth

Date	23/12/1887	Place of Birth	Rangitata Is

Enlistment Information

Date		Age
Address at Enlistment
Occupation	Farmer
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status	single
Next of Kin	Charles F Hearn (brother), Rangitata Is
Religion	Church of England
Medical Information

Military Service

Served with	NZ Armed Forces	Served in
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation	New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Unit, Squadron, or Ship	17th reinforcements, J COmpany
Date	25 Sept 1916
Transport	HMNZT 64 Devon
Embarked From	Wellington, New Zealand	Destination	Devonport, England

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With	Canterbury Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion

Military Awards

Campaigns
Service Medals
Military Awards

Award Circumstances and Date

No information

Prisoner of War Information

Date of Capture
Where Captured and by Whom
Actions Prior to Capture
PoW Serial Number
PoW Camps
Days Interned
Liberation Date

Discharge

Date		Reason

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date	13 June 1917	Age	29
Place of Death	Belgium
Cause	Killed in action
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery	Messines Ridge (NZ) Memorial, Messines Ridge British Cemetery, Belgium
Memorial Reference
New Zealand Memorials	On Memorial wall, Timaru; Geraldine War Memorial; Temuka RSA Roll of Honour; Temuka War Memorial; Rangitata Island School Honours Board

Biographical Notes

John was the son of Henry and Mary Ann Hearn (nee Clay), one of eight children in the family.

During the later stages of the battle of Messines, John was killed in action. He is remembered on the Messines Ridge Memorial, but is buried with no known grave somewhere in the field where he fell.

Brothers Charles Francis 1879-1953 and William Henry d1966 appear on the World War One reserve roll. John's death is also recorded on parents gravestone in Temuka Cemetery.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database (January 2015); SCroll submission by M Ineson, 5 April 2019

External Links

Researched and Written by

Liz Shea (SC branch NZSG)

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.

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