Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

DEATH OCCURS AFTER
SHORT ILLNESS
Distinguished Military Career
The death occurred early yesterday morning of Brigadier F. B. Heritage, Quartermaster-General of the Australian Military Forces, and third member of the Military Board. The funeral this afternoon will be attended with full  Military honours. Brigadier Heritage became ill only on Friday, when he was operated upon for appendicitis. After the operation his condition gradually became worse. Brigadier Heritage was the senior officer holding the rank of brigadier in the British Empire. His promotion to the rank of major-general was imminent, and it was expected that shortly he would have been appointed Chief of the General Staff. In a letter to Mrs/ Heritage the Minister for Defence (Senator Sir George Pearce) said:—"The Australian Army has lost a distinguished officer who could be ill-spared, and I shall miss very much his assistance and genial personality." Francis Bede Heritage was born in Tasmania in 1877, and when aged 20 years he became a second lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion of the Tasmanian Infantry Regiment. He served in the South African war as an officer of the 1st Australian Regiment, and later commanded the Tas manian contingent. When the war ended he was awarded the Queen's Medal with five clasps, and in 1901 he was appointed to the permanent staff in Tasmania with the rank of captain. On the outbreak of
the last war Brigadier Heritage went to New Guinea with the Australian Expeditionary Force, afterward commanding the expedition to New Ireland and the Admiralty Islands. For these services he was awarded the French Croix de Guerre. Brigadier Heritage served in France with the A.I.F., being attached to the 4th Division and the Australian Corps School, and he was promoted to the rank of brevet-colonel for meritorious service. Returning to Australia he first commanded the military forces in Western Australia, and thereafter held important commands at army headquarters and in the New South Wales military district. He was Commandant of the Royal Military College at Duntroon (F.C.T.) for seven years. He succeeded Major-General C. H. Brand as quartermaster-general on January 1, 1933. In 1920 Brigadier Heritage became a member of the Victorian Order, and in 1924 a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
The funeral will leave the Church of the Sacred Heart, Rathdown street, Carlton, at 2.30 p.m. to-day for the Melbourne General Cemetery. A short service in the church will begin at 2.15 p.m. A gun-carriage, firing party, and band will be provided by the permanent forces. The pall-bearers will be senior members of the naval, military, and air forces. Officers of the military forces attending the funeral will assemble in uniform at the corner of Rathdown and Pelham streets at 2.15 p.m. The funeral procession will proceed along Rathdown, Elgin, and Keppel streets. As a tribute to Brigadier Heritage the Defence department will close for public business at noon today.
Sir Harry Chauvel's Tribute
"The loss of Brigadier Heritage to the Army will be serious," said General Sir Harry Chauvel last night. "In ordinary circumstances he would have had several more years of valuable service. His charming personality made him extremely popular with all who served with him. He specialised in musketry and the machine gun, and when the Great War began had built up the school of musketry at Randwick to a very high standard. His greatest service to the Australian Military Forces was perhaps during the nine years he was commandant of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, and I speak both as a parent and as his superior officer, for both my sons received their military education under him. Our country owes him a great debt for the upbringing of those young officers who will be the leaders and staff officers of our Army of the future."