| Regimental number | 570 |
| Place of birth | Fitzroy, Victoria |
| School | Caulfield State School, Victoria |
| Religion | Church of England |
| Occupation | Engineer turner and fitter |
| Address | Beadgelert, Glen Eira Road, Elsternwick |
| Marital status | Single |
| Age at embarkation | 20 |
| Height | 5' 7" |
| Weight | 142 lbs |
| Next of kin | Father, George R Shepard, Beadgelert, Glen Eira Road, Elsternwick |
| Previous military service | Served with the 46th Brighton Rifles for 2 years 9 months. |
| Enlistment date | |
| Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll | |
| Rank on enlistment | Sergeant |
| Unit name | 24th Battalion, C Company |
| AWM Embarkation Roll number | 23/41/1 |
| Embarkation details | Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A14 Euripides on |
| Rank from Nominal Roll | Company Sergeant Major |
| Unit from Nominal Roll | 24th Battalion |
| Other details from Roll of Honour Circular | 'Norman Shepard served on the [Gallipoli] peninsula and was one of the last to leave in the Lone Pine evacuation. He was wounded at Bullecourt, France and awarded a Military Medal at Menin Road and promoted to Company Sergeant Major in September 1917.' |
| Fate | Killed in Action |
| Miscellaneous details (Nominal Roll) | *Hearne spelt Heayne |
| Place of death or wounding | Daisy Wood, Broodseinde, Ypres, Belgium |
| Age at death | 23 |
| Age at death from cemetery records | 23 |
| Place of burial | No known grave |
| Commemoration details | The Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial (Panel 23), Belgium The Menin Gate Memorial (so named because the road led to the town of Menin) was constructed on the site of a gateway in the eastern walls of the old Flemish town of Ypres, Belgium, where hundreds of thousands of allied troops passed on their way to the front, the Ypres salient, the site from April 1915 to the end of the war of some of the fiercest fighting of the war. The Memorial was conceived as a monument to the 350,000 men of the British Empire who fought in the campaign. Inside the arch, on tablets of Portland stone, are inscribed the names of 56,000 men, including 6,178 Australians, who served in the Ypres campaign and who have no known grave. The opening of the Menin Gate Memorial on 24 July 1927 so moved the Australian artist Will Longstaff that he painted 'The Menin Gate at Midnight', which portrays a ghostly army of the dead marching past the Menin Gate. The painting now hangs in the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, at the entrance of which are two medieval stone lions presented to the Memorial by the City of Ypres in 1936. Since the 1930s, with the brief interval of the German occupation in the Second World War, the City of Ypres has conducted a ceremony at the Memorial at dusk each evening to commemorate those who died in the Ypres campaign. |
| Panel number, Roll of Honour, Australian War Memorial | 103 |
| Miscellaneous information from cemetery records | SPELT HEARNE. Parents: George and Harriet SHEPARD, "Baggalert", Glentira Road, Elsternwick, Victoria. Native of North Fitzroy, Victoria |
| Medals |
Military Medal 'For conspicuous gallantry and thorough organisation during the attack on the morning of the 20th instant at WESTHOEK. He repeatedly organised working parties for duty on a buried cable system whilst under heavy shell fire. By his cheerfulness and gallant conduct he set a splendid example to the men under him.'
Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 31 Date: |
| Other details |
War service: Egypt, Gallipoli, Western Front Proceeded to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Gallipoli, 30 August 1915. Sent to hospital, 31 October 1915; returned from hospital (no details recorded), 31 October 1915. Disembarked Alexandria from Mudros, 10 January 1916 (general Gallipoli evacuation). Proceeded from Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 20 March 1916; disembarked Marseilles, 26 March 1916. Detached for duty at 2nd Australian Division Base Depot, Etaples, 12 June 1916. Admitted to No. 1 Training Camp as Instructor, 13 June 1916. Marched in to 2nd ADBD, 6 September 1916; rejoined Bn, 22 September 1916. Wounded in action, 3 May 1917 (shell wound, right hand); transferred from 4th Field Ambulance to 9th Casualty Clearing Station, 7 May 1917; to 3rd Stationary Hospital, Boulogne, 15 May 1917; to No. 1 Convalescent Depot, 27 May 1917; to 3rd Rest Camp, 6 June 1917; rejoined unit, 27 June 1917. Promoted Temporary Sergeant Major, 21 August 1917. Awarded Military Medal in the field. Killed in action, Belgium, 9 October 1917. Medals: Military Medal, 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal |
Postal Address:
Po Box 7916
Canberra BC 2610, Australia
Street Address:
Northcott Drive,
Campbell, ACT 2600
