was the last to edit Albert Heke (1920-1944)
on Jun 13th, 2016 at 11:29 AM
Topic: Albert Heke (1920-1944)
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Former Tauranga District High School student Albert Heke was killed during the Battle of Cassino in 1944.
Albert Heke was born on 21 February 1920. He attended Tauranga District High School until the 5th Standard.
Later he worked as a labourer for the Public Works Department.
Albert enlisted from Omanawa Falls. He was in the 28th Maori Battalion, arriving in Alexandria, Egypt on 17 October 1943. His military training saw him at Ngaruawahia, Paeroa, Papakura, Wellington, Warkworth and Rotorua.
He died in Italy on 18 February 1944.
Albert is remembered in Tauranga's Memorial Grove, two rows of totara trees located on Fifteenth Avenue which stand as a memorial to 41 former Tauranga District High School students killed during World War II (1939-1945).
Sources:
Reunion leads to hunt for war dead - research by Betty Eaton-Woodcock (Bay of Plenty Times, 25 April 2011, pp. 10-11).
Albert Heke
Grave of Albert Heke
