Thomas Heathman served in the Army Service Corps from 1890 to 1902. He was 5 feet 4 inches tall and a mason by trade. His duties placed him in the transport and supply system on which the late Victorian Army depended. He worked as a conductor, responsible for horses, wagons and the movement of stores. His name appears twice in dispatches in connection with attempts to increase his pay for the additional work he carried out.
The Distinguished Conduct Medal was awarded for an incident in which he took a replacement horse onto an active battlefield to substitute for one that had been killed or disabled. Family accounts state that the horse was intended for an officer, although it may have been required for a supply wagon. The action was considered sufficiently notable for formal recognition. The medal was presented to him at Woolwich.
During his service he was attached for a period to the Northumberland Fusiliers, reflecting the routine cooperation between infantry units and the transport sections supporting them. After leaving the Army in 1902 he returned to civilian life. Around 1908 he moved from Kingsteignton to Old Exeter Street, Chudleigh, where he ran the corner grocery and bakery. In the group photograph he appears in the middle row in uniform.
Heathman’s burial in Chudleigh Cemetery provides the local record of a man whose military career was spent in the practical work of transport and supply rather than in front-line arms. His DCM and mentions in dispatches document the specific circumstances in which his service was recognised. Image above courtesy of Amber Rowena his great granddaughter.
