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Harry was the third youngest of thirteen children born to William Breward, a convict who had arrived in Tasmania in 1836. Harry probably had a tough upbringing with his father often in trouble with the law and being incarcerated, including a period at Port Arthur. In November 1899, Harry married Edith Berryman and together they had just one daughter. He had been involved in the Meander Volunteer Rifles but had left in search of employment as well as 3 years as a cable guard at George Town.
Two months short of his 44th birthday, Harry Breward presented himself for enlistment and managed to pass the medical examinations . He was allotted to ‘C’ Company, 40th Battalion. Several pages appear to missing from his service record, leaving scant information. He left England in November 1916 after a period of hospitalisation for rheumatism. By January 1917 he was hospitalised again. Seemingly despite suffering from rheumatism he managed to last to the end of hostilities returning to Australia in March 1919. Harry returned to his wife at George Town and worked as a labourer, dying there on 8 June 1939 and was buried at George Town Cemetery.