Keith Morton Hickman was born on 6 August 1895 to Morton Godfrey Hickman and Ellen Susanna Hickman in New Town, Tasmania. He was the fifth of six children, his siblings being Nellie, George (who died as an infant), Dulcie, Mabel, and Margaret. Keith grew up in Tasmania and spent eight years of his youth as a senior cadet, eventually becoming an orchardist as his father was.
After several failed attempts to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force in 1915 due to his young age, Keith Morton Hickman successfully enlisted on 27 January 1916. He was appointed to the 8th Field Artillery Brigade, 32nd Battery as a gunner, and very shortly after, he took examinations and was promoted to Corporal on 26 Feb 1916. After undergoing training, Hickman embarked from Melbourne on 20 May 1916 on the HMAT Medic.
After his arrival in England, Hickman underwent more training and, on 23 September 1916, volunteered to transfer to the V3A Trench Mortar Battery. Hickman travelled to France on 23 November 1916. He served with his unit in the trenches of Flanders, seeing action in Armentieres, Ypres, and Passchendaele, and on 25 October 1917 he was promoted to Sergeant. From Flanders, Hickman went with his unit to the Somme, serving at Amiens, Villers Bretteneaux, and Hamel. Though he had many close calls with shell fire, gas, and shrapnel, Keith Morton Hickman made it to the end of the war without any serious injuries, and returned to Australia on the Khyber on 31 March 1919, arriving in Melbourne on 12 May 1919.
Upon his return home to Tasmania, Keith Morton Hickman was granted a land lease under the Returned Soldiers’ Settlement Act of 1916. He settled in the Hobart area, and continued his occupation as an orchardist. On 17 February 1923, Keith Morton Hickman married Mignonette (Nettie) Geale. Together they had four children: Ellen Mary, born in 1924, James Morton, born in 1926, a son whose name is unknown, born in 1929, and Shirley Joy, born in 1936.
By 1936, Hickman had moved to Beaconsfield with his family and became a municipal inspector for the local government. As such, he was involved in many court cases as a witness. As he got older, Hickman moved back to New Town with Mignonette and Shirley Joy. Keith Morton Hickman died on 12 August 1966 and was buried on 15 August 1966 at Cornelain Bay Cemetery, Tasmania.