This is a discussion regarding the life and service of of Original Warrior, Private Arthur Thomas Walker, below is a link to his Warrior Spirit page.
Service Number: 2466
Enlisted: 29 March 1915, Keswick, South Australia
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 50th Infantry Battalion
Born: Wallaroo, South Australia, to Reuben and Charlotte Walker in 1883.
Home Town: Goolwa, Alexandrina, South Australia
Occupation: Labourer
Died: Killed in Action, aged 33 years, Mouquet Farm, France, 16 August 1916
Cemetery: Villers-Bretonneux Memorial
No Known Grave. Instead his name is memorialised on the Australian National War Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux.
Memorials: Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France)
Arthur enlisted in the AIF on 29 March 1915 at Keswick near Adelaide. He had nearly three months of training before leaving Adelaide on board the HMAT Kanowna on 23 June. It is unknown precisely when this ship reached Egypt but the journey was normally about two months. On 11 August 1915 Arthur left Egypt on board the Kingstonian , bound for Gallipoli.
He reached the peninsula on the 17th and finally joined the 10th Battalion, as part of the last batch of reinforcements that battalion received on Gallipoli. This was after the serious fighting in August, and within a few weeks the seas had started to turn rough and the weather cold. In October Arthur spent a couple of days in hospital with stomach pain, but soon returned to duty. On 22 November the 10th Battalion evacuated to nearby Lemnos and from there back to Egypt. Arthur was awarded 14 days detention on 7 January 1916 for an unspecified offence.
In Egypt, the AIF was being expanded and reorganised. Arthur was initially transferred to the 50th Battalion and then to the 4th Pioneer Battalion, part of the newly-raised 4th Australian Division. It was with the Pioneers that he sailed to France in June and from there up to the battle zone. On 17 July he was transferred back to the 50th Battalion.
The 50th Battalion’s first serious action was in the fighting for Mouquet Farm, from 12 to 15 August. The battalion’s war diary reports two evening attacks on the 12th and 14th, with some success. However, the war diary also makes clear the immensely heavy and almost constant pounding from German artillery, and the difficulty in bringing up water and evacuating the wounded. Many men suffered from shell shock, including the Battalion CO Lt Col. Hurcombe. Casualties were very heavy: over these four days the battalion suffered 180 dead, 6 missing, and 515 wounded (according to the 4th Division war diary: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1349896 (www.awm.gov.au))
However, on the evening of 15 August the 50th Battalion was relieved in the line and overnight made their way back to the wire trench; at about 9am they moved back to bivouac at Brickfields. The 50th Battalion’s war diary says that “Showery weather made move out difficult but, in spite of heavy shelling, casualties during move were slight.”
It was very likely in this move that Arthur Walker was killed. While we cannot know for sure, it makes sense that his body was never found; he was killed at night, while his unit was on the move through unfamiliar and heavily-shelled terrain. Initially he was reported missing, meaning he did not answer at the following roll call. But several months later a court of enquiry found that he was killed in action on 16 August 1916. His personal effects were sent back to his family.
“Arthur was the oldest Ngarrindjeri ANZAC to enlist in the war. His son, born on the first ANZAC
Day, was named Anzac in commemoration of his father and his role in the famous battle. He
later served in the Australian Army during the 2nd World War.” - SOURCE (connectingspirits.com.au)
“Mr. R. Walker, of Goolwa, has received a message that his son, Private A. T. Walker, has been
missing in France since August 16. A letter was received from Private Walker, dated August 3,
stating that he was going into the firing line.” - from the Adelaide Advertiser 21 Sep 1916
(nla.gov.au)
“Pte. A. T. Walker, brother of Mrs. Chester, of the Point Pearce Mission Station, who fought
through the Dardanelles campaign, and later was transferred to France, has been reported as
missing since August.” - from the Adelaide Register 28 Sep 1916 (nla.gov.au)
1 Like
Thank you Nick.
This is exactly the sort of information we need, if you have any more please keep it coming.
Thank you for the picture as well, the same picture is already up on his dedicated webpage which you can see by clicking below
Darren,
could you please post a link to the documentary on YouTube about the Anzac artwork in Sydney that you spoke about earlier this year?
What a handsome man and I believe he had blue/grey eyes as well