Herbert WATERMAN

Badge Number: 75152, Sub Branch: Walkerville
75152

WATERMAN, Herbert

Service Numbers: 4237, V366156
Enlisted: 1 November 1915
Last Rank: Lance Corporal
Last Unit: 27th Infantry Battalion
Born: London, England, 3 June 1893
Home Town: Walkerville, South Australia
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Plasterer 1st Class
Memorials: Walkerville St. Andrew's Anglican Church Honour Roll
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World War 1 Service

1 Nov 1915: Enlisted
9 Mar 1916: Involvement Private, 4237, 27th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: RMS Mongolia embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: ''
9 Mar 1916: Embarked Private, 4237, 27th Infantry Battalion, RMS Mongolia, Adelaide
11 Nov 1918: Involvement Private, 4237

World War 2 Service

16 Mar 1942: Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Lance Corporal, V366156

Help us honour Herbert Waterman's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.

Biography contributed by Saint Ignatius' College

Herbert Waterman was a private in the 27th Infantry Battalion in the 10th Reinforcement. The 27th Infantry Battalion was based in Mitcham, Unley and was therefore predominantly filled with South Australians. The 10th Reinforcement, in which Waterman served in, embarked from Adelaide on the Mongolia on the 9 March 1916 to Alexandria, Egypt. (Australian War Memorial, n.d; Virtual War Memorial Australia, n.d).

Before the war

Herbert Waterman was born on the 3/6/1893 to Sharlot Waterman. He was the youngest of 3 brothers called Allen and Horace. They lived on Horrocks Street, Walkerville. Before the war, Herbert worked as a plasterer. Plasterers apply and fix plaster walls and suspend ceilings. Herbert was well versed in his profession, as he had done an apprenticeship beforehand in Norwood. Herbert Waterman had no previous involvement with the military; however, both his brothers had enlisted. Herbert then enlisted in the 10th Reinforcements of the 27th Infantry Battalion, A.I.F, which was stationed at Unley. On the 9th of March 1916, Herbert embarked on a journey to Alexandria, Egypt aboard the 'Mongolia'.

During the war

After training in Alexandria, Herbert embarked to Etaples, France. From there, his unit joined the 2nd Depot Battalion in Etaples. Etaples was where Herbert would spend a lot of his time, as this was his base camp and where is nearest general hospital was. On the 11/8/16 he joined his unit’s strength roster, which meant that Herbert would become more ‘hands on’ with the war. On the 15th of August 1916, the 27th Battalion was on the left flank of the 2nd Division attack aimed at capturing the heights above Pozieres. The 27th Battalion's axis of advance took it through the Windmill, or rather the ruins of the 17th Century windmill, which had the dominant view of the surrounding area.  However, while trying to capture this position, there was a high amount of casualties. However, Waterman still managed to survive.

Though his Battalion was short of men, they still proceeded with stage 2 of the plan. This time, they needed to get to Mouquet Farm. Until the 9th of September the 27th moved from one camp to another, generally on foot.  They finished up in France at Steenvorde. They remained at Steenvorde until the 5th of October, where they entrained with the rest of their brigade to go to Ypres. They remained there until the 12th of October, and then they went back to the barracks at Ypres. On the 16th of October, they were on the march again, this time to the front near Le Barque, to relieve the 53rd Battalion. Herbert was constantly on the march, and him and his Battalion barely stayed in one place for more than 2 nights. On the 27th of October, he finally reached Dernancourt to do some training and consolidation before moving to the front near Le Barque.

While his Battalion was involved in a major battle in Fleurs, Herbert was not on the front line. On the 14th of November, Herbert unfortunately contracted septic thumb. He was admitted to the 1st Australian General Hospital 17th of November. On the 8th of January 1918, he re-joined his Battalion.

In May 1917, Herbert was being entrained at Bapaume to fight in the front lines at Somme and Flanders, he gained a fever. This meant that he wasn’t on the front lines for over a week. He only returned to his Battalion on the 21 of May. However, only a day after returning to his Battalion, he contracted trench fever. Herbert was only able to return to his Battalion on the 1st of June.

The next big battle Herbert was a part of was the 3rd battle at Ypres. The conditions of this battle were rough. Nigel Steel and Peter Hart wrote:  “Rain they had suffered before ... This time not only did it pour down, it was also desperately, miserably cold. It was during this battle that Herbert would contract trench fever again. This took him away from the front lines. This likely could have saved his life, as 38,093 Australian died fighting in this battle.

 

After the war

On the 14/11/1919, Herbert Waterman was discharged from service in the A.I.F. He returned to Australia on the 15/7/1919. For his service in WW1, He received the 1914-1915 Star medal, The British War Medal and the Victory medal. This was not the last time that he would serve the country, as during WW2, he reenlisted in the Australian Military Forces, where he became a lance corporal. When he wasn’t serving in the military, he got married to his wife Evelyn Edith, and he moved to 63 High Street in Kew Victoria. Herbert Waterman is on one memorial list, the Walkerville St. Andrew's Anglican Church Honour Roll.

 

Bibliography

vwma.org.au. (n.d.). Herbert WATERMAN. [online] Available at: https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/102394 [Accessed 30 Mar. 2023].

Woods, C. and Skrebels, P. (2013). 27th Infantry Battalion. [online] vwma.org.au. Available at: https://vwma.org.au/explore/units/2.

Australian War Memorial (n.d.). | The Australian War Memorial. [online] www.awm.gov.au. Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1339166.

 

 

 

National Archives Australia (2005). WATERMAN Herbert : Service Number - 4237 : Place of Birth - London England : Place of Enlistment - Adelaide SA : Next of Kin - (Mother) WATERMAN Sharlot. WATERMAN Herbert : Service Number - 4237 : Place of Birth - London England : Place of Enlistment - Adelaide SA : Next of Kin - (Mother) WATERMAN Sharlot, [online] B2455(1), p.19. Available at: https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=8375459&isAv=N [Accessed 31 Mar. 2023].

 

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