MITCHELL, Walter
| Service Number: | 589 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 31 December 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 35th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | West Maitland, New South Wales, 1900 |
| Home Town: | Aberdeen, Upper Hunter Shire, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 12 October 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" No known grave, Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient) |
World War 1 Service
| 31 Dec 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 589, 35th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 May 1916: | Involvement Private, 589, 35th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Benalla embarkation_ship_number: A24 public_note: '' | |
| 1 May 1916: | Embarked Private, 589, 35th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Benalla, Sydney |
Help us honour Walter Mitchell's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Peter Rankin
Walter fought bravely in the 1917 battles of Messines Ridge, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde and Poelcappelle. During the 1917 battle of Passchendaele he was posted as missing in action. A court of inquiry held on the 16th of May 1918, classified him as killed in action on the 12th of October 1917, he was only 17 years 5 months old. A family epitaph written for him reads;
OH! THE ANGUISH OF THE MOTHER, OH! THE BITTER TEARS SHE SHED,
WHEN SHE HEARD HER BOY WAS MISSING, AND SHE WONDERED IS HE DEAD,
OH! THE MONTHS AND WEEKS OF TORTURE, OH! THE AGONY AND PAIN,
AND SHE WEPT AND PRAYED AND WONDERED, WOULD HE COME TO HER AGAIN,
KILLED IN ACTION CAME STILL LATER, AH! THE AWFUL TRUTH TO BARE.