WALKER, Leonard Reid
| Service Number: | 6 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Warrant Officer |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | 1885, place not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Burwood, Burwood, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Brisbane St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church Great War Honour Roll (3) |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement 6, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked 6, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ascanius, Adelaide | |
| 20 Sep 1915: | Promoted AIF WW1, Warrant Officer, 10th Infantry Battalion, Possibly in a base in Egypt | |
| Date unknown: | Wounded 6, 10th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by St Ignatius' College
Leonard Reid Walker was born in 1885 at the age of 0 in Burwood hospital Sydney. His mother and father, William John Walker (Father) who was an insurance manager and Margaret Adelaide née Reid(Mother). He had a brother and two sisters, his brother, William, also enlisted in WW1 before Leonard. His sister, Anna, married a man named Espie who from trauma from the war killed himself in the garage of his house with a rope before a family trip.
Prior to enlisting for WW1 Leonard already had many years of experience in the military, partially in cadets, spending a grand 20 ½ years of his life 5yrs cadets, 2yrs lieutenant S. cadets 2nd battalion VIC and 11/2 yrs Lieut staff.
He enlisted in The Great War on the 26/09/1914 at Morphettville, SA. He was 29 upon enlisting, 6ft 1inch tall, with grey eyes, brown hair, and freckled complexion.
Leonard was assigned to the 10th battalion as a signalling Sergent probably due to his prior training. On the 20th of October 1914 the 10th battalion boarded the HMAT (her majesty’s Australian transport) Ascanius A11 which made a stop for logistical purposes in Albany, Western Australia before continuing onwards to Egypt. Upon arriving in Egypt, it can be assumed that Leonard would have overseen the training of the 10th battalion and during this time was promoted to regimental quarter master. T
The first battle that the 10th battalion would see would’ve been the landings at ANZAC cove, Leonard, and his men where among the first boats to land on the beach, and by a miracle he survived and served shortly in Gallipoli.
The Gallipoli campaign was hard for the people of the 10th battalion, they suffered great losses before even setting up camp. During Leonard deployment in the Gallipoli campaign, he became sick with varicose veins, a type of disease that causes your blood to curve your veins in a way that causes great pain when exerting strength into a connected body part. It can be assumed that this was caused by excessive crouching a lowered blood flow and made worse by his older age being over 30 years of age.
On the 30th of October 2015 Leonard Reid Walker was transferred to No.2 Australian General Hospital in Cairo for treatment of varicose veins. The ship he took the ‘HMHS Gloucester Castle’ later gained the infamous title of the ‘GoSlowster Castle’ for being one of the slowest ships in the navy. On the 20th of November he was discharged from the hospital and deemed ‘fit for light duty at the base in Egypt’ and was formally removed from the 10th battalion on the 27th of the same month.
During Leonard’s time at this base, he received a ‘Mention in Despatch’ which acknowledged his ability ‘He is in clerical charge of the Records Sub-section and had shown much ability since he has been with the Base. He has been recommended for a commission on account of his qualifications and ability displayed.’ After this was received, Leonard was sub-promptly moved to the AIF administrative headquarters, in London. On the 10th of the following January, he was promoted to ‘2nd Lieutenant and Quarter-Master’ and is quoted as for the purpose of filling a vacancy in command. He maintained his role and was granted a 1 day leave with pay on the 30th of January 1919 for unknown reasons.
. Instead of choosing to return to Australia Leonard chose to stay in London, stating in a letter that the reasons for his choice to be that his soon-to-be wife would not go along with him due to a fear of travel, and that he had been granted a guaranteed job opportunity due to a letter of recommendation sent to another company. He also cited his condition (varicose veins) as reason due to the possibility of it being irritated by the dry and hot conditions of Australia. Leonard Reid walker was Discharged from the army on the 9/02/1920
Due to a recommendation from AIF headquarters, he received a job opportunity with the Douglas Boyd & company ltd exports and imports company, he was to work in a building on 11-12 Finsbury square. According to other sources, the company of which Leonard joined was a medium – large company at the time of his employment, it played a big economic role in the surrounding area, he was most likely paid well.
After many years abroad and mentions of travels through India, Leonard returned home to Australia sometime after 1946 and before 1948 and lived in Warringah NSW, at the age of 66 on 23 August 1951 – Leonard Reid Walker died of congestive cardiac failure in Brisbane Hospital.