HARPER, Walter Thomas
| Service Number: | 2325 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 26 November 1915, Toowoomba |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | 8th Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | Carroll, New South Wales, Australia, 3 May 1881 |
| Home Town: | Mitchell, Maranoa, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Lengthsman |
| Died: | Natural causes, Newstead, Queensland, Australia, 15 April 1956, aged 74 years |
| Cemetery: |
Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane, Qld Anzac Portion 8 |
| Memorials: | Toowoomba Queensland Railways Toowoomba Employees Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 26 Nov 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Trooper, 2325, 5th Light Horse Regiment (WW1), Toowoomba | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Apr 1916: | Embarked Private, 2325, 5th Light Horse Regiment (WW1), HMAT Mashobra, Sydney | |
| 5 Apr 1916: | Involvement Private, 2325, 5th Light Horse Regiment (WW1), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Mashobra embarkation_ship_number: A47 public_note: '' | |
| 24 Nov 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Gunner, 4th Divisional Ammunition Column | |
| 1 Dec 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Gunner, 10th Field Artillery Brigade | |
| 3 Aug 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Gunner, 2325, 10th Field Artillery Brigade , Third Ypres, Shrapnel wound left arm | |
| 30 Jan 1918: | Transferred AIF WW1, Gunner, 12th Field Artillery Brigade | |
| 14 May 1918: | Transferred AIF WW1, Gunner, 8th Field Artillery Brigade | |
| 11 May 1919: | Embarked AIF WW1, Gunner, 2325, 8th Field Artillery Brigade , HT Zealandia, London for retuen to Australia - arriving 1 July 1919 | |
| 16 Aug 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Gunner, 2325, 8th Field Artillery Brigade |
Help us honour Walter Thomas Harper's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Australian Remembrance Army
Gunner Walter Thomas Harper (Service No. 2325), an Australian World War One veteran, is among almost 800 previously unmarked WWI veterans’ graves in Lutwyche Cemetery we have now honoured with a plaque recognising their service for Australia.
On 23 September 2023, his plaque was unveiled in Lutwyche Cemetery, along with a further 300 plaques on the previously unmarked graves of Australian World War One veterans:
See Australian Remembrance Army Facebook page
Walter Thomas Harper was born on 3 May 1881 in Carroll, near Gunnedah, New South Wales, to Edward John Harper and Jane Harper (née Quinlin). He married Harriet Smith in 1912, and in 1913 they are recorded as living in Mitchell, Queensland, where Walter worked as a lengthsman — a job that required the maintenance of a stretch or “length” of road, riverbank, canal, or railway.
Walter enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force at Toowoomba, Queensland, on 26 November 1915, aged 34 years. On 5 April 1916, he embarked from Sydney aboard HMAT Mashobra (A47) bound for Egypt. After arrival, he transferred from the Light Horse to the artillery and was taken on strength with the 4th Divisional Artillery Details on 24 August 1916. He then proceeded to England and later to France, serving on the Western Front with the Australian Field Artillery.
On 3 August 1917, Harper was wounded in action in France, sustaining a gunshot wound to his arm, and evacuated for treatment. After recovery, he rejoined his unit. During his service, he was attached to several artillery formations, including the 10th Field Artillery Brigade, the 12th Army Brigade (A.F.A.), and later the 8th Field Artillery Brigade. His record notes a number of transfers: on 1 December 1916 to the 10th F.A.B. from the 4th Divisional Ammunition Column; on 30 January 1918 to the 12th Army Brigade; and on 14 May 1918 to the 8th Field Artillery Brigade.
After almost three years of active service, he embarked for England from France on 17 March 1919 for return to Australia. He was formally discharged from the A.I.F. later that year.
Following his return to Australia, Walter Thomas Harper was recorded living in Toogoolawah, Queensland, in 1921, working again as a lengthsman, and again in 1930 as a labourer. By 1943 he was farming at Dundas, near Esk, Queensland, and between 1949 and 1954 was residing in Newstead, Brisbane.
Gunner Walter Thomas Harper died on 15 April 1956, aged 74, and was buried three days later in Anzac Portion 8, Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane. His wife, Harriet, died on 15 February 1972 in Brisbane at the age of 89 and was buried with her husband. They had no children.
After decades without recognition at his place of burial, his grave now bears a plaque commemorating his service to Australia — ensuring his name endures among those remembered for their duty and sacrifice. His identity has now been restored.
We have remembered him.
Lest We Forget.
Click images to start slideshow.