Walter Stanley POLLEY

Walter Stanley POLLEY Update Details

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POLLEY, Walter Stanley

Service Number:	VX11990
Enlisted:	23 April 1940
Last Rank:	Private
Last Unit:	2nd/8th Infantry Battalion
Born:	Geelong, Victoria, Australia, 25 August 1914
Home Town:	Connewarre, Surf Coast, Victoria
Schooling:	Not yet discovered
Occupation:	Farm Hand
Died:	Drysdale, Victoria, Australia, 14 August 2005, aged 90 years, cause of death not yet discovered
Cemetery:	Drysdale (Bellarine) Cemetery, Victoria
Memorials:	Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial

World War 2 Service

23 Apr 1940:	Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX11990, 2nd/8th Infantry Battalion
13 Sep 1940:	Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX11990, 2nd/8th Infantry Battalion, embarked Melbourne for Palestine
21 Mar 1941:	Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX11990, 2nd/8th Infantry Battalion, embarked Palestine for Greece
23 May 1941:	Imprisoned Officially reported PoW - 30 September 1941 Captured by Germans at Florina, Greece; held Stalag XVIII A, B & D; POW No: 3909
14 Sep 1945:	Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX11990, 2nd/8th Infantry Battalion
19 Sep 1945:	Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX11990, 2nd/8th Infantry Battalion, embarked England for Sydney

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Biography contributed by Chris Buckley

Private Walter Stanley Polley (Service No:VX11990) enlisted in the AIF on 23 April 1940 and was attached to 2/8 Infantry Battalion when he embarked with his Unit from Melbourne for Palestine on 13 September 1940. From Palestine he embarked for Greece on 21 March 1941, and was with his Unit at Florina when he was captured by the Germans on 23 May 1941 (officially reported PoW on 30 September 1941). Private Polley (PoW No:3909) was held at Stalag XVIII (A, B & D) before recovery from the Germans on 28 May 1945. Private Polley embarked from England for Sydney on 19 September 1945 and was attached to 2/8 Infantry Battalion at Discharge on 10 October 1945. Siblings Douglas, James and Audrey also served in WWII.

Born in Geelong, Victoria in 1914, Walter was seventh of eleven children of Charles Baker Polley (b1875 at Connewarre via Geelong, Victoria) and Minnie Violet Milsom (b1880 in London, England) - Minnie immigrated with her parents and siblings in 1889, arriving in Melbourne, Victoria on board the Liguria. Charles (a Farmer) and Minnie married in Geelong in 1907, and settled at Connewarre where they raised their family and Charles was a Farmer.

Walter was working at Connewarre as a Farm Hand when he enlisted in the AIF in 1940. Following his Discharge, Walter returned to Connewarre, where he was working as a Farm Labourer in 1952 when he married June Phyllis Wegener (b1931 in Melbourne, Victoria). Walter and June settled in Connewarre, where they raised their family and Walter was a Farm Labourer. In 1977 Walter and June moved to Geelong, where Walter worked as a Storeman. Walter died in 2005 and June in 2010.

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