Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Born at Leichhardt, NSW, on 24 March 1914, Walter enlisted in the Australian Army on 21 May 1941 and served as a Gunner with the 2/15 Regiment (8th Division).
When Singapore fell, Walter became a Japanese Prisoner of War alongside his best friend from school, Peter. First interned in Changi, Walter passed through 16 different POW camps during the next four years, spending 15 months in Changi, 15 months on the Hellfire Pass in Thailand and then 15 months in Japan. Arriving in Okinawa following a 67 day voyage, Walter was put to work down a copper mine, and also worked in a factory at Niihama.
Walter recalled that the food in Japan was by far the worst they experienced during their POW days, saying "I saw three skinned dogs brought into the camp and they were used to make a weak and very pungent soup. I kept mine down, some could not".
Shortly before repatriation, Peter succumbed to beri beri. These two long-time chums had been through so much together and nearly made it to the end. Upon his return home, Walter wrote a diary of their wartime experiences at the request of Peter's parents.
At his own admission, Walter left out much of the deprivation and brutality they faced, not wanting to distress Peter's parents any further.
Of Peter's death, he wrote "Even though I was partly prepared for it, it was a terrific shock to me. We were the very best of mates always and his death had been a very real blow to me. Peter was always so cheerful and jolly no matter how things were. This did a lot to help us keep our chins up too. He was tremendously popular, making many friends wherever he went."
Walter settled on a property near Wantabadgery after the war, with his beloved wife Meg, to whom he was married for 70 years. Together, they raised three daughters Jane, Anne and Belinda. Walter and Meg's last home was Wagga, and it was there that he passed away in 2012 at the grand old age of 98 having contributed so much to the community he called home.