BECKENSALL, Walter Herbert
| Service Number: | 190 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 22 August 1914, Place of enlistment - Melbourne |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 7th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Timaru, New Zealand, 1883 |
| Home Town: | Carlton North, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Bootmaker |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Turkey, 25 April 1915 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey Panel 28 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing |
World War 1 Service
| 22 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 190, 7th Infantry Battalion, Place of enlistment - Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 1914: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 190, 7th Infantry Battalion, Embarked on HMAT 'A20' Hororata from Melbourne --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
| 25 Apr 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 190, 7th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 190 awm_unit: 7th Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1915-04-25 |
Walter Herbert Beckensall
The Beckensalls arrived in Melbourne from Berkshire in England, via New Zealand.
They sailed from Gravesend, England in January 1875 in the Tintern Abbey, arriving in Canterbury, New Zealand on 3 May 1875. The passenger list shows George 37, Labourer, his wife Jane (Evans) 32, and children Fanny (Frances) 12, Thirza 7, Albert 5, Alice 1. Thirza and Alice died enroute.
Francis Julius Beckensall (B Omaru,1881- 1936), and Walter Herbert Beckensall (B. Timaru, 1883-1915) were born in New Zealand prior to the family moving to Melbourne in the late 1880s. They lived in Carlton and Frances worked as a dressmaker while her much younger brothers, Francis and Walter, were bootmakers.
Walter enlisted in the 7th Battalion on 22 August 1914, and was killed at the ANZAC landing at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. He is buried in the Lone Pine Cemetery at Gallipoli. His older brother Francis enlisted later and served on the Western Front.
He left a wife he had separated from, Henrietta Louisa (O’Neill) (Russell) and two sons, Francis Walter Beckensall born 1904 and Albert Edward Beckensall born 1905.
Submitted 25 September 2020 by Stephen Sinclair
Biography contributed by Faithe Jones
On enlistment he stated he was a widower. in fact his wife, Henrietta Louisa Beckensall, whom he married on 17 June 1903 according to Roman Catholic rites, and whom he had not divorced, was still alive (Statutory Declaration, 29 March 1920). His mother wrote to Defence, 6 June 1916, stating that 'perhaps he thought she [his wife] was dead or better she had been. She cleared away with another man eight years ago and left him with the little boy F.W. Beckensall.' His medals were therefore sent to his former wife for keeping in trust for eldest son.
Son of Francis Walter and Jane Beckensall
Click images to start slideshow.