Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Walter Percival Gottfried was born on the 9th of May 1982, to mother Mira Harwood Gottfried and his father John Gottfried in Kadina hospital. Gottfried and his family lived near or in a small town called Cummins on the Eyre Peninsular[VC1] . He had one brother called Albert Jack Gottfried that[VC2]  was born on the 18th of March 1897 and died young at the age of 25 in 1922[VC3] . Other than Albert Jack, Gottfried’s parents had 3 other children that all unfortunately passed as infants as it was very common for the time. Because of their rural living, the Gottfrieds were a family of farmers that lived off the land. Gottfried was a congregational Christian, most likely along with his family as well.

Gottfried enlisted for the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) at the age of 22 on the 19th of April 1915, which was only 9 months after Australia joined the war effort. On his enlistment details it stated that Gottfried was 5 feet and 6 inches tall (170cm), weighing in at 143Ibs (64.9 kg), and having a chest measurement of 34 inches (86 cm). He was described as having brown eyes and dark hair, with a healthy complexion. Gottfried wad given the service number 1192 and was assigned to the 9th Light Horse Regiment.

 He embarked from Adelaide on the 21st of September 1915 on a ship called HMAT A15 Star Of England. After A long time at sea, on the 4th of December, he was admitted to the ANZAC base in Mudros, Greece. On his very first day Gottfried had to forfeit on[VC4] e days’ pay as he was absent from the 2pm parade for unknown reasons. After 2 weeks of being stationed in Mudros, on the 18th of December he was taken on strength there, meaning that he was now an official member of his regiment. On the 27th of December Gottfried and his unit disembarked at Alexandria in Egypt, beginning the long period of service spent in the desert campaigns.

During 1916, Gottfried’s regiment was part of the forces stationed in Egypt as part of the defence of the Suez Canal. On the 27th of February 1916, he was marched out to Serapeum, one of the Australian camps along the canal. Gottfried spent the whole year fighting here including in the Battle of Romani[VC5] , as the Allied forces successfully claimed victory against the Ottoman and German troops.

In 1917, Gottfried experienced a series of health problems that interrupted his service multiple times. On the 20th of April, he was admitted to hospital but returned to duty the next day. However, on the following day, 22nd April, he was again admitted after spraining his neck, and he spent the week between the 22nd and 28th of April [VC6] in and out of hospital in Abbassia, Cairo. On 10th May 1917, Gottfrfied entered a Moascar hospital[VC7] , though he was discharged shortly after.

Despite these setbacks, Gottfried continued to serve in the AIF. On the 1st of July 1917, he was detached to the Machine Gun Corps, a unit responsible for operating and maintaining machine guns during combat. He returned to his regiment on the 15th of September, having also gained qualifications for a signal course in Zeitoun base. This training meant he now had knowledge of military communications, an important role in the Light Horse and mounted units. On the 3rd of October, he was transferred back to the 9th Light Horse Regiment in Moascar.

By mid-1918[VC8] , Gottfried’s health began to decline again. On the 9th of June 1918, he was admitted to hospital suffering from what doctors recorded as “pyrexia of unknown origin” otherwise known as a fever in modern medicine. Over the following few days, he was repeatedly admitted and transferred between many hospitals in Cairo. On the 11th of July, he was diagnosed with neurasthenia, a condition that was often associated with exhaustion and the psychological damage of fighting in war. This illness made it impossible for him to continue serving out in the battlefield. On the 29th of August, Gottfried was transferred to the Suez base for embarkation back to Australia. He journeyed on the HMAT Wiltshire and disembarked in Australia on 3rd October 1918, about a month before the war came to an end. His official discharge took place on the 26th of February 1919, with the reason given as “medically unfit, not due to misconduct.”

For his years of service, Gottfried received three medals: the 1914–15 Star, the British War Medal, and the Victory Medal. These were standard campaign medals awarded to soldiers who had served overseas in the First World War.

Once returning to civilian life after the war, Gottfried continued to live in South Australia. In December of 1928, a newspaper reported that a small five-room house that he owned in Kilburn was completely destroyed by a fire. It was noted in the article that firefighters had not been called for nearly an hour after the fire began, and the home was reduced to nothing but ashes. It is unclear if Gottfried himself was living in the house at the time, as some sources suggest he remained connected to country areas.

Walter Percival Gottfried lived to the age of 86, passing away on the 2nd of January 1978. He was buried in Port Vincent Cemetery, where his gravestone read the words: “At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them,” along with the rising sun badge.