WALKER, Eric Cecil
| Service Number: | 2452 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 June 1915, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Lance Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 27th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Gawler, South Australia, 26 August 1895 |
| Home Town: | Glenelg, Holdfast Bay, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Adelaide School of Mines |
| Occupation: | Assaying Student, Metallurgist |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Morlancourt, France, 10 June 1918, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" No known grave, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Adelaide University of Adelaide WW1 Honour Roll, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Gawler Council Gawler Men Who Answered the Call WW1 Roll of Honor, Glenelg Congregational Church Roll of Honor, Glenelg and District WW1 & WW2 Honour Board, Goodwood Public School WW1 Roll of Honor, Port Elliot War Memorial, Unley Goodwood Presbyterian Church WW1 Roll of Honor, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 24 Jun 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, SN 2452, Adelaide, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Oct 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, SN 2452, 27th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1 | |
| 13 Oct 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Sergeant, SN 2452, 27th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Themistocles, Adelaide | |
| 10 Jun 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lance Sergeant, SN 2452, 27th Infantry Battalion, Merris (France) |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Adelaide Botanic High School
Eric Cecil Walker was born on the 26th of August, 1895, in Gawler, South Australia. He was the only child of his parents, William and Ethel Walker (Ethel was listed as Eric's next of kin on his enlistment forms). Before enlisting in the war, he studied as an assaying student at the Adelaide School of Mines, intending to become a metallurgist. Eric Cecil Walker enlisted in First A.I.F at age 19 at his local recruitment branch in Adelaide, South Australia, and was given the service number 2452.
After enlisting in the A.I.F, he was positioned in the 27th Battalion and embarked to Egypt to provide reinforcements on the 14th of September, where he would stay for five months. During his time in Egypt, he sent letters home to his family, showing his interest and curiosity about this new world he had been placed in.
After his time in Egypt, he was sent to France as part of the Western Front, where he would stay for the next two years. He continued to write letters to his family living in Australia, detailing his experiences during the war. The letters still showed his undying curiosity, and he even went on leave for ten days in Paris.
However, Eric Cecil Walker met his untimely demise on the 10th of June 1918 in Merris, France, at 22, only 3 months off of 23. His body was never recovered from the battlefield, and as such, he was never officially buried. However, his name remains on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial in Picardie, France.
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