Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Born
SA Birth Record

Father  Walter John Baker and Mother Adelaide Marie Baker (nee Forbes), c/o Kadina, SA.
9/11/1922 mother passed away.

Siblings:

Eldest brother:  P Baker, Bordertown, SA  (31/10/1922 noted had passed away)

Brother:           #1936  Private George Forbes BAKER (b. 18/3/1881 Mt Gambier - d. ____)
                       (SA Birth Record 1842 - 1906 Book: 257 Page: 203 District: Gre.)
                       12th Field Artillery Brigade
                       returned to Australia, 28/3/1919

Brother:           Alan Forbes  (b. 26/8/1884 - d. _____)
                       (SA Birth Record 1842 - 1906 Book: 334 Page: 388 District: Gre.)

Sister:              Adelaide Forbes Baker  (b. 6/3/1887 Bordertown SA - d. ____)
                       (SA Birth record 1842 - 1906 Book: 599 Page: 356 District: Wel.)

Last lived at Tyntynder South, via Swan Hill, Victoria

Described on enlisting as 26 years old; single; 5' 3.5" tall; 123 lbs; dark complexion;
brown eyes; black hair; Church of England.

19/1/1916        Enlisted in Melbourne
                        Completed medical - fit for service

225/1916         Commanding Officer appointed Walter to C Company, 39th Battalion
                        Ballarat Camp

27/5/1916        Embarked from Melbourne on board HMAT Ascanius A11
                        as a Corporal with the 39th Battalion, 10th Infantry Brigade

18/7/1916        disembarked into Davenport, England
                       commenced 4 months training

23/11/1916      Proceeded overseas to France, ex Southampton, England

9/12/1916        moved into the trenches of the Western Front for the first time
                        just in time for the onset of the terrible winter of 1916-17.

10/1/1917        Appointed Lance Corporal

31/1/1917        Gun shot wound to abdomen wounded in action near Armentieres, France

1/2/1917          He died of his wounds
                        in the No. 2 Australian Casualty Clearing Station, France (28 years old).

buried in:        Trois Arbres Cemetery, Steenwerck, France.
                        Plot I, Row E, Grave No. 9

Medals:
British War Medal (39666), Victory Medal (39282) ;
Memorial Plaque and Memorial Scroll (315410).

1922              both parents had passed away.

Sourced and submitted by Julianne T Ryan.  13/11/2014.  Lest we forget.

Sergeant Walter Baker was the son of Mr. W. J. Baker, of Port Augusta, South Australia, and, at the time of his enlistment, 19th January, 1916, was head teacher of School 3168, Tyntynder South.

He was born in 1890. In 1907, he was appointed junior teacher at No. 1396, Richmond; and, in 1909, transferred to No. 2948, Auburn. He resigned in February, 1912, and was for some time a teacher in New South Wales. Rejoining the Victorian Department, he was appointed temporary head teacher at Tyntynder South in 1913, and permanent head teacher in 1914. His record as a teacher shows him to have been diligent and painstaking, interested in his duties and conscientious. The Swan Hill Guardian says that he won the admiration and eulogy of all.

He embarked with the 39th Battalion on the transport Ascanius on the 27th of May, 1916, holding the rank of Corporal. After training for some time in England, he proceeded with his unit to France on the 23rd of November. On the 10th of January, 1917, he was promoted Sergeant. He was wounded on the 3lst of that month, and he died on the Ist of February.

Source: The Education Department's Record of War Service, Victoria, 1914-1919.