MELLER, Wallace Richard
| Service Number: | 5449 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 February 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 17th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | St Leonards, New South Wales, Australia, 1899 |
| Home Town: | Arncliffe, Rockdale, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Warehouseman |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 20 September 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient) |
World War 1 Service
| 28 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5449, 17th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 5449, 17th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Wiltshire embarkation_ship_number: A18 public_note: '' | |
| 22 Aug 1916: | Embarked Private, 5449, 17th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Wiltshire, Sydney |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Wallace Meller had run away from home in 1913, as reported below,
Bathurst Times 10 February 1913. MISSING BOY. LAST SEEN AT BLAYNEY
"It has transpired that the boy, Wallace Richard Meller, whose absence from his home at Binning-street, Erskineville, is causing his parents considerable anxiety, was in company with, another lad named Sutton when last seen on the Blayney railway station.
Young Meller left Sydney last Easter to take up a position as station hand on Benah station, near Nyngan. He remained there for six months, and then, in company with another Sydney youth, he set out from Nyngan in November to look for work in the Young district.
It is known that Meller had in his possession £5, and in addition to this he received £2 from his father, who at the time he sent the money forwarded a letter to the police at Wellington asking them to see that the right person got the £2. The letter arrived too late, but inquiries were made, and it was ascertained that a boy with sore eyes had received the £2. This is believed to be Meller. He has not been seen or heard of since November 1912."
Wallace Meller's Dad died in 1913 and it is not known whether Wallace had returned home. He enlisted in 1916 and gave his NOK as his brother in Erskineville so maybe he had returned home by then.
Wallace went missing on the 20 September 1917 and there is no real evidence of how he met his death. He has no known grave.