SPARROW, Walter Charles
| Service Numbers: | 3610, NX488 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 7 June 1917 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 6th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Newtown, New South Wales, Australia, 13 March 1899 |
| Home Town: | Petersham, Marrickville, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Sydney Technical High School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Motor mechanic |
| Died: | Eastwood, New South Wales, Australia, 1954, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Field Of Mars Cemetery, Ryde, NSW |
| Memorials: | Sydney Technical High School WW1 Roll Of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 7 Jun 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3610, 2nd Machine Gun Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Nov 1917: | Involvement Private, 3610, 6th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Commonwealth embarkation_ship_number: A73 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Nov 1917: | Embarked Private, 3610, 6th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Commonwealth, Melbourne |
World War 2 Service
| 27 Apr 1940: | Enlisted NX488 |
|---|
Help us honour Walter Charles Sparrow's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Sydney Technical High School
Sparrow’s was the eldest son of Charles and Sarah Sparrow in Marrickville and grew up in a working-class family. He studied secondary school at Sydney Technical High School, in class 1E in 1913, likely when he was in year 8 or 9. This means it is likely that he was either the first or second cohort to attend the school after it was founded in 1911. This is seen in one of his documents, which details much of his school's records[1].
During the war, Charles Walter Sparrow served in the Middle East, primarily in Palestine. He enlisted on the 1st of June 1917[4] and was part of the 6th Light Horse Regiment. Upon his arrival in Palestine, he was transferred to the 2nd Machine Gun Squadron. There is little information about his participation in major battles; however, according to the war diaries, the squadron was active around Wadi Nu’ameh and Ain Hajla, mostly conducting reconnaissance patrols and providing machine gun support[5] during skirmishes near the Jordan River. Most notably, this Squadron took part in the Second Battle of Amman[6] (25-27 September), which, as the war diary records, “One section… came into action … in capturing Amman, entered town about 1600.” The squadron then moved to the Ziza Railway Station on 30 September 1918, where they oversaw the surrender of thousands of Turkish troops[2] and helped prevent Boudin's looting of Turkish soldiers. He returned home on the 28th of June 1919.
After returning from the war on the 28th of June 1919, Sparrow resumed civilian life, getting married, having children, a job, and then getting divorced. He got married on the 2nd of October 1920, to Ida Lenh Sparrow (formerly Dixon), and between their marriage date and April 1935, they had 5 children together. During April 1935, Sparrow was found to be having an affair, and Ida began divorce proceedings. They were officially divorced on the 19th of April 1937[8], and 4 of their 5 children lived with Ida. After his return from the war, he held a job as a motor mechanic, eventually becoming the manager[7] of the shop he worked at. He also served in WWII as a Lieutenant and a Captain after his promotion, but other than this, not much is known about his life after his divorce. He died on the 15th of September 1954, at the age of 55, and is buried in Ryde.
Endnotes
1. Service Record (Google Drive), enlistment and personal details
2. Australian War Memorial Website
3. NSW Government Family History Search
4. Service Record (Google Drive), details regiment and transfer
5. Australian War Memorial Website, 2nd Machine Gun squadron unit war diaries
6. Wikipedia, Second Battle of Amman overview
7. Service Record, Motor Mechanic and manager role
8. NSW State Archives, Divorce and Matrimonial Cause case papers
Bibliography
Ken Stevenson, Research on Google Drive
Intro:
https://www.nsw.gov.au/family-and-relationships/family-history-search?
Before the war:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Amman
During the War:
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1001716/bundled/RCDIG1001716.pdf
After the War:
https://www.library.gov.au/research/family-history/births-deaths-and-marriages
https://eresources.sl.nsw.gov.au/nsw-registry-births-deaths-marriages