CUNNINGHAM, Walter Manning
| Service Number: | 408 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 36th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Cundletown, (near Taree) New South Wales, Australia, 13 December 1888 |
| Home Town: | Darlinghurst, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Tram Conductor |
| Died: | Died of wounds, Belgium, 28 June 1917, aged 28 years |
| Cemetery: |
Westhof Farm Cemetery Plot I, Row D, Grave 5 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Oxley Island Public School Honour Roll & Library Cabinet |
World War 1 Service
| 13 May 1916: | Involvement Private, 408, 36th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Beltana embarkation_ship_number: A72 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 May 1916: | Embarked Private, 408, 36th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Beltana, Sydney |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Walter Manning CUNNINGHAM, (Service Number 408) was born on 13 December 1888 at Cundletown. He first worked for the NSW Tramways as a conductor in Sydney in July 1912 and this remained his role for the whole of his brief career. He was released from duty to join the Expeditionary Forces on 6 January 1916. He was single at that time.
On 28 June 1917 he received shrapnel wounds to his back and side from an exploding shell while working behind the lines near Messines and died from those injuries that same day at the 9th Australian Field Ambulance, Neuve Eglise, Belgium.
‘He just got to the Dressing Station in time to die’. Pte J Todd (580)
He was buried E of mine crater in German reserve lines in a shell hole 1 mile S of Messines, at a place now known as Westhoff Farm Cemetery, Ypres, Flanders.
Submitted 9 June 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Walter Manning CUNNINGHAM (Service Number 408) was born on 13th December 1888 at Cundletown NSW (near Taree). He worked for the NSW Tramways as a conductor in Sydney in July 1912. He was released from duty to join the Expeditionary Forces on 6th January 1916. He was single at that time.
He left Australia aboard HMAT ‘Beltana’ on 13th May 1916. He reached Devonport, UK, on 9th July. After further training in England went via Southampton to France on 22nd November. After six months service at the front he spent two weeks in rest camp at Boulogne in May 1917. Six weeks later, on 28th June he received shrapnel wounds to his back and side from an exploding shell while working behind the lines near Messines. He died from those injuries that same day at the 9th Australian Field Ambulance, Neuve Eglise, Belgium.
Private J Todd reported: ‘He just got to the Dressing Station in time to die’.
He was buried E of mine crater in German reserve lines in a shell hole 1 mile S of Messines, at a place now known as Westhoff Farm Cemetery, Ypres, Flanders.
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board