POWER, Walter James
| Service Number: | 1515 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 12 September 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 13th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Birchip, Victoria, Australia, 1896 |
| Home Town: | Birchip, Buloke, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | 1987, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 12 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1515, 13th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Dec 1914: | Involvement Private, 1515, 13th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Berrima embarkation_ship_number: A35 public_note: '' | |
| 22 Dec 1914: | Embarked Private, 1515, 13th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Berrima, Melbourne |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Walter Power enlisted in 1914 at 18 years of age and served at the Anzac landing with the 13th Battalion. He served at Gallipoli for the duration, despite being evacuated twice, once with gastritis and once with influenza. He transferred to the 45th Battalion during the reorganisation of the AIF during early 1916. He had served in France for over 2 years when the authorities decided to send him home for “family reasons”. He was the only fit survivor of four brothers, 2 of whom died on active service and a third who had his left leg amputated. Their father was invalided in hospital with Bright’s disease and Walter Power was now the only fit male in the family having to provide for his mother and four sisters by working the family farms at Birchip.
Brothers: 821 Pte Charles William Power, 11th Bn, died at sea, 11 November 1914; Gordon Power, died in camp 22 May 1915 and 467 Pte Alfred Thomas POWER, 5th Machine Gun Battalion returned to Australia, 23 July 1918 with left leg amputated at the thigh.
His brother Alfred Power wrote the following letter from hospital 9 May 1918.
"I hereby apply to have my brother No.1515 Pte. W.J. Power H.Q.’s 45th Battalion AIF withdrawn from the firing line and if possible returned to Australia for the following reasons. He is the only one left of four (4) brothers who enlisted in 1914. Shortly after leaving Australia two (2) brothers -C.W. and G. Power lost their lives on Service. I am a permanent cripple having lost my left leg in the recent fighting on the Somme.
My father is a confirmed invalid with Brights disease and at present is an inmate of the St. Arnaud Public Hospital, Victoria. My mother and four (4) young sisters are solely dependent on the earnings of my father and money supplied by my brother and myself. I have a small farm which is at present laying idle because there is no male member of our family at home to carry on the work. We cannot afford to hire labour. My brother W.J. Power has never been sick or wounded and has not left his unit since he left Australia in 1914. He has a clean record. Signed Sergeant A.T. Power 15th A.M.G. Company AIF, Ward 20, 3rd Aust. Aux. Hosp."