HARDING, Walter James
| Service Number: | 4482 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 50th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Richmond, Victoria, Australia , 2 June 1877 |
| Home Town: | North Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | 19 June 1946, aged 69 years, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Preston General Cemetery, Bundoora, Victoria |
| Memorials: | Lower North Adelaide War Memorial WW1, North Adelaide Christ Church Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 11 Jan 1916: | Involvement Private, 4482, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Miltiades embarkation_ship_number: A28 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Feb 1916: | Embarked Private, 4482, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Miltiades, Adelaide | |
| 7 Mar 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 4482, 50th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by St Dominic's Priory College
Walter James Harding was a Natural born British whose religion was the Church of England. He was born in 1887 in Richmond but by the time he enlisted, his hometown was recorded as North Adelaide South Australia. He was married to a woman named Dora Harding who was his next of kin and the mother of his 2 children, providing for them by working as a labourer. It also appears on his records that Walter
Walter James Harding enlisted in the AIF in Adelaide on the 1st of September 1915 when he was 37 years and 3 months old. And on the 7th of February 1916, Walter embarked for active service overseas and boarded the troopship HMAT A28 Miltiades. Walter then disembarked at Suez, Egypt on the 11th of March 1916.
Soon after on 20th May 1916, while training overseas, he transferred through reinforcement units, like being reassigned from the 3rd training Battalion to the 13th and reallocated as reinforcement for the 50th Battalion. Walter later proceeded from Alexandria to disembark at Marseilles, France 14th June 1916.
Walter James Harding committed many disciplinary offences. His first one was on the 9th of November 1916; he was charged with drunkenness whilst on active service and was awarded 21 days Field punishment No. 2. Field punishment No. 2 was a severe military punishment that involved harsh labour, loss of privileges, and extra duties.
On the 7th of August 1917, he was admitted to the Australian Dermatological hospital at Bulford, England, where he was treated for an infection. He returned to duty on 7th September 1917 after a total period of 32 days of treatment.
And a few months after he returned to duty, he injured his knee and was admitted to Miitary Hospital at Tidworth with Synovititis of the knee. On 4th January 1917 he was discharged to Depot for lighter duties to recover.
In 1918, he committed many disciplinary offences whilst he was in England, such as being absent from parade, refusing to following orders and drunkeness. He was punished with several field punishments and needed to forfeit severals weeks worth of pay. In May he was absent without leave and was apprehended at Cardiff. He returned to hospital the next month with another infection. Once recovered he went absent without leave again.
On the 2nd of January 1919, Walter embarked for his return to Australia. He disembarked at Melbourne on the 30th of March 1919. After a month (7th of March 1919), he was officially discharged from the AIF, due to being medically unfit.
Walter lived back in Victoria after the war and had two more children in 1920 and 1922. He died in 1946 at at a Mental Hospital at Mount Park and is buried at Preston General Cemetery. He is commemorated at two memorials in North Adelaide.