Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of Walter Brimfield, 37 Park Street, Gregory Terrace, Brisbane, Queensland

HIS DUTY NOBLY DONE

BRIMFIELD.— Members of the Gallipoli Legion of Anzacs, and Friends of the late Claude Walter Brimfield, A.M.C., 1st A.I.F., are Invited to attend his Funeral, to leave the Funeral  Parlour, 45 Adelaide Street. City. Tomorrow (Saturday) Morning, at 10 o'clock, for the Lutwyche Cemetery. CANNON & CRIPPS, LTD., Funeral Directors.

From Australian Remembrance Army
 
Australian World War One veteran Private Walter Watson Claud Brimfield, who served as Claude Walter Brimfield, Service No. 1682, is among almost 800 previously unmarked WWI veterans’ graves in Lutwyche Cemetery we have now marked with plaques in recognition of their service for Australia.

We unveiled his plaque in Lutwyche Cemetery on 15 April 2023, along with a further 246 plaques on the previously unmarked graves of Australian World War One veterans:
See 

Walter Watson Claud Brimfield was born on 18 March 1897 at Brisbane, Queensland, to Walter Brimfield and Elizabeth Sarah Brimfield, née Hands. He served in the Australian Imperial Force under the name Claude Walter Brimfield, while later Militia and newspaper records also referred to him as Claude Walter Watson Brimfield.

On 16 July 1915, Claude Walter Brimfield enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force at Brisbane, Queensland. At the time, he was 18 years and 5 months old, single, and working as a coachpainter. He nominated his father, Walter Brimfield, of Park Street, Valley, Brisbane, as his next of kin.

On 1 September 1915, Private Brimfield embarked from Sydney aboard HMAT Ayrshire with the 7th Field Ambulance, 4th Reinforcements. He later embarked from Alexandria for the Gallipoli Peninsula and was attached to the 3rd Field Ambulance pending allotment to his unit.

Private Brimfield served on Gallipoli during the final months of the campaign. He was admitted to the 15th Field Ambulance in November 1915 and later invalided from Mudros. In December 1915, he was admitted to the Military Hospital at Richmond, Surrey, England, suffering from illness. His condition concerned his parents in Brisbane, who contacted the Defence Department. Base Records advised that he had been admitted to hospital at Richmond and, as he had not been reported as seriously ill, favourable progress could be assumed. His later records described his condition as debility, cardiac impairment and cardiac dilatation.

Letters from Private Brimfield were published in the Daily Standard in Brisbane on 29 December 1915 (see link). In one letter, he described a frightening incident during the voyage across the Australian Bight, when heavy seas struck the troopship at night, flooding parts of the vessel and causing confusion below decks. He also wrote from Gallipoli, describing the narrow beach, steep cliffs, dugouts, constant rifle and artillery fire, and the way soldiers became accustomed to danger. His account mentioned Indian troops nearby, the Turkish gun known as “Beachy Bill,” and the humour soldiers used to endure the conditions. The article gives a rare personal insight into Brimfield’s early war service before illness led to his evacuation.

In March 1916, Private Brimfield returned to Australia aboard HMAT Suevic, which left England from Portland on 11 March 1916. He was returned as medically unfit, suffering from cardiac dilatation, and was discharged from the Australian Imperial Force on 5 May 1916.
Between 1919 and 1925, he is recorded as living in Brisbane, where he was a law student and later worked as a conveyancer, accountant and mapping draughtsman.

In January 1920, Brisbane newspaper notices announced the engagement of Claude Walter Watson Brimfield, ex-A.I.F., to Reta Gwendoline Bertha Nation, only daughter of Mr and Mrs I. Nation, of “Bowood,” Womalilla, via Mitchell, Western Queensland. The engagement did not result in marriage, as Reta later married Reginald George Quinn, later a Lieutenant Colonel during the Second World War, on 25 November 1924.

By 1940, Brimfield was employed in the Queensland Titles Office, Justice Department, at the Treasury Building, Brisbane. On 18 July 1940, he enlisted in the Militia Forces under the name Claude Walter Watson Brimfield. He was recorded as single, living at Bowen Hills, Brisbane, and working as a lawyer, accountant and mapping draughtsman. His attestation noted his previous A.I.F. service, although it gave his date of birth as 18 March 1900, inconsistent with his Queensland birth registration of 18 March 1897 and with the age he gave on enlistment in 1915. He was allotted to the 11th Field Brigade, Royal Australian Artillery, and held the rank of sergeant. In August and September 1940, the Registrar of Titles and Brimfield requested that he be relieved from camp duties, as his services were needed at the Titles Office due to wartime staff shortages.

Private Walter Watson Claud Brimfield, who served as Claude Walter Brimfield, died on 11 September 1947, aged 50, and was buried two days later in Anzac Portion 7, Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane.

He was unmarried with no known children.

After decades without recognition at his place of burial, his grave now bears a plaque commemorating his service to Australia, ensuring his name endures among those remembered for their duty and sacrifice.

We have remembered him.
Lest We Forget