SMALE, Walter Edward
| Service Number: | 794 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 December 1914, Warwick, Queensland |
| Last Rank: | Trooper |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Freestone, Queensland, Australia, 21 September 1896 |
| Home Town: | Freestone, Southern Downs, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Freestone State School, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Farm hand |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Turkey, 7 August 1915, aged 18 years |
| Cemetery: |
Quinn's Post Cemetery, ANZAC Sp. Mem. 21, |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Freestone Honour Roll, Warwick War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 8 Dec 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 794, Warwick, Queensland | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Feb 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 794, 2nd Light Horse Regiment, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '1' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Itria embarkation_ship_number: A53 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Feb 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 794, 2nd Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Itria, Brisbane | |
| 9 Jul 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Trooper, 794, 2nd Light Horse Regiment, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 7 Aug 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Trooper, 794, 2nd Light Horse Regiment, The August Offensive - Lone Pine, Suvla Bay, Sari Bair, The Nek and Hill 60 - Gallipoli, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 794 awm_unit: 2nd Australian Light Horse Regiment awm_rank: Trooper awm_died_date: 1915-08-07 |
Help us honour Walter Edward Smale's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Lorraine McMahon
Extract from a letter written by Private C. Stanley writing from Ward B4, Malta to parents of Walter Edward Smale.
……Your son was killed at Quinn's Post, at Gaba Tepe, and he was in the very forefront of the line. The reason of this was that he was a bomb thrower, whose job was to throw bombs into the enemy's trenches, to give the men with the bayonets a chance to get a footing. He was picked for this because of his good throwing powers. He could hurl a bomb 50 yards and hit the trench nearly every time. He had to do this on the day of the charge. With others he had to climb out of our trenches and run to the enemy's, carrying 10 or 12 bombs, in the face of a very heavy fire. He died on the parapet of the enemy's trench, a brave man to the last, but his death was avenged tenfold, for although we lost some men, the Turks suffered very heavily that day…….
I hope you will accept my sympathy for the loss of one who was always a good soldier and comrade, always cheerful and bright, even under the most trying circumstances, and whose loss is felt by all who came in contact with him. I feel his loss specially myself, as he was my only mate. I made a solemn promise that I would write to all his people, whose addresses he gave me. Hoping that you will be able to bear his loss with fortitude."[1]
[1] ‘Soldier’s Letter’, Warwick Examiner and Times, 15 November 1915, p 1, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article82797164
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