Francis Joseph WALSH

WALSH, Francis Joseph

Service Number: 2055
Enlisted: 20 January 1915, Enlisted at Liverpool, New South Walse
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 13th Infantry Battalion
Born: Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia, 11 December 1884
Home Town: Forest Lodge, City of Sydney, New South Wales
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Labourer
Died: Died of wounds, Malta, 21 August 1915, aged 30 years
Cemetery: Addolorata Cemetery, Malta
Section East, EA, Row A, Grave 661,
Memorials: Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour
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World War 1 Service

20 Jan 1915: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2055, 13th Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Liverpool, New South Walse
13 Apr 1915: Involvement Private, 2055, 13th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Kyarra embarkation_ship_number: A55 public_note: ''
13 Apr 1915: Embarked Private, 2055, 13th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Kyarra, Sydney
14 Aug 1915: Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 2055, 13th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, Shrapnel wounds chest and thigh
21 Aug 1915: Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2055, 13th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli

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Biography contributed by Carol Foster

15 August 1915 - Wounded in action, schrapnel wounds to chest and thigh

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal

Biography contributed by Stephen Brooks

2055 Private Francis Joseph Walsh, 13th Battalion AIF died of wounds at Malta at the age of thirty. Buried in the Addolorate Cemetery Malta, he is one of only 28 Australians in the cemetery. The very rocky ground meant only shallow graves and the servicemen were buried 3 at a time. Private Walsh is buried with a British nurse and a British serviceman. Seven days previous, he was badly wounded in the side and abdomen by shrapnel from a shell burst whilst collecting water in Australia Gully at Anzac.

Walsh had been born in Wagga Wagga NSW, and was working as an electrician with the Postal Department when he enlisted.

His two brothers also later lost their lives, 997 Private Philip Ambrose Walsh 45th Battalion AIF, was later killed in action at Messines Belgium, 7 June 1917 and 998A Private Richard Clarence Walsh, of the same 45th Battalion, was killed in action at Dernancourt, 1 April 1918. Another brother, Frederick, also served with the 45th Battalion and returned to Australia during 1919.

Their mother had passed away during 1913 and their father lived in Forest Lodge Sydney. Their sister, Miss Cordelia Walsh, wrote to Base Records, 16 July 1924: ' ...I beg to point out to you that my father has had a stroke & is unable to transact any business.... I ... would be grateful (seeing that the stroke was caused through the loss of his three sons in the recent war) if you would send all communications to me, since anything in the nature of your communication of the 10th July [seeking her father's address] only revives painful memories to my father in his present state of health.'

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