BELGRAVE, Walter John
| Service Number: | 2769 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 25 October 1916, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Sapper |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Divisional Signal Company |
| Born: | Kawakawa, New Zealand, August 1892 |
| Home Town: | Yarraville, Maribyrnong, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Electrical fitter/engineer |
| Died: | Natural Causes, Carrum, Victoria, Australia, 5 April 1967 |
| Cemetery: |
Footscray Cemetery, Victoria Roman Catholic B, Grave 950 |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 25 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2769, 38th Infantry Battalion, Melbourne, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Dec 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2769, 38th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Medic embarkation_ship_number: A7 public_note: '' | |
| 16 Dec 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2769, 38th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Medic, Melbourne | |
| 27 Dec 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Sapper, 2769, 2nd Divisional Signal Company |
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Biography contributed by Archer Loftis
Walter John Belgrave was born in August 1892 in Kawakawa, New Zealand, to parents Vincent and Elizabeth. His family moved to Yarraville, Victoria soon after, where he grew up.
Little record exists of his personal life at any point, but military and civil records outline his life:
In 1916, at the age of 24, Walter enlisted in the AIF, leaving his life in Melbourne behind, including his newly wed wife, Esther. He embarked for Europe in December.
During his training in England, he was reportedly quite disobedient, and was docked significant pay. After several months of this, he was deployed and served with the 38th Battalion in Ypres as a combat engineer, until he was injured by mustard gas in November 1917.
After a few back and forth trips and hospitalisations between England and France, he saw the end of the war and was repatriated by mid 1919.
He seemingly readjusted to civilian life quite well, had two children with Esther, and lived in and around the Footscray area until his death in 1967 at the age of 74.
His name is listed among roughly 2000 others on the Footscray Roll of Honour at the Footscray Town Hall, commemorating the local servicemen of World War One.