SANDERY, Walter Horace
| Service Number: | 189 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 February 1915, Keswick, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 27th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Beetaloo, 1895 |
| Home Town: | Port Pirie, Port Pirie City and Dists, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Solomontown Public School, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 26 March 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" No known grave, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Lameroo Great War Roll of Honor, Lameroo Memorial Window, Port Pirie Fathers of Sailors and Soldiers Association Port Pirie District Roll of Honor WW1, Port Pirie Oval WW1 Memorial Gates, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Feb 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 189, Keswick, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 31 May 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 189, 27th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Geelong embarkation_ship_number: A2 public_note: '' | |
| 31 May 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 189, 27th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Geelong, Adelaide | |
| 4 Sep 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 189, 27th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 26 Apr 1917: | Involvement Corporal, 189, 27th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 189 awm_unit: 27 Battalion awm_rank: Corporal awm_died_date: 1917-04-26 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by St Ignatius' College
Walter Horace Sandery was born in Beetaloo, South Australia, 1895. He grew up at Geddes Road Solomon Town near Port Pirie; one of eleven children, two of which also later served in the military. (Private) Harry Lionel Sandery and Flight Lieutenant Ralph Allen Leslie Sandery. Walter attended Soloman Public School from years one to six and then worked on the family farm and later on a farm at Lameroo. He returned to Port Pirie and was employed at the BHP smelters. Walter had no previous military or cadet’s service. Walter’s nominated next of kin was his father, John Sandery. He enlisted to join the war on 2nd of February 1915 at age 20. After training he embarked from Adelaide on the HMAT Geelong 31st May 1915.
On the 4th of September 19, Walter joined the M.E.F, (Mediterranean expedition force) from Alexandria, Egypt. He arrived at Gallipoli where he remained until 9th December when he was diagnosed with haemorrhoids. He was treated by field ambulance for a couple of days before returning to action. After Gallipoli he went to Alexandria with the 27th battalion.
Walter then embarked to join the B.E.F, (the British expeditionary force) from Alexandria Egypt. On the 21st of March 1916, he disembarked and arrived at his destination Marseilles France. Then on the 19th of May 1916, Walter was then attached to Assistant Provost Marshall 2nd Division.
Walter then rejoined the 27th Battalion on the 10th of July leading into the battle of Pozieres. Pozieres was a village that was situated on the crest of a hill that look over the land around it. The objective was for the allied powers to attack the village and capture it from the Germans.
During this conflict Walter rejoined divisional police from the dates of 26th of July 1916 until the 24th of September when he returned to the 27th Battalion.
On the 7th of November 1916, Walter was promoted to Lance Corporal. Not long after, Walter received another promotion to Corporal, on the 10th of January 1917
On the 26th of March 1917, Walter took his final blow and died in action during the withdrawal of the outpost villages. On the days leading up to Walter’s death, his battalion was in a very tense back and forth with the enemy attacking their objective Ruinken Road between Lagnicourt & Noreuil at 5:15 AM. The objective was gained within 20 minutes with prisoners sent back behind the front lines at 5:35 AM. Casualties were 11 killed and 29 wounded. Walter was killed just outside of the village. He has no known grave but is commemorated at the Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux in France.
Bibliography
- | The Australian War Memorial n.d., www.awm.gov.au, viewed 17 March 2025, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1339166>.
- AWM4 23/44/17 - December 1916 - January 1917 2025, Awm.gov.au, viewed 3 April 2025, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1343904?image=3>.
- AWM4 23/44/18 - February 1917 2025, Awm.gov.au, viewed 7 April 2025, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1343905?image=2>.
- CWGC n.d., Villers-Bretonneux Memorial | Cemetery Details, CWGC, viewed 6 April 2025, <https://www.cwgc.org/visit-us/find-cemeteries-memorials/cemetery-details/93000/villers-bretonneux-memorial/>.
- Details 2024, Adfa.edu.au, viewed 10 April 2025, <https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=266322>.
- John Sandery - Ancestry® 2021, Ancestry.com, viewed 10 April 2025, <https://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/john-sandery-24-1k8z9x>.
- Terrace, V 2025, View digital copy, Naa.gov.au, viewed 10 March 2025, <https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=8075149>.
- Troopship leaving Outer Harbor, South Australia 2025, State Library of South Australia, viewed 8 April 2025, <https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+280/1/15/464>.
- Villers-Bretonneux Memorial | New Zealand War Graves Project 2022, Nzwargraves.org.nz, viewed 10 April 2025, <https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/cemeteries/villers-bretonneux-memorial>.
- Walter Horace SANDERY 2025, Vwma.org.au, viewed 19 March 2025, <https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/338772>.
- World War 1 n.d., vwma.org.au, viewed 27 March 2025, <https://vwma.org.au/explore/conflicts/2>.
- World War 1 n.d., vwma.org.au, viewed 19 March 2025, <https://vwma.org.au/explore/conflicts/2>.
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