Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Walter Berry Bradbrook - The life of a warrior

Before the war

Walter Berry Bradbrook was an ordinary man born in Athelstone, South Australia in 1874 (1). He lived in Adelaide all his life and moved to Norwood in his teens. He had two siblings, a brother named William Bradbrook and a sister named Margaret Ferguson(1).  He was an ordinary looking man with short brown hair, brown eyes, a fresh skin tone, standing at 5ft 4’ and weighed 64.5Kg(1). He was just an ordinary 40-year-old Labourer until 1914 where he saw the opportunity to fight for his country and on the 6th of March 1916, he enlisted for WW1 (2). He spent hours upon hours training for war at the Mitcham training camp(2), until he was ready to fight. Before he left for the journey of a lifetime, he wrote a will, knowing the risks of war. He stated his sister, Margaret, as his next of kin as he had no wife or children(2).

During the war

On the 11th of April, he was taken on strength into the 48th Battalion(2). He travelled on board the HMAT A60 Aeneas to Southampton port. This ship weighed in at 10,090 tonnes and was 670ft in length(3). This ship was made for transport to Europe and was leased by the Commonwealth until 1918(3). On the 22 of September, he proceeded overseas to Etaples, France to join his unit. 

In Etaples, he fought on the Western Front for four months, some days out in the battlefield, some days back with his unit. He fought with courage, earning the respect of his unit members as at home, he was just a South Australian labourer. He had great luck in the war, not experiencing any injury or illness until 13th of March 1917(2) where he fell sick for the first time. 

He had to leave the Western Front for the first time and was taken to a dressing station in inland France. He was diagnosed with an inflamed bladder. Being the brave and resilient man he was, he didn’t let this stop him, and returned to war by the next day(2). 

On the 10th of August, he fell sick, this time more severe(2). He spent a week in a dressing station and when he felt well enough, he was moved to England on board the H.S Carisbrooke Castle(2). This ship carried 390 passengers and in 1914 it was acquired and was used as a military hospital ship. It worked in the Mediterranean for most of the war, then in 1922 retired from military use(4). 

It only took him one month of duty until he fell sick once more, this time too serious for just a dressing station. He was taken to The County of Middlesex War Hospital and was diagnosed with arteriosclerosis(2). Arteriosclerosis is the thickening of walls in your arteries and blood vessels causing a lack of blood to organs. The arteries are hardened and aren’t healthy and elastic(5). This was very uncommon in WW1 as it is normally caused by old age(5). Although Mr Bradbrook was a very healthy man, he was 40 years old.

The end of a journey

He spent nine days recovering from this crippling illness and on the 31st of October, he was deemed unfit for war and was sent back to Australia(2). This was gut-wrenching for Walter as he had fought for more than a year and was then sent back for something that wasn’t his fault. After he returned from war he found employment in the Raileasy. In 1918 he joined the RSL at West Croydon and remained a member until 1930.  He was a courageous soldier and a great fighter. He earnt awards for his efforts during the war including a Victory Medal, and a British War Medal(1). 

This man was a prime example of someone reflecting the ANZAC spirit throughout his time as a soldier. He put his full effort into his training which converted into him being taken into a battalion a short time after. He put his life on hold, as he went and fought for his country with everything he had. He was forty at the time and would have been significantly older than the other soldiers, but he didn’t let that hold him back. He knew the risks of disease going into war at the age of forty, but fought it for almost two years. He didn’t give in to the illness and it took till he physically couldn’t breathe, for him to head home to his family(6).

Bibliography

1: Australian War Memorial 2016, Canberra, accessed 26 February 2018, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10710300>.

2: National Archives of Australia 2016, accessed 23-28 February 2018, <https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=3178306&isAv=N>.

3: RSL 2016, accessed 21 February 2018, <https://s3apsoutheast2.amazonaws.com/rslvwm/comfy/cms/files/files/000/001/004/original/ResearchProfile_WWI.pdf>.

4: H.S. Carisbrooke Castle 2015, accessed 3 March 2018,
<http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Ships/HMHSCarisbrookCastle.html>

5: Artheriosclerosis 2017, accessed 26 February 2018,
<https://www.hri.org.au/about-heart-disease/what-is-atherosclerosis >.

6: ANZAC Philosophy, accessed 12 March 2018,

<http://www.as.edu.au/hallmark-qualities-the-legacy-of-anzac/>