Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Mr Arthur Sidney Waterer was born on the 29th of January 1890 to Mr John Arthur Waterer and Ms Waterer in London, England[i]. Arthur was baptised into the Congregational Church at the Parish of Clapham, London.  He spent his adolescent years with his brothers at the family home at 28th Allison road, Middlesex. Arthur aspired to be a teacher in his teenage years and enrolled at the Day Training College in London, where he graduated with a Diploma in Technical Education[ii].

Waterer later migrated to Sydney, Australia, where he pursued his career as a State Educator. On the 19th of February of 1912, at the age of 22, he began teaching as a Primary School teacher for the Department of Instruction, Sydney[iii]  The Government Gazette reported, that on Wednesday the 19th of March 1913, Mr Arthur Sidney Waterer was appointed as a Teacher of Woodwork, at Sydney Technical High School. He received a modest starting salary of £250. At the time of appointment, he lived at a residence at 15 Parramatta Road, Summer Hill. He lived here with his partner, and later wife, Miss Edith Violet Willcock.[iv] When the war broke out, Mr Waterer became a Senior Cadet of the 2nd Military District. On the 1st of September, 1915, the Government Gazette reported that Mr Arthur Sidney Waterer was to be a provisional Lieutenant of the 36th Senior Cadet battalion as of that day.

Waterer applied for the Australian Imperial Forces on the 13th of September 1915. He was deemed to be ready due to his service on the 36th Senior Cadet Battalion and his promotion to provisional Lieutenant. However, his application for A.I.F. service was rejected on medical grounds due to “defective vision.”[v] It was on the 17th of January 1916, that at the age of 26, Waterer successfully enlisted and joined the Australian Imperial Forces. He was assigned the regimental number 3206 and the rank of private. Waterer’s initial unit was the 7th Reinforcement of the 1st pioneer battalion, an infantry unit that fought on the western front in Belgium and France and fought in the loss-heavy battles of Bullecourt and Passchendaele, battles of attrition that achieved little movement for the allies or the Germans. In the May of 1916, Arthur Sidney Waterer, was promoted to an Acting Sergeant of the Battalion and was transferred to Engineers. He remained stationed at Sydney at the time. Before leaving for war, Arthur Sidney Waterer married his fiancé, Mrs Edith Violet Waterer (née Willcock) on the 10th of June, 1916 at a service in St Andrews Congregational Church, conducted by Rev. M. L. Johnson. Arthur Sidney Waterer embarked on the 17th of October 1916 as acting Company-Sergeant major(C/S.M) of the 7th reinforcement of the 1st pioneer battalion. He was assigned the Embarkation Role Number, 14/13/4 and left abroad HMAT A30 Borda, en-route to London.[vi] When Arthur Sidney Waterer arrived in London, he was transferred to the 15th Field Company Engineers, stationed at Brightlingsea. Waterer was assigned the rank of Sapper, a trench-combatant military engineer.  Arthur and the 15th Field Company Engineers(F.C.E.) were sent to France in November of 1917. The 15th field coy. primarily focused on counter-mobility, mobility and the construction of the trenches. They played a pivotal part in trench warfare and the allied strategic advancement in France and Belgium.[vii]

Arthur Sidney Waterer was promoted to the rank of Sergeant of the 15th F.C.E. while stationed in France. The 15th F.C.E. were deployed to the Ypres sector in Belgium soon thereafter where they assisted the Australian 15th Brigade and other troops in the 5th Division. Disaster struck as the Germans seized the Strategic stronghold of Villers-Bretonneux, and proceeding fast west towards Amiens. British Headquarters sent the AIF 13th and 15th battalions of the 4th and 5th division, respectively to recapture the stronghold of strategic importance. Arthur Sidney Waterer and his unit, the 15th Field Company Engineers assisted the 15th Brigade at the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux. The combined effort resulted in a decisive victory for allied forces and an essential triumph for the allies in the war. Waterer’s final major battle with the A.I.F. and the 15th F.C.E. came on the 29th of September, under the command of General John Monash, at the Battle of St Quentin Canal. The objective was to break through the Hindenburg line, a heavily guarded German front. The battle resulted in a decisive Allied victory.[viii] Arthur Sidney Waterer continued to serve alongside the 15th Field Coy. until the day of the Armistice. He had survived the war. Arthur returned to Australia on the 13th of October 1918 aboard the vessel, ‘ANCHISES.’[ix]

Arthur Sidney Waterer did not receive any decorations, and joined the University of Sydney union at the conclusion of the war. He resumed teaching at Sydney Technical High School from the start of the 1920 school year. He studied for a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Sydney whilst he was teaching and received a Bachelor of Arts in 1925. Arthur became the Assistant Master at Technical High School prior to 1928 and later became an Assistant Master at Fort Street Boys High School[x] His last residence was at Tressider Ave, Haberfield.

Arthur Sidney Waterer passed away on New Years Eve 1937 at the young age of 47, he had no children.

Adrian Lozancic

Year 10 – Sydney Technical High School

[i] Australian Imperial Forces Enlistment Paper.  

Ancestry.com. 2018. Family History. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.ancestry.com.

Ancestry.com-Arthur Sidney Waterer in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915 [ONLINE] Available at: https://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=8912&h=58245199&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=TXn1&_phstart=successSource.

 
[ii]The University of Sydney. 2018. Arthur Sidney Waterer - Beyond 1914 - Book of Remembrance. [ONLINE] Available at: http://beyond1914.sydney.edu.au/profile/4287/arthur-sidney-waterer.  
[iii] Government Gazette, G.G.N.S.W., 2018. Public Service Board. Government Gazette of New South Wales, 1st March 1913. 

Department of Public Instruction paperwork.
[iv] Sydney Morning Herald, SMH,1916. Family Notices. Sydney Morning Herald, 15 July 1916.   Births, Deaths and Marriages search. 2018. Births, Deaths and Marriages search. [ONLINE] Available at: https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/result?15
[v]Trove 2018. 25 Sep 1915 - MILITARY FORCES OF THE COMMONWEALTH-Government Gazette. - Trove. [ONLINE] Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/232466177?searchTerm=%22Arthur%20Sidney%20Waterer%22%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20&searchLimits=.  AIF Enlistment Paperwork, Arthur Sidney Waterer.

 
[vi] Sydney University Union War Service Record

AIF Enlistment Paperwork.

AIF Project, UNSW. 2018. Arthur Sidney Waterer. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=314694.
[vii] RSL Virtual War Memorial | 15th Field Company Engineers. 2018. RSL Virtual War Memorial | 15th Field Company Engineers. [ONLINE] Available at: https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/explore/units/228.

The University of Sydney. 2018. Arthur Sidney Waterer - Beyond 1914 - Book of Remembrance. [ONLINE] Available at: http://beyond1914.sydney.edu.au/profile/4287/arthur-sidney-waterer.

University of Sydney Union Application Sheet.(Attached)


[viii] Information on the St Quentin Canal Battle

St Quentin Canal | The Australian War Memorial. 2018. St Quentin Canal | The Australian War Memorial. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/E147.

Second battle of Villers-Bretonneux | The Anzac Portal. 2018. Second battle of Villers-Bretonneux | The Anzac Portal. [ONLINE] Available at: https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/history/conflicts/australians-western-front-19141918/australian-remembrance-trail/australian-5.
[ix]The University of Sydney. 2018. Arthur Sidney Waterer - Beyond 1914 - Book of Remembrance. [ONLINE] Available at: http://beyond1914.sydney.edu.au/profile/4287/arthur-sidney-waterer.

University of Sydney Union Application Sheet.(Attached)
[x] Department of Public Instruction Record. Ancestry.com.au. 2018. https://www.ancestry.com.

www.fortstreet.nsw.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/1938-JUN-BOYS.pdf