DEVER, Walter James
| Service Number: | 3740 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 3 August 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 45th Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
| Born: | Maitland, New South Wales, Australia, 12 September 1890 |
| Home Town: | Adamstown, Newcastle, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway firelighter |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Pozieres, France, 15 August 1916, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Hamilton Loco Employees Great War Honour Roll, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 3 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3740, 13th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 3740, 13th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Suevic embarkation_ship_number: A29 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 3740, 13th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Suevic, Sydney | |
| 15 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 3740, 45th Infantry Battalion (WW1), Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3740 awm_unit: 45 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-08-15 |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Walter James DEVER was born in East Maitland in 1890. He joined the NSWGR as a firelighter at Hamilton locomotive depot in 1912. In August 1915 he enlisted in the AIF in Newcastle, giving his ‘trade or calling’ as ‘labourer’. He was ‘very popular with the young men of the town’, and on his final leave in November was given a send-off by his friends at the Royal Standard Hotel in Adamstown, reported in the Newcastle Morning Herald & Miners Advocate, 17 November 1915.
Embarked from Sydney in December 1915, he was sent to Egypt, where he joined his battalion in March 1916.
Submitted 13 June 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Walter James DEVER was born in East Maitland in 1890. He joined the NSW Government Railways as a firelighter at Hamilton locomotive depot in 1912. In August 1915 he enlisted in the AIF in Newcastle. He gave his occupation as ‘labourer’. He was ‘very popular with the young men of the town’. On his final leave in November, he was given a send-off by his friends at the Royal Standard Hotel in Adamstown. This was reported in the Newcastle Morning Herald & Miners Advocate on 17th November 1915.
He embarked from Sydney in December 1915. He was sent to Egypt, where he joined his battalion in March 1916. Then he went to France and landed there in June. He was killed in action at Pozières on 15th August.
He has no known grave but is remembered with honour on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Biography contributed by Evan Evans
From Gary Mitchell, Sandgate Cemetery
Memorialised at Sandgate Cemetery.
107 years ago today, on the 15th August 1916, Private Walter James Dever, referred to as Wally, 45th Battalion (Reg No-3740), loco fireman (Hamilton Loco sheds), from 40 Morgan Street, Adamstown, New South Wales, was Killed in Action at Pozieres, France, age 25. Cause of death not stated.
No Australian Red Cross Wounded and Missing File.
Born at East Maitland, New South Wales on the 12th September 1890 to John (died 9.11.1937, Newcastle Hospital, N.S.W., age 75) of 40 Morgan Street, Adamstown, N.S.W. and Mary Dever nee Feenan (died 3.7.1945, Adamstown, N.S.W., age 83) of 40 Morgan Street, Adamstown, N.S.W., Wally enlisted on the 3rd August 1915 with the 13th Battalion at Newcastle, N.S.W.
Unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales on board HMAT A29 Suevic on the 20th December 1915.
Wally’s name has been inscribed on the Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France.
Place of Association – Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
Mr. Dever’s name has also been inscribed on the Adamstown Citizens' Memorial, Adamstown Municipal District Roll of Honor, Hamilton Loco Employees Honour Roll, NSW Govt Railways and Tramways Roll of Honour, 1914-1919 and The Capt. Clarence Smith Jeffries (V.C.) and Pte. William Matthew Currey (V.C.) Memorial Wall.
I have placed poppies at the memorialised Dever gravesite in remembrance of Wally’s service and supreme sacrifice for God, King & Country. CATHOLIC 1-12. 5.
Contact with descendants would be greatly appreciated.
For more detail, see “Forever Remembered “
http://www.commemoratingwarheroes.com/cemetery-main-search/
Lest We Forget.
Click images to start slideshow.