LITTLE , Walter
| Service Number: | QX32413 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 May 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
| Born: | Jarrow, Durham, England, 6 May 1923 |
| Home Town: | Sarina, Mackay, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Plumber |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 20 May 1942: | Involvement Private, QX32413 | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 May 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, QX32413 | |
| 20 May 1942: | Enlisted | |
| 15 May 1945: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Signaller, 2 Advanced Echelon ex Townsville per General Anderson to Morotai | |
| 21 Nov 1945: | Transferred Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Signaller, 14th Infantry Battalion | |
| 19 Apr 1946: | Transferred Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Signaller, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1) | |
| 9 Jun 1946: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Signaller, QX32413, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1), ex Rabaul per Katoomba to Townsville | |
| 8 Jul 1946: | Discharged | |
| 8 Jul 1946: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, QX32413 |
Help us honour Walter Little 's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Walter served with2/3 Commando Squadron in Borneo (02/06/1945) and is listed as a Trooper in his Discharge Papers.
On 11 January 2000, Walter wrote to the ADF from Sarina, QLD that in 1950, when he was boarding in a Hostel in Brisbane, QLD '.... My room was entered andthings stoles. The most important thing stolen was my 'Return from Active Service Badge .... I was a single man walking his way around Australia .... I now have four grandchildren who take part in all the marches and school functions on Anzac Day. I would like to pass on my medals to these children' (National Archives Australia - Service Records)
Biography contributed by Chris Buckley
Walter was the second of four children of Samuel Little (born 1885 in Durham, England) and Grace McCormick (born 1886 in Scotland). Samuel (a Fitter) married Grace in 1913 in Scotland, and they lived in Jarrow - on - Tyne in Durham where Samuel worked as an Engine Fitter. In 1925 they immigrated to QLD on board the Socphocles with eldest son James and twins Walter and Grace. The family settled at Sarina in QLD where Samuel was a Fitter.
In 1942 Walter was a Plumber in Sarina, QLD when he enlisted in the Army. He served as a Private (Service No:32413) with 2/3 Australian Commando Squadron, patrolling deep into Japanese held territory in New Guinea, setting ambushes and gathering intelligence. He was Discharged in July 1946. Brothers Ronald James (Corporal. Service No:QX63482) and John McCormick (Gunner, Service No:QX60842) also served in WWII.
Returning to QLD, Walter worked as a Plumber in Brisbane and Bulimba before returning to Sarina in 1958. He married Thelma June Fry (a Housekeeper in Charters Towers, QLD) in 1960, and they settled in Sarina where Walter worked as a Plumber. Thelma died in 2009.
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