Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Walter William Ladbrook 
SN 529 & 3316 

Ladbrook was born on the 17th of May 1892 in Blockley, Worcestershire, England, United Kingdom (see Figure 2) (Ancestry.com, n.d.). He was baptised of the 31st of July 1892 (Caernresearch.co.uk, 2016). Him and his family were Protestants. Ladbrook’s father, George Ladbrook (1850-1926) was a labourer. His mother, Emily Peachey (1860-1936) has no known occupation (Caernresearch.co.uk, 2016). He was the fourth of eight children. Ladbrook had four brothers, George Henry Ladbrook (1883-1945), William Ladbrook (1878-1955), Albert Ernest Ladbrook (1898-1898), and Richard Owen Ladbrook (1896-1914). He had three sisters, Rose Mezzelle Ladbrook (1888-1966), Beatrice Emily Ladbrook (1894-1896), and Gladys Hilda Ladbrook (1899-1904) (Ancestry.com, n.d.). As an infant, Walter lived on High Street, Blockley, Worcestershire, United Kingdom (Caernresearch.co.uk, 2016).

On the 1st of July 1989, Ladbrook was enrolled in Blockley Boys’ School for Infants. He left the school on the 19th of May 1903. On the 2nd of April 1911, he took residence at 29 Markeaton Street, Derby, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom, working as a furniture removalist (Caernresearch.co.uk, 2016; Ancestry.com, n.d.). One year later in October of 1912, he emigrated to Australia. Ladbrook was unemployed at the time (State Library of South Australia, 2023). 

On the 2nd of November 1914, Ladbrook enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) at the age of twenty-two and a half. According to his enlistment forms, he had previously served in the 5th Gloucestershire Territorials, with His Majesty’s Service later rejecting him from service due to being ‘unfit’ (National Archives of Australia, 2023). However, he did not attain any known injuries during that time.  The 9th Light Horse Regiment was trained between October 1914 and February 1915 in Melbourne. Ladbrook was a Private of the A Squadron 9th Australian Light Horse Regiment. He travelled to Melbourne, and he undertook his first embarkation on the 12th of February 1915 on the HMAT A26 Armadale from Port Melbourne headed overseas (vwma.org.au, n.d.,).  

The 9th Light Horse Regiment fought as a group with the 3rd Light Horse Brigade. Originally, the 9th Light Horse Regiment were thought to be unfitting for the operation in Gallipoli, but they ended up being deployed without their horses. They were lucky to be the reserve regiment for the 3rd Light Horse Brigade’s catastrophic attack on the Nek on the 7th of August. Unfortunately, the 9th Light Horse Regiment suffered fifty percent casualties.  

Ladbrook’s service was short lived, as between 1915 and 1917, he stopped serving in the war because he caught laryngitis and could not speak. His name was put on the Adelaide Railway Honour Roll Board in 1916 (National Archives of Australia, 2023).

In Egypt, the 3rd Light Horse Brigade became part of the ANZAC Mounted Division. In March 1916, they joined forces the forces defending the Suez Canal from a Turkish drive across the Sinai Desert. The Turks were turned at Romani. Although the 9th Light Horse Regiment did not participate in the battle, they were involved in the advance that followed the Turks’ retreat across the desert.  

After Ladbrook overcame the ailment, he re-enlisted on the 21st of February 1917, receiving a different service number. Ladbrook’s first service number was 529; his second number was 3316. At the time, Ladbrook was twenty-four and three quarters.  He travelled to Sydney, and his second embarkation was on the 9th of May 1917. There he boarded the HMAT A15 Port Sydney (Star of England) to Port Suez (vwma.org.au, n.d.,). 

By December, they had come to the Palestine frontier. The 9th Light Horse Regiment was included in the fight to secure the Turkish outposts of Maghdaba and Rafa. Their next operation was the Turkish stronghold of Gaza. With the fall of Gaza on the 17th of November 1917, the position of South Palestine collapsed.  The 9th Light Horse Regiment participated in the chase in December to capture Jerusalem. The 9th Light Horse Regiment was involved in the Es Salt raid in May of 1918. This operation convinced the Turkish that the next operation would be launched across the Jordan, but it was still a tactical mistake.  The next operation was launched on the 19th of September 1918 across the coast. The capture of Jenin was participated in by the 9th Light Horse Regiment. On the 1st of October they made their way into Damascus. They were on their way to Homs, but the Turkish surrendered on the 31st of October.  When they were awaiting to head home, on the 19th of March 1919; they were requested to put an end to an Egyptian Revolt. The operation ended in just over a month. Finally, on the 10th of July 1919, they headed home. Ladbrook returned to Australia and settled back in Quorn, South Australia (The AIF Project, n.d.; National Archives of Australia, n.d.; Australian War Memorial, 2016) 

On the 3rd of January 1921, Ladbrook married Harriet Alice Marion Osborn (1895-1975) at St Paul’s, Port Adelaide, South Australia. A year later, his wife gave birth to their first daughter, Marjorie Rose Ladbrook (1922-2019) on the 10th of May 1922 at North Quorn, South Australia, about 119km away from Port Pirie.  For an unspecified reason, a photograph captured Ladbrook visiting William Creek, South Australia, about 166km away from Coober Pedy, that same year. A year after that, Ladbrook’s wife gave birth to their second daughter, Lois Hilda Ladbrook (1923-1996) on the 19th of January 1923 at North Quorn, South Australia. Lois was to later marry Rupert Richard Niland (1912-1975) 

In 1924, Ladbrook was working as a labourer for Wunderlich Limited, a ceiling and roofing company, founded in 1885 (AIF Nominal Roll).  On the 18th of March 1927, his wife gave birth to their only son, Owen William Ladbrook (1927-2007) in Torrensville, Adelaide, South Australia. 
Ladbrook’s life away from the war was quite full, with his young family and involvement in community life. Ladbrook enjoyed sports, evidenced by the 1934 photograph that captured Ladbrook and his cricket team victorious in a cricket championship. In 1941, Ladbrook lived at 24 Frederick Street, Hilton/Richmond, South Australia. He was working as an assistant at the time.  In 1943, his eldest daughter, Marjorie, married William Harold Nicholls (1920-1985) at Scots Church, Adelaide, South Australia. 
 

William Walter Ladbrook died on the 14th of March 1972 at the age of seventy-nine after a full life.