SPRINGALL, Walter Henry
| Service Number: | QX4514 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 3 November 1939 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/9th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, 12 August 1907 |
| Home Town: | Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Dinmore State School, Ipswich, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Station Hand |
| Died: | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 14 June 1982, aged 74 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Nov 1939: | Involvement Private, QX4514 | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Nov 1939: | Enlisted | |
| 3 Nov 1939: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX4514, 2nd/9th Infantry Battalion | |
| 5 May 1940: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX4514, 2nd/9th Infantry Battalion, embarked Sydney for Gournock, Scotland en route for Palestine | |
| 29 Mar 1942: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX4514, 2nd/9th Infantry Battalion, embarked Palestine en route for Port Adelaide via Bombay and Colombo on board SS Nieuw Amsterdam | |
| 7 Aug 1942: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX4514, 2nd/9th Infantry Battalion, embarked Brisbane for Milne Bay | |
| 24 Nov 1942: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX4514, 2nd/9th Infantry Battalion, embarked for RTA | |
| 1 Nov 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX4514, 2nd/9th Infantry Battalion | |
| 1 Nov 1945: | Discharged |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
One of three brothers (Arthur and Jack) who served in WWII, Private Walter Henry Springall (Service No:QX4514) enlisted in the AIF on 3 November 1939 (graded Technical Storeman), and was attached to 2/9 Infantry Battalion on 5 May 1940 when he embarked with his Unit from Sydney for Gourock, Scotland, and then on to Alexandria. Private Springall served with 2/9 Infantry Battalion in the Middle East (Palestine, the Siege of Tobruk and Syria), embarking from Suez on 29 March for Port Adelaide via Bombay and Calcutta. Private Springall served in New Guinea with 2/9 Infantry Battalion, embarking from Brisbane for Milne Bay on 7 August 1942, and embarking for the RTA on 24 November 1942. Private Springall was attached to 2/9 Infantry Battalion at Discharge on 1 November 1945.
Walter was born in Ipswich QLD in 1907, second of five children of Charles (Charlie) Walter Springall (b1870 in Gympie, QLD) and his second wife Lillian (Lily) Brown (b1880 in Fernvale, QLD). Charlie was a Widow with two small children in 1905 when he and Lily married in Ipswich, where they settled and raised their family - Charlie was a Fitter/Machinist with the Railways. By 1915 Charlie and Lily had moved to Brisbane (Birkdale), where Charlie was an Engine Fitter. Following Lily's death in 1919, Charlie worked in Gympie until the 1930s, when he remarried in Brisbane.
Walter worked as a Station Hand in Mungalalla, and in 1931 married his first wife Kathleen Mary McKenzie (b1908 in Leyburn, QLD). Walter and Kathleen settled in Mungalalla, where they raised their family and Walter was a Station Hand and Captain of the Mungalalla Cricket Team. In 1939 when he enlisted in the Army, Walter was Butcher's Carter at Karrabin via Ipswich. Following his Discharge, Walter and Kathleen settled in Brisbane, where Walter was a Wood Worker. Kathleen died in 1950, and in 1953 Walter remarried to Ann Patricia O'Connor (b1918 in Brisbane, QLD). Walter and Ann settled in Brisbane, where they raised their family and Walter was a Wood Worker and Painter until retirement. Walter died in 1982 and Ann in 2015.
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