Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Born on January 9th, 1900, in Marrickville, New South Wales, Septimus Benyon Walker was the son of Ebenezer and Esther Walker (1). His early years were spent as a student at Sydney Technical High School, which he attended in 1914 (2). During his time there, he showed great academic potential, winning the "Prize of General Proficiency" in his first year (2). Walker was also an active member of the Senior Army Cadets for three years, training to be in the military at a young age (3). Being a senior cadet, he was responsible for the development of training programmes and the instruction of junior cadets, highlighting his early leadership skills. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on July 24th, 1916 (4). To meet the enlistment age requirements, he falsified his age, claiming to be 19, although he was actually 16 years and 6 months (3).

Walker embarked from Sydney aboard the HMAT A11 “Ascanius” on October 25, 1916 (3). He was assigned to the 19th Infantry Battalion as a private (4). His service took him to the brutal battlefields of the Western Front, where he and his unit participated in some of the most significant and devastating campaigns of the war.

He was involved in a series of important battles, including the Second Battle of Bullecourt in May 1917, the Battle of Ypres, the Battle of Menin Road and the Battle of Poelcappelle in October of that year (5). Walker survived these intense engagements, but his service was not without hardship. He was admitted to Bath War Hospital in England in April 1918, suffering from trench foot, a painful condition caused by prolonged exposure to cold, wet, and unsanitary conditions. He was also hospitalised with an unspecified illness in June 1918 and sent to a camp hospital in France (3). Despite these setbacks, Walker returned to the front to fight in the final stages of the war. He and his unit were involved in the German Spring Offensive and the crucial Battle of Hamel on July 4th, 1918 (3). He also participated in the decisive Allied offensives that ultimately broke the German lines, including the Battle of Amiens in August and the Battle of Mont St Quentin and the Battle of Montbrehain in October 1918 (5).

He returned to Australia via the HMS “Kildonian Castle” (3). Walker worked as an accountant in Lismore, and he also married the love of his life, Amy G. Whitnell, on May 16th, 1923, at St. Barnabas' Church in Sydney (2). He then fathered two children, Gwenyth Walker and Barry Walker (1). However, his life after the war was not without trouble, as he was involved in a three-car collision on the Ballina-Lismore Road in which he broke his leg (2).

His commitment to service did not end with the Great War. Feeling the need to serve and protect his country once more, he enlisted in the Australian Military Forces (local militia) as a corporal, for World War II on the 4th of June, 1940. His main role was to defend Australia from foreign enemies , and he did not leave the country for any battles. Throughout WW2, he rose the ranks to be a Sergeant. Finally, being recognised for his war efforts by his superiors, he was granted a promotion to Lieutenant, on Christmas of 1943.

His second stint of service was to be much like his first, contracting enterocolitis, an inflammation of the small intestine, on October 27th 1941 and was ultimately discharged on the 12th of February, 1947 (3).  Walker faced the loss of both of his parents shortly after the war, his mother passing in 1953 and his father passing the following year (1). He later worked as a solicitor for Max Deacon Stephens and McWhinney Solicitors in Brisbane (3). Septimus Benyon Walker died shortly after his father on February 7, 1956, in Queensland, at the young age of 56 (8). 

Endnotes

(1) Ancestry of Septimus Benyon Walker https://www.ancestry.com.au/genealogy/records/septimus-benyon-walker-24-1b0rp6q
(2) Ken Stevenson, Research on Google Drive https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1o-j5TehDV2Spw-VwfS9HidN15hScQAlK
(3) National Archives Australia https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3005183
(4) Septimus Benyon Walker, Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10793876
(5) 19th Infantry Battalion, Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51459
(6) Military Medals WW1 https://militaryshop.com.au/medals-of-ww1/?srsltid=AfmBOooFZQxgQSKbZ24R9WeVf3Sv5cgY8dgLNf7TdKGjtftKnsVofNpA
(7) Military Medals WW2 https://militaryshop.com.au/australian-medals-of-ww2/?srsltid=AfmBOoomSqOKRAAQmpOldSPJZuuOuPx9ejlar6NBFxcGh3yBPqMbLKGf
(8) Virtual War Memorial Australia https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/769355
Bibliography 

Ken Stevenson, Research on Google Drive https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1o-j5TehDV2Spw-VwfS9HidN15hScQAlK
Virtual War Memorial Australia https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/769355
Septimus Benyon Walker National Archives Australia https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3005183
Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10793876
Ancestry of Septimus Benyon Walker https://www.ancestry.com.au/genealogy/records/septimus-benyon-walker-24-1b0rp6q
19th Infantry Battalion, Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51459
Military Medals WW1 https://militaryshop.com.au/medals-of-ww1/?srsltid=AfmBOooFZQxgQSKbZ24R9WeVf3Sv5cgY8dgLNf7TdKGjtftKnsVofNpA
Military Medals WW2 https://militaryshop.com.au/australian-medals-of-ww2/?srsltid=AfmBOoomSqOKRAAQmpOldSPJZuuOuPx9ejlar6NBFxcGh3yBPqMbLKGf