WALKER, Vernon Lee
| Service Number: | Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | Unspecified British Units |
| Born: | United Kingdom , 1896 |
| Home Town: | Cottesloe, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Guildford Grammar, Western Australia and St Peter's College, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Killed In Action, France , 29 May 1917 |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Adelaide Elder Smith & Co Limited WW1 Honour Board, Guildford Grammar School War Memorial, Hackney St Peter's College Fallen Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 29 May 1917: | Involvement Second Lieutenant, Officer, Unspecified British Units |
|---|
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From the book Fallen Saints
Vernon Lee Walker of Cottesloe, Western Australia attended St Peter’s College, Adelaide 1909-1912 and while there was both a good student and gifted sportsman.
V L Walker is with Elder, Shenton & Co. in Perth, Western Australia. Last season he played senior football but had to withdraw from the game owing to an injured knee, and is now devoting his time to golfing and yachting. In 1913 his yacht won the Australian Championship, but was unable to get away to defend the title this year as the race was in Brisbane. He hopes however, to give the best of them a good go in Sydney in January next. [i]
Vernon was among those who for various reasons enlisted in the British Army. He was a second lieutenant in the 8th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment.
The 8th Battalion (Service) formed at Preston, England in September 1914 was attached to 74th Brigade, 25th Division at Codford. In November 1914 the battalion moved to billets at Bournemouth as Army Troops to 25th Division. The battalion became part of the 112th Brigade, 37th Division at Ludgershall in March 1915 and at the end of July landed at Boulogne France. When disbanded in France on 21 February 1918, the 20 officers and 400 men of the battalion were transferred to the 11th Battalion. [ii]
Twenty one year old 2nd Lieutenant Vernon Lee Walker, 8th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment was killed in action on 29 May 1917.
In a letter written only three days later, the Commanding Officer wrote to inform Vernon’s father, Mr Cyril Walker of Cottesloe, Western Australia, that his son was killed in the trenches during the night of 28/29 May.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Campbell, Vernon was throwing bombs at the Germans from a trench where only a couple of sandbag barricades separated them, when one of his bombs exploded early, either just as he had thrown it, or in his hand. Although the RMO was nearby to give him immediate treatment, Second Lieutenant Walker died from loss of blood and shock.
Will you accept my deep sympathy in your loss – your son gave his life for his country just as truly as though he had been fallen by a German bullet. He had not been with the battalion long – but had already shown himself to be an exceptionally capable officer, full of fight. He was buried just outside battalion headquarters, about 300 yards in rear of the line he was holding. [iii]
[i] St Peter’s School Magazine - W K Thomas & Co, Adelaide, Dec 1914, p. 41
[ii] James, E A, Historical Records Of British Infantry Regiments In The Great War 1914-1918, Rank Xerox Copy Bureau, Birmingham Revised Edition, 1976, p. 87
[iii] St Peter’s School Magazine - W K Thomas & Co, Adelaide, Dec 1917, p. 50
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