GARDINER, Walter Robert
| Service Number: | 128283 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 March 1943 |
| Last Rank: | Leading Aircraftman |
| Last Unit: | Operational Base Units (RAAF) |
| Born: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 30 July 1915 |
| Home Town: | Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 26 December 1992, aged 77 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 30 Mar 1943: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Aircraftman, 128283, Operational Base Units (RAAF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Mar 1943: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Leading Aircraftman, 128283 | |
| 6 Feb 1946: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Leading Aircraftman, 128283 | |
| 8 Feb 1946: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Leading Aircraftman, 128283, Operational Base Units (RAAF) | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement Leading Aircraftman, 128283, Operational Base Units (RAAF) |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Walter was the only child of Walter Gardiner Snr (born 1886 in Happy Valley, South Australia) and Emily (Nita) Uneta Gilchrist (born 1895 in Clifton Hill, Victoria). Walter Snr was a Labourer in Melbourne, Victoria when he married Nita in 1916. He enlisted in the AIF (Private, Service No:1836) and was with the 37th Infantry Battalion when he was KiA in 1917. Nita died in Melbourne in 1921.
Walter was a Labourer in Port Melbourne, Victoria in 1938 when he married Florence (Flo) Mabel Schuhkraft (born 1918 in Doncaster, Victoria). Walter and Flo settled in Melbourne, Victoria where Walter was a Labourer.
In March 1943 Walter enlisted in the RAAF. He was a Leading Aircraftman (Service No:128283) with 60 Operational Base Unit when he was Discharged in February 1946. 60 Operational Base Unit was in the Northern Territory in May 1944, and moved to Morotai in December that year. The Unit was responsible for refuelling RAAF aircraft and servicing aircraft and flying boats at Pitoe Airfield (Units of the RAAF: A Concise History, p55). Brothers-in-Law Albert Arthur Weir (Private, Service Nos:V275444/VX82332), William (Bill) John Schuhkraft (Gunner, Service No:V111653) and Stanley Arthur Schuhkraft (Corporal, Service No:VX84788) also served in WWII.
Walter and Flo settled in Melbourne, Victoria where Walter worked as a Storeman. He died in 1992 and Flo in 2010.
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