Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Walter Frederick Weatherall, was born in York, Western Australia on 20th February 1890 to parents William Henry Wetherall and Ellen Sullivan. Walter’s parents were married in 1883 at York, where William and Ellen had nine children. Three girls and six boys with Walter the fifth sibling.
 
Walters parents died in 1899 only a few days apart of each other. His father was 36 years of age with his mother 38 years. Walter’s father was travelling by horse and cart to his wife Ellen who at the time was sick in hospital, when the horse pulling the cart reared up. William fell from the cart striking his head, later dying from his head injuries sustained from the fall. This left Walter with his siblings orphaned in the care of his sister Maude. Both parents are recorded as been buried in the Beverley District of Western Australia.
 
By October 1914 Walter enlisted with the Australian Infantry Forces (A.I.F.) at Guildford, Western Australia. He was appointed to the 10th Light Horse Regiment, A Squadron with the serial number of 155. At the time of enlistment, he recorded his calling as Labourer, with his next of kin as his aunt, a Mrs W Aubrey of York. Walter later changed his next of kin details to his eldest sister a Maude Screaigh of York. In the February of 1915, Walter along with the 10th Light Horse Regiment Headquarters, the Machine Gun Section, A and B Squadrons embarked from Fremantle, Western Australia aboard SS Mashobra A47, arriving in Alexandria Egypt in March 1915

Whilst in Egypt Walter’s time passed by conducting further training with his regiment before embarking to the Gallipoli Peninsula. The 10th Light Horse Regiment arrived off Cape Helles on 18th May 1915. It was not until the 21st May 1915 that the Light Horse regiment disembarked from their troop ships to destroyers, then onto rowing boats landing on the Gallipoli beach. The regiment first came under enemy fire whilst rowing ashore as it is recorded the men came under fire from the Turks with one man hit in the forearm by a sniper’s bullet.
 
On the Gallipoli Peninsula the 10th Light Horse Regiment was located at Pope’s Hill, Quinn’s Post, Walker’s Ridge and No 1 Outpost. It was on the 7th August 1915 that Walter’s regiment was to form part of an assault against the Turkish trenches, at a position known as The Nek. A small patch of ground described as no bigger than a tennis court. The assault was to consist of men from the 8th and 10th Light Horse regiments, with four waves of men charging the Turkish trenches at set timed intervals. Each wave consisted of approximately 150 men. The first two waves of the assault were led by men of the 8th Light Horse followed by men from 10th Light Horse who were the third and fourth waves of the assault. Walter made up the third wave of the charge.
 
Before the time came for Walter to scale the trench parapet in the third wave, the men knew that they were charging to certain death. No man’s land between the Australian and Turkish trenches was already littered with dead and wounded from the 8th Light Horse, all due to a timing error. The artillery shelling ceased seven minutes short of the appointed time of the assault of 4.30am.
 
Even with the murderous Turkish machine gun and rifle fire the message still came from the the Australian commanders for the third wave to push on. For reasons unexplained it was believed that a signal flag was seen in the Turkish trenches, indicating some success with the assault. I cannot imagine what Walter’s mind was telling him at the carnage he had just witnessed, yet he still climbed above the safety of the parapet of the trench to charge the Turkish trenches. He must have known that he was facing certain death with his mates, an incredible brave feat to do.
 
Walter was struck by a Turkish bullet in the abdomen. From the accounts of the charge the men barely made it to the Turkish trenches. The Australian light horse men either fell back into the Australian trenches as the rose to charge or were cut down by the Turkish machine guns and rifle fire, falling either dead or wounded in no man’s land. The men who were still alive from the charge, would have laid in no man’s land either dying from their wounds, with some able to crawl back into the Australian Trenches. We can only guess that Walter survived by falling back into trench as he was struck by a Turkish bullet. Walter’s Squadron had suffered the heaviest casualties of about 50 per cent.
 
Walter was evacuated from the Gallipoli Peninsula on the hospital ship Delta, where he was admitted to the No 2 General Hospital on 14th August 1915, returning to duty with the regiment on 9th November 1915. Walters remaining time on the Gallipoli Peninsula was short with the Australian’s evacuating the peninsula. The Australian’s finally left on 20th December 1915, Walter arrived back in Alexandria on that date marching out to Serapeum ex Heliopolis on 26th February 1916.

Walter remained with the 10th Light Horse Regiment spending his time in the Middle East campaign. During 1916 in May and the November he was admitted to hospital for extended periods. He was taken on strength to a training regiment before been transferred back to the 10th Light Horse in February 1917.
 
In the May of 1917, he was promoted to Lance Corporal and again having extended periods of time in hospital from October through to December 1917. He returned to duty with the 10th Light Horse in May 1918.
 
He returned to Australia in August 1919 where he was discharged from the A.I.F. on 25th November 1919. The final entry on his file, May 1919 Lance Corporal to be temporary Corporal, before in July 1919 he was promoted to Corporal.
 
On his return to Australia Walter moved back to York. It was in York that he met and married a Florence Louisa Sims in 1927. In May 1942, at the age of 52 years, he again enlisted for military service for World War 2. His occupation was linesman where he was attached to a signal’s unit serving in West Australia only.

Walter lived out his final years in Northam, Western Australia where he died on 26th July 1971 aged 81 years. He is buried in the Northam Cemetery with his wife.

Footnote: Walter's five brothers all enlisted into the A.I.F. All returned from the War.