Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Edward Waldemar Timcke, SGT, (1890-1982)

Edward Waldemar Timcke, or Tim, as he was more commonly known, was born in May 1892 in Payneham, South Australia. He was the son of Heinrich Edward F Timcke (name has German origin) and Ida Augusta Timcke. He was a brother to 6 siblings who are listed below:

• Hedwig Dora Timcke (1883)
• Karl Friedrich Timcke (1885) (Fought in World war 1) (Fate: Returned)
• Hermann Georg Timcke (1887)
• Adeline Anna Timcke (1888)
• Philip Geoffrey Timcke (1899) (Fought in World War 1) (Fate: Returned)

(source: http://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?gl=34&gss=sfs28_ms_f-34&new=1&rank=1&msT=1&gsln=timcke&gsln_x=1&msfng=Heinrich%20Edward%20Friedrich%20&msfns=TIMCKE&msmng=Ida%20augusta&cp=0&MSAV=1&uidh=28h)

He studied at the University of Adelaide for a Bachelor of Arts. He worked at the Bureau of Meteorology as a meteorological assistant, and he worked there for 5-6 years before he first enlisted in Adelaide but he was rejected because of his eyesight. On the 2nd of October 1916 he tried to enlist again. He was accepted and given the rank of gunner, barely a month after he was promoted thanks to his leadership skills. He was in the 7th Field artillery reinforcements, 27. The Artillery was a great threat to Germans. They could incapacitate hundreds of people with just one shrapnel bomb. They could destroy tanks and aircraft.

Tim embarked on 9th of November 1917 on the HMAT A15 on Port Sydney in Melbourne with the Army Medical Corps, the Field Artillery Brigade Reinforcements, and the railway unit, flying corps, medical officers and the 5 division signal company. He had gotten promoted on that day to corporal. From there he travelled to Alexandria in Egypt, to Toronto in Canada, where he got redirected to Southampton in UK and arrived on 4th January 1918. On the same day, his battalion marched out of Southampton and they went to Heytesbury. On the 18th of March, he was transported overseas to France, by the 19th he had reached the AGBD (Australian General Base Depot) and he prepared for his first battle.

The Battle of St Quentin 21st March – 23rd March, the battle was during the big German offensive. He fought as artillery reinforcements. He fought under that rank “Corporal” and he did not get wounded in any way. The battle was won almost 2 days after. The Michael offensive was a total of 7 battles over 16 days and was won. The artillery proved be a great help in the battles against that aircrafts and tanks that the Germans made (The Germans had an advantage on technology than the British in WW1).

Once the war ended Tim got promoted to Sargent on the 9th September 1919 because of his leadership skills that also made him the director of the Bureau of Meteorology.

He had returned to Australia in the 22nd of September in 1919. He had acquired 2 medals:

• The British war medal
• The Victory medal

After the war Tim returned to the Sydney office of the Bureau of Meteorology in 1919 and moved to Melbourne in 1929. In Melbourne he had gotten promoted to senior meteorologist. He later had gotten promoted as a member of the Far East regional commission in 1938 and less than a year later he had gotten promoted again to the position “member of the international commission for aeronautical commission for aeronautical meteorology. Also in that same year he had gotten promoted to supervising meteorologist and retained that position for 3 years. In 1942 he was a candidate for the director of bureau meteorology, but he lost, but he became assistant to the director of the bureau of meteorology. In 1950 he became the director of the bureau of meteorology, and was for 5 years before he retired at the age of 65. He was in retirement for 23 years before he died in 1982, of old age at 92, in Glen, Victoria, unmarried. (source: http://www.eoas.info/biogs/P003313b.htm)