Just Another Pair Of Socks

Melton District ANZACS

Walter Edwin WAKEHAM

Personal

Born: 30 October, 1881

Birth registration: Victorian Births, Deaths & Marriages Registration No. 20478

Birthplace: Ballan / Ballarat East, Victoria

Parents: Father: William Thomas Wakeham
Mother: Susan Wakeham (Nee Sugg)

Died: 26 October, 1961

Place of death: Registration No. 20291

Burial place: Ferntree Gully Cemetery, Ferntree Gully, Victoria, Australia

Awards and Honours

  • 1914-1915 Star
  • British War Medal 1914-20
  • Victory Medal

Battalions

8th Light Horse, 4th Reinforcement

Events

Enlistment

Regimental Service Number: 847

Enlistment date: 18 November, 1914 Melbourne

Age at enlistment: 32

Address at enlistment: 16 Tilson St, Ascot Vale

Religion: Church of England

Marital Status: Single

Next of kin: Mother: Susan Wakeham, 16 Tilson St, Ascot Vale

Physical Description: Height: 5 feet 6 inches
Weight: 11 stone
Complexion: Medium
Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Dark Brown
Distinctive marks: vaccination marks, mole on abdomen, 2 scars on left side of neck

Embarkation ship: HMAT A18 Wiltshire.

Rank: Sergeant

Return Date: 3 July, 1919

Return Vessel: PT Malta.

Arrival at Australia: 7 August, 1919.

Discharge Date: 6 October, 1919

War Service Summary

26/05/1915 - Taken on strength at Gallipoli
07/11/1915 - Hospitalised for 4 days with gastroenteritis.
27/12/15 - Sent to Alexandria
26/02/1916 - Marched to Heliopolis
30/03/1916 - Hospitalised with mumps though still suffering from Gastritis
15/04/1916 - Discharged to duty at Ismailia,
20/03/1917 -Promoted to Lance Corporal
01/06/1917 - At Shellal promoted to Temporary Corporal
19/07/1917 - With regiment at Abasan
02/11/1917 - Wounded in action at Beersheba, bullet wound to abdomen ...through L. chest wall through and through laterally.(Medical Case Sheet, 07/11/17)
08/12/1917 - Discharged from hospital
13/12/1917 - Marched in to rest camp in Port Said
09/01/1918 - From rest camp he returned to the regiment at Moascar
29/06/1918 - Promoted to sergeant
20/08/1918 - Admitted to hospital in Jerusalem suffering from Malaria. Transferred to hospital in Gaza then to Port Said.
03/10/1918 - Discharged to Port Said
18/11/1918 - Rejoined the 8th Regiment, Egypt Expeditionary Force
31/03/1919 - Severely reprimanded on for leaving camp without procuring an official order.
03/07/1919 - Embarked PT Malta to Australia

War Service Commemerated

Life After the War

Names of wife & children: Wife, Isabel Goodney. Married 1932/3949.

Place/s of residence:
Ascot Vale
1937 - 331 Hampshire Road, Sunshine; living with Isabel
1951 - Main Road, Sherbrooke, Victoria ; wrote to the army requesting a copy of his discharge papers as they had been stolen in a house robbery.

Occupations:
Farm labourer
Gardener

Sources

Australian War Memorial
Service Record
Embarkation Roll
Department of Justice BDM website. Married Certificate 1932/3949