WALTER Edgar Ernest, DCM

1888 - 1957  (68 years)

• Name	WALTER Edgar Ernest
  Suffix	DCM
  Born	11 Oct 1888	Armstrong VIC   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Military	Between 10 Apr 1916 and 3 Mar 1919	ENG and the Western Front in BEL and FRA   [2]
  	Served during WWI as No. 1007, Sergeant, 39th. Battalion, Australian Infantry, AIF.
  	Embarked in Melbourne VIC on Ship No. A11, HMAT Ascanius. Faced a Court Martial on 19 Dec 1917 and found Not Guilty. Charge unknown - record has been requested (24 Nov 2012).
  Military Award	31 Aug 1918	near Cléry-sur-Somme, Somme, Hauts-de-France France   [3]
  	Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM)
  	Extract from THE THIRTY-NINTH, The History of the 39th Battalion Australian Imperial Force written by Lieutenant-Colonel A.T. Paterson, DSO, MC, VD, pages 229-230. "In this action Sergeant Edgar E. Walter distinguished himself. He was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. There is no better way to describing his bravery than by quoting in full the recommendation forwarded to headquarters: 10th. Aust. Infantry (ed. Brigade) 3rd. Australian (ed. Division) 39th Battalion AIF. 1007, Sergeant Edgar Ernest WALTER "Near Cléry-sur-Somme (ed. in Northern France) on 31 August 1918, for most conspicuous gallantry in action. During the advance his company was held up by strong machine gun fire and this N.C.O. called out his section and led them against the opposition. He out-distanced his men and joined by an N.C.O. from the 38th Battalion rushed the position and succeeded by bombing and rifle fire in silencing eight enemy guns and put the teams to flight - the guns were all captured. Afterwards in a C.T. (ed. communications trench) they encountered a number of machine guns - again this N.C.O. was equal to the occasion and the crews not killed were captured. Still later in a storming party Sergeant WALTER was once more doing splendidly with Corporal Grinton of 38th Battalion, this time these intrepid N.C.Os. captured three high velocity enemy guns. These incidents were carried out with the utmost coolness and utter disregard of personal danger and had a very inspiring effect on the Company which advanced successfully to the final objective." (sgd.) J. Gellibrand MG (ed. Major-General, GOC 3rd. Division, AIF) [It is interesting to note that the Corporal A.V. Grinton of the 38th. Battalion mentioned above was also awarded a DCM for his part in these heroic events. (ed.)] The Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) was only awarded to NCOs and other ranks and was ranked second only to the Victoria Cross (VC) when gallantry in action was awarded. (ed.)
  Military	18 Jun 1940
  	Home service during WWII with the 5th. Infantry Training Depot at Colac VIC in the 2nd. AIF (No: V364315)
  Military	Between 18 Jun 1940 and 7 Apr 1941	Colac VIC   [4]
  	Home service with the 2nd. AIF during WWII, as No. V85162, Pte., 3rd. Infantry Training Depot.
  	Lowered his age by one year at enlistment.
  Military	Between 26 Mar 1942 and 7 Aug 1942
  	Home service with the 2nd. AIF during WWII, No. V364315, Pte., 3rd. Battalion, Volunteer Defence Corps.
  Occupation	Stoker/Storekeeper/Postmaster
  _UID	12650377127C49B9AE25E7618F092DBE1FF8
  Died	27 Jul 1957	Repatriation and General Hospital, Heidelberg VIC   [5]
  	Age: 68y
  Buried	30 Jul 1957	Presbyterian Section, Box Hill Cemetery, Box Hill VIC   [6]
  	Location: P-157-0038
  Person ID	I768	The Relatives of F.L. WALTER
  Last Modified	30 Mar 2022

  
  

  Father	WALTER Thomas Ernest,   b. 18 Feb 1866, Barrabool Hills VIC ,   d. 5 Dec 1940, Church Street, Camperdown VIC  (Age 74 years)
  Mother	COOK Elizabeth,   b. Abt 1867, Kingston VIC ,   d. Oct 1894, Hamilton VIC  (Age ~ 27 years)
  Married	1887
  Family ID	F163	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	CRAWFORD Catherine Isabella,   b. 16 Aug 1886, Dunkeld VIC ,   d. 24 Aug 1950, Wonga Park VIC  (Age 64 years)
  Married	14 Apr 1914	Victoria Valley VIC   [7]
  Children	1. WALTER Enid Margaret,   b. 24 Jun 1920, Victoria Valley VIC ,   d. 5 May 1972, East Doncaster VIC  (Age 51 years)
  Family ID	F59	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos » Slide Show		Sgt. Edgar Ernest WALTER, DCM (1888-1957) Served with distinction in the 39th. Battalion, Australian Infantry during WWI.
  		Thomas Ernest WALTER (1866-1940) with his first wife Elizabeth (m.n. COOK, 1867-1894) and their first born son Edgar Ernest WALTER (1888-1968).
  		Thomas Ernest WALTER (1866-1940) and his second wife Marian Anna (m.n. NEATE, 1883-1968) with the children of Thomas' first marriage to Elizabeth (m.n. COOK, 1867-1894) namely Edgar Ernest WALTER (1888-1857), Elsie Muriel WALTER (1892-1985) and Ralph Thomas WALTER (1890-1979) and the three first born of Thomas' second marriage to Marian Anna (m.n. NEATE, 1883-1968) namely Cecil Raymond WALTER (1904-1962), Eva May (Sue) WALTER (1905-1999) and Gwendoline WALTER (1908-1992).
  		The Hamilton Borough, Victoria - WWI Honour Roll located in the Hamilton Town Hall The WWI service of No. 1007, Sergeant, Edgar Ernest WALTER, DCM (1888-1957), 39th. Battalion, Australian Infantry is recorded on this panel. Lest We Forget.

  
  

  Documents

  Letter from the Base Records Office of the AIF to Catherine Isabella WALTER (m.n. CRAWFORD, 1886-1950) confirming the award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) to her husband Sgt. Edgar Ernest WALTER (1888-1957).

  
  

  Headstones

  Headstone of Edgar Ernest WALTER (1888-1957).

  
  

• Sources

  [S2619] ZZ Place Record: Armstrong VIC, Place Rec Id [P2578]. [S2618] ZZ Place Record: ENG and the Western Front in BEL and FRA, Place Rec Id [P2577]. [S8270] ZZ Place Record: near Cléry-sur-Somme, Somme, Hauts-de-France France, Place Rec Id [P10512]. [S540] ZZ Place Record: Colac VIC, Place Rec Id [P4]. [S4535] ZZ Place Record: Repatriation and General Hospital, Heidelberg VIC, Place Rec Id [P5625]. [S2617] ZZ Place Record: Presbyterian Section, Box Hill Cemetery, Box Hill VIC, Place Rec Id [P2576]. [S1094] ZZ Place Record: Victoria Valley VIC, Place Rec Id [P652].