| Name |
WALTER Frederick Lionel |
| Residence |
Between 1943 and 2018 |
Geelong and district  [1] |
- Fred and his parents, along with his brothers (Ken and Denis) and sister (Helen), lived in several places mainly in Geelong and district including Paraparap, Rockbank, Leopold, Torquay, Bellbrae, Wangaratta, Belmont and Ceres.
|
| Born |
26 Nov 1943 |
'Kooringa', 48 Mount Pleasant Road, Belmont VIC [2] |
- The midwife in attendance at the birth of Frederick Lionel WALTER (1943- ) was the much-loved and well-known Sister PONTING (married name: Florence Maud Ann ELDRIDGE, 1902-1997).
|
| Gender |
Male |
| Education |
Between 1950 and 1953 |
Leopold Primary School, Leopold VIC [3] |
| Primary |
| Baptism |
19 Jul 1953 |
St. Mark's Church Vicarage, Leopold VIC [4] |
| Education |
Between 1954 and 1955 |
Torquay Primary School, Torquay VIC [5] |
| Primary |
|
|
| Education |
1956 |
Geelong Junior Technical School, Geelong VIC [6] |
| Secondary |
| Education |
1957 |
Wangaratta Technical School, Wangaratta VIC [7] |
| Secondary |
| Education |
Between 1958 and 1959 |
Geelong Junior Technical School, Geelong VIC [6] |
| Secondary |
| Military |
Between 7 Jan 1960 and 6 Jan 1969 |
Australia and South Vietnam [8] |
| Served in the Australian Regular Army for nine years including active service in South Vietnam. |
- Enlisted on 7 Jan 1960 in the Australian Army (No: 342848) as an Apprentice Radio Technician.
Saw active service between 11 May 1967 and 23 Apr 1968 as a Sergeant radar technician with Detachment, 131 Divisional Locating Battery Workshop, RAEME, part of the Australian Task Force at Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam. Discharged on 6 Jan 1969 with the rank of Temporary Staff-Sergeant.
|
| Occupation |
Between 7 Jan 1960 and 6 Jan 1969 |
| Retired, Soldier (Army Apprentice), Craftsman, Corporal, Sergeant and Staff-Sergeant (Radar Technician) |
- Apprenticeship served at the Army Apprentices' School, Balcombe VIC and 2 Base Workshop RAEME, Moorebank, NSW. At the completion of the apprenticeship continued serving at 2 Base Workshop before being posted to the Army Guided Weapons Trials Unit at Woomera, South Australia. Returned to Sydney (Holsworthy) for a short while prior to posting to South Vietnam (SVN) with the Detachment from 131 Divisional Locating Battery Workshop, RAEME. Spent 349 days in SVN prior to a final posting at the Technical Services Unit (RAEME) at Army Headquarters, Albert Park Barracks in Melbourne, VIC. Discharged from the Army on 6 Jan 1969.
|
| Occupation |
Between 21 Apr 1970 and 28 Nov 2003 |
Gordon Institute of Technology and Deakin University, Geelong VIC [9] |
| Senior Electronics Technician |
| Retired |
28 Nov 2003 |
Waurn Ponds Campus, Deakin University, Pigdons Road, Waurn Ponds VIC [10] |
| _UID |
FAB469DA73BB495993231E5E88B98E591B3B |
| Notes |
- ZZ File Root: _ROOT
INDI: [I890] Frederick Lionel WALTER
- Fred enlisted in the Australian Regular Army on 7 Jan 1960, firstly spending three years at the Army Apprentices' School in Balcombe VIC where he undertook training as a Radio Technician. On graduation (as App/Staff Sgt.) he joined RAEME (Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) to complete his training as a Radar Technician. During the next six years he was posted to Moorebank NSW, Bandiana VIC, Woomera SA, Holsworthy NSW, Nui Dat South Vietnam (Australian Force Vietnam) and finally to Albert Park Barracks in Melbourne VIC. During that time he was promoted to the rank of Temporary Staff-Sergeant. Fred is often heard to say that he does not regret one minute of his time in the Army and his first love is still anything to do with radar.
Short periods working at Laverton and back in Geelong followed his discharge, prior to joining the staff of the Gordon Institute of Technology as an Electronics Technician in the Physics Department. Over the following 33 years he working firstly for that institution and then Deakin University where he was a Senior Technician in the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences Workshop. His duties in the workshop include a considerable input into many research projects. A consequence of this is that Fred has co-authored several scientific papers particularly in the area of electronic instrumentation as applied to electro-chemistry. Retirement from the workforce came on 28 Nov 2003 when Fred was very graciously farewelled from Deakin University. Since retirement it is very difficult to see where work fitted into the scheme of things!
On 22 Aug 1970 Fred married Ruth Elaine WARD at Ashby Methodist Church, Manifold Heights. Fred and Ruth have two children, Jennifer Lorraine who is married to Brad PHILP has three children from an earlier marriage - Lyndall, Claudia and Patrick. Son, Bradley Frederick completed a post-graduate diploma majoring in voice after completing a four year B. Mus under-graduate degree at the Conservatorium of Music at the University of Tasmania in Hobart. He currently is employed as a Manager Learning and Social Techniques at the Geelong Grammer School, Corio VIC.
Fred was a foundation member of the Genealogical Society of Victoria, Geelong Group (now the Geelong Family History Group Inc.) and he has held the offices of president and secretary of that group. He is still very much an active researcher looking at many names and has with the help of his family transcribed the cemeteries at Steiglitz, Lorne, Birregurra and Sutherland's Creek. He has also jointly indexed and published the Admission Books of the Geelong Infirmary and Benevolent Asylum with Heather COX who coincidentally also has very strong connections with the Victorian town of Casterton. More recent projects have been the editing of the Pre-registration Burials from Christ Church, Geelong and the placing of the Admission Books mentioned above on the world wide web.
Fred's great grandfather, Ambrose Willcock WALTER (1833-1915) is an abiding interest as is the early history of the Barrabool Shire where Ambrose was an early councillor.
The highlight of Fred's family history search will be the day he manages to locate the death of Henry Thomas SUMNER (1857-?) a maternal great grandfather, last known leaving Pentridge Gaol on 22 July, 1892.
Chronological Events in the life of Frederick Lionel WALTER (b. 1943)
7 Jan 1960 to 8 Dec 1962: Army Apprentices' School, Balcombe, VIC.
Jan 1963 to Jul 1964: 2 Base Workshop RAEME, Moorebank, NSW.
Jul 1964 to Dec 1966: Australian Guided Weapons Trials Unit, Woomera, SA.
Dec 1966 to May 1967: 131 Div. Loc. Battery Workshop, Holsworthy, NSW.
May 1967 to Apr 1968: Det. 131 Div. Loc. Battery Workshop, Nui Dat, South Vietnam.
Apr 1968 to 6 Jan 1969: Technical Services Unit, Albert Park Barracks, Melbourne, VIC.
8 Jan 1969: Appointed as a electronics technician by Hawker de Havilland Australia to work as a civilian with the RAAF at the Laverton Transmitter Station. Without a doubt the most boring and uninteresting job I have ever experienced.
Apr 1969: Cut my losses and took a job with a local electronics firm servicing domestic appliances. Not to be recommended to anybody!
21 Apr 1970: Applied for and obtained a position as a Laboratory Technician with the Gordon Institute of Technology in Geelong. Technician in charge of the Physics Workshop until Apr 1977. With the exception of Woomera the most interesting time of my professional life.
22 Aug 1970: Married Ruth WARD who is a Teacher/Librarian at a local Lutheran primary school. We have two children. Jenny, b. 1972, who is a housewife and Brad, b. 1974, who is a Manager Learning and Social Techniques and trained singer.
1 Apr 1977: Gordon Institute of Technology and Geelong Teachers' College amalgamate to form Deakin University and I become Senior Technician in the Faculty of Science Workshop (now the Biological & Chemical Sciences Workshop). Responsibilities are mainly designing and building electronics equipment for research purposes in all parts of the faculty including Chemistry and Biological Sciences. We do a lot of work with PCs and build dedicated microcomputers, particularly for Electrochemistry.
28 Nov 2003: Retirement from Deakin University.
My other interests these days include a passion for history and particularly family history which afflicted me about 1978. I have been president and secretary of the Geelong Family History Group Inc.
____
Geelong Advertiser, early May 1968
Army Man Back From Vietnam
Sergeant Frederick Walter, eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. S.F. Walter, of Merrawarp Road, Ceres, returned recently by charter flight after 12 months service as a radar technician with the Australia Task Force in Vietnam.
After graduating at Balcombe Army Apprentices' School, he was stationed at Moorebank, near Sydney for 18 months, then posted to Woomera Weapons Research Establishment for two and a half years.
Sergeant Walter, who is in his ninth year of service with the Regular Army, has acquired a varied and interesting collection of colored slides covering Woomera, Taiwan, Singapore and Vietnam.
On completion of leave he is to be posted to Army Headquarters, Melbourne.
|
| Person ID |
I890 |
The Relatives of F.L. WALTER |
| Last Modified |
20 Nov 2024 |
1943 - (81 years)
