William Raby Walker
Born 10 Oct 1886 - Died 20 Dec 1917
- Service number
- WWI 23/1861 AWMM
- Also known as
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- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Last rank
- WW1 Sergeant AWMM Canterbury Infantry Regiment AWMM
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
About
- Title
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- Forenames
- William Raby AWMM
- Surname
- Walker AWMM
- Ingoa
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- Also known as
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- Service number
- WWI 23/1861 AWMM
- Gender
- Male AWMM
- Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
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- Religion
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Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
- 10 Oct 1886 AWMM
- Date of birth
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- Place of birth
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- Birth notes
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- Address before enlistment
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- Post war occupation
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- Next of kin
- James Walker (father), Ferntown, Collingwood, Nelson, New Zealand AWMM
- Relationship status
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Wars and conflicts
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
- Campaign
- 1915-1916 AWMM Gallipoli AWMM
- 1914-1919 AWMM Western Front AWMM
- 1914-1916 AWMM Egypt AWMM
- 1917 AWMM Passchendaele AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Service number
- WWI 23/1861 AWMM
- Military service
- —
- Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
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Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
- Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) AWMM
Citation for Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM): (France Nov. 1917) "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when in command of a platoon in an isolated trench, when a party of the enemy about fifty strong attempted a raid. He showed great tactical ability in bringing a Lewis gun to bear on the threatened flank, covering it with a section of bombers, and caught the raiders with enfilade fire and decimated them. He had previously shown marked courage and devotion to duty." (London Gazette, 26 March 1918) AWMM - British War Medal (1914-1920) AWMM
- Victory Medal AWMM
- Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) AWMM
Training and Enlistment
- Military training
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- Branch Trade Proficiency
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- Enlistment
- WW1 16 Oct 1915 AWMM
Age 29 AWMM
Farmer/Civilian AWMM - Age on enlistment
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- Occupation before enlistment
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Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- WW1 08 Jan 1916 AWMM
HMNZT 38 or HMNZT 39 AWMM Vessel was Tahiti or Warrimoo AWMM Rifleman AWMM 3rd Reinforcements, 1st Battalion, E Company AWMM New Zealand Rifle Brigade AWMM
Prisoner of war
- Capture details
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- Days interned
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- Liberation date
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- POW liberation details
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- Liberation Repatriation
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- POW serial number
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Medical history
- Medical notes
- Hospital Diseases , Wounds, WWI AWMM
Wounded 18 July 1916 AWMM - Died of wounds, Cause of Death AWMM
- Hospital Diseases , Wounds, WWI AWMM
Last known rank
- Last rank
- WW1 Sergeant AWMM
Canterbury Infantry Regiment AWMM - Last rank
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Biographical information
- Sergeant Walker died in December 1917, a year which began with five months of trench warfare in the Salient, followed by six months of successful but costly attack by the Allied Forces on the enemy. The objective was to capture the Messines-Wytschaete Ridge and the high ground to Broodseinde and Passchendaele. The Battle of Messines took place in June.For the first time Australian and New Zealand troops took part in the fighting north of Ploegsteert Wood.On 31 July the Battles of Ypres began and ended on 10 November with the capture of Passchendaele. A graphic description of the life of the troops at this point in David Ferguson's History of the Canterbury Regiment gives an indication of the conditions "The trench warfare in the Ypres salient differed from the Division's earlier experiences at Armentieres only by the greater discomforts with which the troops had to centend at Ypres.The trenches were muddy and were as a rule without duck-walks, which meant that the feet of the garrison were almost always wet.There was very little weather-proof sleeping accommodation; and though hot food was sent up from cook-houses behind the line, it usually arrived fairly cold, on account of the long distance it had to be carried." (p. 221) AWMM
- Sergeant William Raby Walker DCM (1886-1917).
2 Battalion, 12th (Nelson) Company, Canterbury Regiment, 1NZEF
Born 10 October 1886 at Collingwood, Tasman District.
Son of James and (the late) Helen Walker - of Ferntown, Collingwood.
Prior to enlistment for war service William was employed as a farmer - on his fathers land at Triangle Valley, Puponga, Collingwood District.
He enlisted for war service on 20 October 1915 - at Trentham Military Training Camp, Wellington - aged 29 years,
Rifleman Walker embarked for overseas war service in January 1916 - aboard troop transport ship - either HMNZT 'Tahiti' or HMNZT 'Warrimoo'.
When he embarked he was a Rifleman with the New Zealand Rifle Brigade, 1st Battalion, E. Company, 3rd Reinforcements, 1NZEF.
On 8 February 1916 William disembarked, from his troop transport ship, at Suez. The same day he was admitted to the hospital with measles.
After 2 months - at NZEF training camp in Egypt - William embarked on 7 April 1916, from Egypt, for war service at France.
Arriving at France William joined the 2nd Battalion, 12th (Nelson) Company, 2nd Canterbury Infantry Regiment, 1NZEF- in the field of action, at France.
On 6 September 1916 William was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal.
William was twice wounded in action - on 15 July 1916 - and again on 17 September 1916.
On 27 October 1916 William was promoted to the rank of Sergeant.
Whilst serving at France William would be awarded the DCM (Distinguished Conduct Medal) - for bravery in the field.
The Citation (London Gazette 26 March 1918) read : "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty - at France November 1917 - when in command of a Platoon in an isolated trench when a party of the enemy (German) about 50 strong attempted a raid (on the trench). He showed great tactical ability in bringing in a Lewis (machine) gun to bear on the threatened flank - covering it with a section of the bombers and caught the (German) raiders with enfilade (machine gun) fire and decimated them. He had previously shown marked courage and devotion to duty".
On 20 December 1917 Sergeant Walker died of wounds - received in action in the field at Belgium. . He was 31 years of age.
Sergeant William R. Walker is buried at the Buttes New British Cemetery (NZ), Polygon Wood, Zonnebeke, West Vlaanderen, Belgium.
Sergeant William Raby Walker is also remembered in his hometown in New Zealand - on the Collingwood War Memorial, Collingwood, Tasman District.Public - Jenifer - Researcher - 5 February 2022 - Reference : Military File (Archway - National Library, New Zealand)
About death
- Death
- 20 Dec 1917 AWMM
Age 31 AWMM - Date of death
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- Age at death
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- Place of death
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- Cause of death
- Died of wounds AWMM
- Death notes
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- Cemetery
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- Cemetery name
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- Grave reference
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- Obituary
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- Memorial name
- Collingwood War Memorial, Tasman, NZPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 10 March 2016 - http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/collingwood-war-memorial
- Memorial reference
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Memorial
- Memorial name
- Buttes New British Cemetery (NZ) Memorial, Polygon Wood, Zonnebeke, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium AWMM
Sources
- External links
- Military personnel file
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R22015173
Further Reference - A Street Near You record
https://astreetnearyou.org/person/1737549/-
Further Reference - Commonwealth War Graves Commission Casualty record
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1737549
Further Reference - Passchendaele Museum Profile
https://archives.passchendaele.be/en/soldier/6321
Further Reference - New Zealand War Graves Trust
https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/
Further Reference
- Military personnel file
- References
- Macdonald, L. (1978). Passchendaele : the story of the third Battle of Ypres 1917. London : Penguin Books.
- Harper, G. (2000). Massacre at Passchendaele : the New Zealand story. Auckland, N.Z.: HarperCollins.
- McDonald, W. (2013). Honours and Awards to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Great War, 1914-1918. (3rd ed.). Hamilton, N.Z.: Richard Stowers.
- New Zealand Army Expeditionary Force. (1917). Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force Volume II. Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
16: 5 - Beattie, P.J. & Pomeroy, M. (2013-2020). Onward : portraits of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (vols 1-5). Auckland, New Zealand: Fair Dinkum Publications
Vol. 2: Includes portrait - Waite, F. (1919). The New Zealanders at Gallipoli. Auckland, N.Z.: Printed and published under Authority of the New Zealand Government by Whitcombe & Tombs.
- Ferguson, David (1921). The history of the Canterbury Regiment, N.Z.E.F. 1914-1919. Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd: Auckland, N.Z.
- Austin, W. (1924). The official history of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade (The Earl of Liverpool's Own). Wellington, N.Z.: L T Watkins.
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