Rees, Walter

Collection relating to 4572 Private (Pte) Walter Rees who enlisted in the 7th Battalion, 14th Reinforcements in July 1915, before transferring to the 57th Battalion AIF in April 1916. Comprises typed transcriptions of letters, a cablegram, a postcard and Christmas cards written by Pte Rees to his sister, Gert. He writes about the journey aboard HMAT Themistocles, mentioning there was plenty of fun and amusement, with a 'good crowd of men' and 'some splendid officers'. Many letters are relatively short in length, and primarily describe the conditions he faced in the trenches in France, and the times away from the front line whilst billetted in rural areas. His 2 page letter of 12 June 1917 from 'somewhere in France' is the most detailed letter, in which he recounts the horrors of shell fire in the front line and the wounds and deaths of fellow soldiers that resulted. Pte Walter Rees was killed in action on 14 October 1917. The existence of the original material is unknown.