The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2690) Lance Corporal John Wallace Walder, 6th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Craig Berelle, the story for this day was on (2690) Lance Corporal John Wallace Walder, 6th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

2690 Lance Corporal John Wallace Walder, 6th Battalion, AIF
DOW 8 January 1916
Photograph: P08261.008

Story delivered 29 January 2017

Today we remember and pay tribute to Lance Corporal John Wallace Walder.

John Walder was born in 1889 to James and Sarah Walder. His father came to Australia from London in the early 1870s to work on railway construction in Tasmania. However, finding himself unsuited to the work, he moved to the mainland, married, and brought up a large family on a property near Watchem in Victoria. John was born in nearby Donald, and attended school in Watchem West. When he was five years old his family suffered a tragedy when his elder brother David was killed in a house fire. However, thanks to his father’s efforts, 11 Walder children and their mother safely escaped.

John Walder went on to become a farmer like his father, and in May 1915 he became the third member of the Walder family to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force, following his brothers Alexander and Llewellyn. A fourth brother, Harry, would enlist in November 1916. Unlike Alexander and Llewellyn, who were posted to the 1st Pioneer Battalion, John Walder went into the 6th Battalion. He underwent a period of training in Australia before leaving Melbourne in August 1915 on board the troopship Anchises.

Private Walder was first sent to Egypt, where he continued training. There he had some contact with his brother Alexander, who had returned from Gallipoli. Alexander gleefully reported home that John had “got quite stout on the job”. John arrived on the Gallipoli peninsula in early November 1915. The major offensives were long over by that time, but the peninsula was still a dangerous place. Walder proved an
able soldier, and shortly after his arrival on Gallipoli was promoted to lance corporal.

A little over a week after his promotion, Walder was shot in the head and was evacuated to hospital in Cairo with a fractured skull. As the Australians were being evacuated from Gallipoli, Lance Corporal Walder rallied, and word was sent to his family that he seemed to be getting better. Alexander wrote to his parents:
I … hope and trust poor old Jack is on the improve. I have not heard any more than that he was on the mend, so he may go right back [to Australia] or to England. It is to be hoped he does.

Two days after Christmas, Walder’s condition deteriorated. On 8 January 1916 he died of wounds sustained on the Gallipoli peninsula. He was 26 years old.

In Australia his death was reported in the local newspaper:
[John] was in the prime of early manhood, and was brave and fearless as a soldier. He played his part in the war, and lost a life, which undoubtedly had a brilliant future … his lamentable death has been the source of universal regret.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among more than 60,000 Australians who died during the First World War. His photograph is displayed today beside the Pool of Reflection.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Lance Corporal John Wallace Walder, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Dr Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section