Victoria Cross : Lance Corporal W Peeler, 3 Pioneer Battalion, AIF

Victoria Cross. Engraved reverse suspender with recipient's details; reverse cross with date of action.

Walter Peeler was born near Castlemaine, Victoria on 9 August 1887. He enlisted in February 1916 and joined the 3rd Pioneer Battalion. He was slightly wounded during the battle of Messines in June 1917.

In October 1917 Peeler was one of several Lewis gunners attached to the 37th Battalion for the attack on Broodseinde Ridge. In the forefront, he led attacks against a series of enemy posts, eventually accounting for over 30 of the enemy. For his actions he was awarded the Victoria Cross. The recommendation for the award reads:

'On 4th October, 1917, East of Ypres, L/Cpl. PEELER was No. 1 of Lewis Gun team attached to 37th Infantry Bn. Australian Imperial Force.
At zero hour he moved forward with the first wave of the assault and after covering about 100 yards encountered an enemy party in a shell hole who were sniping at the advancing troops.
This N.C.O. immediately rushed the position and accounted for nine enemy troops and cleared the way for the advance. This happened on three separate occasions and each time he accounted for a number of the enemy.
During operations he was directed to a position from which an enemy machine gun was being fired on our troops. He located and killed the gunner and the remainder of the enemy party ran into a dugout close by. From this shelter they were dislodged by a bomb and ten of the enemy ran out. These were disposed of by L/Corpl. PEELER.
On the morning referred to this N.C.O. actually accounted for over thirty of the enemy. He displayed an absolute fearlessness in making his way ahead of the first wave of the assault and the fine example which he set ensured the success of the attack against most determined opposition.'

During the Second World War, Peeler understated his age by 14 years and enlisted in the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion. After serving in Syria, he was captured with his unit in Java during 1942 and spent three and a half years as a prisoner of the Japanese. He was a Custodian of Victoria's Shrine of Remembrance between 1934 and 1940 and from 1945 until 1964. For his services with the shrine he was awarded the British Empire Medal in 1961. He died on 23 May 1968.

Peeler's Victoria Cross is accompanied by the British Empire Medal, service medals for the First and Second World Wars, and coronation medals for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II.