Private Walter Charles Llewellyn Roberts

Walter Charles Llewellyn Roberts was born on 15 December 1893 at Brisbane, Queensland, to parents Charles and Rosina (née Scurfield). He was 21 years old when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 30 June 1915. At the time of enlistment, he stated that he had been working as a fireman for six months. He embarked at Brisbane with the 8th reinforcements of the 15th Battalion aboard HMAT Kyarra on 16 August 1915. His father, Corporal Charles Henry Roberts, also served in the AIF as a bandsman and railway engine driver.

Roberts served with the battalion at Gallipoli and was also a member of the battalion band as a trombonist. During late 1917 and again in early 1918, he spent some time in hospital in France, but rejoined the battalion upon recovery. Before returning to Australia, he married Eunice Margaret MacInnes at the Hammersmith’s Registrar’s Office, London, on 12 February 1919. Their marriage certificate mentions that his occupation at the time was that of a donkeyman in the Merchant Service meaning that he would have been responsible for stoking and maintaining boilers, greasing engine parts, etc in the ship’s engine room.

Roberts returned to Australia aboard Beltana on 2 June 1919.

After the war, he worked as a labourer and spent some time living in Melbourne during the 1920s and 1930s . He also worked as a seaman and carter whilst living in Melbourne. By 1954, Roberts was living in the Sydney suburb of Granville. Walter Roberts died at Narrabeen, New South Wales on 13 March 1971.