WALKER, George
(Service number 6/3910)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Lance Corporal |
|---|
Birth
| Date | abt 1887 | Place of Birth | Otiake, North Otago, New Zealand |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | |||
| Occupation | Motor Mechanic | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | |||
| Next of Kin | Joseph Walker (father), Otiake, North Otago, New Zealand | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 9th Reinforcements Canterbury Infantry Battalion, C Company | ||
| Date | 8 January 1916 | ||
| Transport | Maunganui | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington, New Zealand | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Canterbury Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
Award Circumstances and Date
No information
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
|---|---|
| Where Captured and by Whom | |
| Actions Prior to Capture | |
| PoW Serial Number | |
| PoW Camps | |
| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | 1 October 1916 | Age | 29 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | France | ||
| Cause | Died of wounds | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Caterpillar (New Zealand),Memorial, Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval,, Somme, France | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | On Memorial wall, Timaru; Kurow War Memorial (as C Walker?); Fairlie War Memorial | ||
Biographical Notes
George Walker was the son of Mr and Mrs Joseph Walker, of Otaike, North Otago, New Zealand. He attended Otiake School from 1893 to 1897, when he left to work at home. Later it was reported that on leaving home he worked for some time as one of the chauffeurs on the Mount Cook motor service. He went on to somtimes operate as a private chauffeur in Canterbury, and at the time of his enlistment it was reported he was working for Mr Gerard of Snowdon Station.
George enlisted on 20 October 1915. In January he embarked on the HMNZT Maunganui with the 9th Reinforcements, bound for the Suez. He disembarked there in February, joining the 2nd Battalion Canterbury Infantry regiment at Moscar a month later.
On 7 April 1916 George left Egypt for France. He was soon in action - only three months later (27 July) George was admitted to the No8 Casualty Clearing Station (CCS) suffering deafness, but was discharged back to his unit about a week later. On 26 September George was promoted to Lance Corporal, serving with a Lewis Gun section.
A matter of days later, George met a fatal end. The Timaru Herald recounted that the news was only recieved home much later, reporting on 5 December: “... Mr Joseph Walker, of Otiake (says our own correspondent), last week received the sad news that his son Lance Corporal George Walker, was believed to have died from wounds while in action on Oct 1st." The report went on to mention his background and stated: "...Lance Corporal Walker was a very steady, industrious young fellow, and was very popular wherever he went." George's parents, no dount distressed at the loss of their son. still had two more sons serving in France - one with the Ninth and one with the Twelfth Reinforcements.
George was buried in the Caterpillar Valley Cemetery in Belgium.
Sources
Cenotaph database (October 2014); Timaru Herald, 5 Dec 1916 (http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/)
External Links
Related Documents
Researched and Written by
Ann Munro, SC branch NZSG; Tony Rippin, South Canterbury Museum
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.