Military History

Walter is listed as being killed in action on 24th August 1916. The 2nd Battalion war diary entries for the period 23rd to 25th August are transcribed below.

Bazentin le Petit – 23 Aug 1916: The hostile shelling continued almost without a break until afternoon, when it slackened a little. An enemy relief was surprised by our covering parties and Lewis Guns east of High Wood early in the morning and one prisoner came in.

Our snipers successfully engaged the enemy who was seen moving in and to the east of High Wood.

Bazentin le Petit – 24 Aug 1916: During the night and early morning the enemy’s artillery was again very active. Our snipers and Lewis Guns were again very successful about ? and accounted for several Germans seen moving to and from High Wood.

The work of making two strong posts in the forward sap made excellent progress. A T head trench has been commenced across this sap near its Eastern extremity. The enemy infantry were very active after the attack by the Bn on our left upon the Intermediate Line and a hostile M.G. was brought upon the ridge near our forward Sap. This was engaged by our own machine guns and silenced.

Two prisoners of 2^nd Bavarian Reserve were taken by our covering patrols. They wore full equipment and carried greatcoats & various baggage as though they had made full preparations for coming over. They seemed quite pleased to have come and conversed readily in German.

Bazentin le Petit – 25 Aug 1916: Early this morning a figure moving along our parapet of our forward sap in the dawn, having been challenged twice, hesitated and eventually bolted away. He was brought down by rifle fire rushing from a shell hole to shell hole a little way. As he fell he was enveloped in flames. This proved to be a German and beside many luxuries carried in his equipment and in parcels he bore an expired leave ticket. Presumably he had come straight from leave to our front line. His gifts were greatly appreciated. He died of his wounds however, a bomb having been exploded by the bullet that struck him. He belonged to the 139^th Regt.

About 3.30pm small parties of the enemy were seen retiring across the open from the portion of Intermediate Trench line attacked by the battalion on our left yesterday. They were caught by our artillery, snipers and Lewis Guns and very few got back. Seventeen bodies could be counted from our forward sap. The numbers retiring were estimated at 30.