Ypres

Trip to Ypres

Today we drove to Ypres in Belgium to take a look at the town and see if we could find my Great Uncle Walters memorial stone. It was a beautiful day, finally Spring time has come to the North of France and Belgium and it was around 16.5 degrees. Ypres is about 40 mins drive from Mami's house in Violaines.

The town is very pretty, it is an old fortified town with high walls around to protect the city from invaders. The location of Walters memorial is supposed to be in the Menin Gate which is one of the entrances to the city.You can see it is well protected with a moat as well !

The other side of the wall harbours typical Flemmish architecture..

The memorial is over several levels with over 250 000 names engraved in the stone.

Some ancient statues abound

After a walk we decided to search for Walters name. The directions we had  didn't make sense to us but eventually we found him by looking for his regiment number.

Voila  ! MONTEITH W !

Here is Jen with Mami and Balrog below Walters Place.

I included this picture because I'm sure Dad will want to scroll through all the names in 7th Australian Infantry Regiment to see if he recognizes and names.

There is also a book with the names and details of all the remembered Soldiers here.

Here is a more detailed account of Walters live in the Army thanks to Pete for digging into the records
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Pa was one of seven, and was closest to Walter, who was killed in WWI.

 

Walter volunteered in 1916 at the age of 18 years and 1 month, coming from the family's potato farm near Bungaree near Ballarat.  He was sent for training in Bendigo. He sailed from Melbourne in June 1916, arriving in Plymouth in August.  In October he was sent across to Belgium where he joined 7th Battalion. He was shot in the thigh on 25th February 1917 and within ten days was back in England in hospital.  He was finally discharged from hospital in July, and was sent to the 38th battalion in France on 8th August.  From here it seems he was probably killed in action on 4th October 1917 in the Battle of Broodseinde, near Ypres.  Broodseinde was considered a successful battle, though the battalion suffered 29% casualties.  There is no grave, but his name is remembered at Menin Gate in Ypres. 

 

It seems there followed a frustrating time for his mother Elizabeth (our great grand mother).  She received a letter from the army in February 1918 advising that he had been wounded.  The letter was the same standard form as the one she received for the earlier gunshot wound, and stated that in the absence of any other evidence it could be assumed that he was progressing satisfactorily.  Having heard nothing from him by May 1918 she made further enquiries, fearing he may have "lost his reason" as she had heard of this happening to other soldiers, which might explain why she hadn't heard from him.  Eventually she had word nearly a year after his death that he was missing in action, presumed killed on 4/10/1917.  Even though he had made out a will before he left leaving everything to Elizabeth, and making her executor, when she enquired about personal effects she was told they could only deal with his father.  A couple of years later she received a letter asking if she wanted a cross or a star of David on his head stone.  On replying she ended by noting this was the third time she had answered such a request.  As a footnote Walter's brother Robert wrote to the army in 1928 requesting any further effects be forwarded, but was told everything has been sent to their father Hugh already.

 

Found a bit more about Walter.  On the red cross site there are a couple of eye witness accounts of his actual death.  He was killed by a shell exploding and a fragment striking him in the forehead as they advanced.  That panel 51 you mentioned is for the panel at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.  His panel reference for Menin Gate is 7-17-23-25-27-29-31.

It was quite strange to be here and close to a relative I've never met, and quite odd to think if Great uncle Walter hadn't given his life for his country (OK someone elses country) the world as we know it may be very different today. Jen might have been born German instead of Belge, in fact we might all be speaking German.
Thanks Uncle Wally !