Walter Samuel DYER

Walter Dyer was born on 22 October 1892 at Elmhurst, Victoria. His parents were Samuel and Catherine (née Mackenzie) Dyer. He attended Scotch in 1908. He was a member of Cadets and the Rifle Club.

Walter was a farmer and grazier when he enlisted on 21 August 1914 at Broadmeadows, Victoria. He served in the 5th Battalion with the rank of Private. His Regimental Number was 1058.

Walter died on 25 April 1915 at Gallipoli. He was 22 years of age.

Service record

He was allotted to the 5th Battalion, but not to its Public Schools Company, which contained many other Scotch boys. On the voyage from Australia to the Middle East in November 1914, Walter or ‘Wally’ Dyer was found in the crews’ quarters gambling late at night and was punished with 10 days detention.

He was originally reported missing on 25 April. His sister wrote to the army reporting having heard of letters found on a body that may have been Walter’s and asking for information as her family’s anxiety was almost ‘unbearable’ (see below). His parents received a letter purportedly containing Walter’s identification disc and informing them simply that their son was ‘missing’. His service file contains a letter on the parents’ behalf trying to find out more about his status (reproduced below). In December 1916 he was officially declared killed in action.

The 1915 Scotch Collegian reported that a returned soldier last saw Dyer ‘lying unconscious after three shells had burst before their section, and had brought down every man in it, either wounded or killed.’ An officer later told this soldier that on going over the same ground where the shell had burst he had seen nothing of Dyer. Two accounts said he and four others went with Captain S. Clement to capture Turkish guns over the second ridge on the extreme left of the advance and never returned.

Walter Dyer has no known grave but is commemorated at the Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli, Turkey.

Photographs and Documents:

From Walter’s service file

From Walter’s service file

Sources: