Walter Henry BULLOCK

Service Number:	7202
Enlisted:	24 September 1916, Place of Enlistment, Brisbane Queensland.
Last Rank:	Private
Last Unit:	16th Infantry Battalion (WW1)
Born:	Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 24 April 1889
Home Town:	Bulimba, Brisbane, Queensland
Schooling:	Bulimba State School, Queensland, Australia
Occupation:	Post Man
Died:	Natural Causes , Brisbane, Queensland Australia, 17 October 1974, aged 85 years
Cemetery:	Mount Thompson Memorial Gardens & Crematorium, Queensland
Memorials:	Bulimba Memorial Park

World War 1 Service

24 Sep 1916:	Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 7202, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), Place of Enlistment, Brisbane Queensland.
24 Jan 1917:	Involvement Private, 7202, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ayrshire embarkation_ship_number: A33 public_note: ''
24 Jan 1917:	Embarked Private, 7202, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), HMAT Ayrshire, Sydney
22 Aug 1919:	Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 7202

Walter Henry Bullock.

Walter Henry Bullock was born in 1889 in Brisbane to Edward and Harriett Bullock. He was enrolled in Bulimba School in 1895 and went on to work as a postman. He lived at home in Nuttall Street, Bulimba.

Walter enlisted in Brisbane on 24 September 1916 aged 27 years.

He initially served in the 11th Depot Battalion as a Private before being designated a signaller with the 15th Infantry Battalion. He embarked from Sydney, Australia on the “HMAT Ayrshire” A33 on 24 January 1917 and arrived in Devonport, England on 12 April 1917. Walter attended the No. 4 Group Signal School in Southampton, England before being posted to France on 17 October 1917 where he served until 7 April 1919.

Returning to England he applied for a post-war training course with the Postal Telephone Factory in Birmingham from April to June before returning to Australia on 13 October 1919.

The Bullock family still lived in Nuttall Street. To celebrate Walter’s home coming the family had decorated the family home, as encouraged by the government.

Private Walter Bullock was discharged on 21 November 1919. He was entitled to the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

After the war some of the ex-soldiers became members of the RSSILA (Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia), and by 1921, Walter was active on the Committee in Balmoral as were other fellow ex-soldiers. He also returned to Post Office employment, married Anna Martha Tyler in 1924 and was involved in the local Methodist Church. Walter retired in 1954, after 41 years of service for the Post Office.

Walter Henry Bullock died in 1974 aged 85 years and is buried at Mt Thompson Crematorium.

Walter’s son, Jack has commented, “The palm tree for my father was planted on the corner of Oxford and Godwin Streets on the footpath. The tree was removed when the corner was truncated for ease of traffic movement and never replaced. I can remember, as a lad, being shown the tree in the mid-1930’s.”

Walter’s son, John recalls his father, Walter Henry Bullock, and his maternal uncle Francis Wesley Tyler both served in Europe during the First World War, with Mr Tyler being awarded the Military Medal for bravery.
Courtesy of Bulimba History Org.

Virtual
War Memorial
Australia