COLE, Walter Rivers
| Service Number: | 371 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 July 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 4th Machine Gun Company |
| Born: | Cygnet, Tasmania, Australia, 1 August 1894 |
| Home Town: | Wynyard, Waratah/Wynyard, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Wynyard State School, Tasmania, Australia |
| Occupation: | Upholsterer |
| Died: | Killed in action, Belgium, 18 October 1917, aged 23 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient) |
World War 1 Service
| 4 Jul 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 371, 4th Machine Gun Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Sep 1916: | Involvement Private, 371, 4th Machine Gun Company, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Commonwealth embarkation_ship_number: A73 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Sep 1916: | Embarked Private, 371, 4th Machine Gun Company, HMAT Commonwealth, Melbourne |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Walter Cole was reported to have one of the first four men to volunteer from the Wynyard district, along with two of his brothers, and his persistent efforts to pass the medical test were typical of many Australians. He was reported to have been rejected by the Army on no fewer than ten occasions and was successful at his eleventh attempt.
He was rejected for ailments of the heart. Known as ‘Wallie’ he was reported to have travelled to Hobart five times; to Ulverstone and Burnie several times, and even to Melbourne, in his attempts to enlist.
His brother, 3499 Sergeant Sydney Roland Cole 40th Battalion AIF, was an original Anzac and later died of wounds 13 September 1918, aged 22.
Another brother, Robert Wilshire Cole, served with the Army Medical Corps and returned to Australia during 1919.
They were the sons of William Henry and Annie Louise Cole who were for many years the much-loved postmaster and postmistress of Wynyard.
Wallie’s grave was not found, and his mother requested that his name be placed on the same headstone as his brother Sydney, who was buried in the St Sever Cemetery Extension in Rouen, France. She was informed that the request could not be complied with.
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