CORNISH, Walter Thomas
| Service Number: | 2533 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 22 June 1915, Liverpool, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | 10th Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | Orange, New South Wales, Australia, 1895 |
| Home Town: | Orange, Orange Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | East Orange Public School |
| Occupation: | Railway Porter |
| Died: | Died of wounds, Belgium, 22 September 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery XXIV. H. 20A |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, East Orange Public School Memorial Avenue, East Orange Public School Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 22 Jun 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2533, 13th Infantry Battalion, Liverpool, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Aug 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2533, 13th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Shropshire embarkation_ship_number: A9 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Aug 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2533, 13th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Shropshire, Sydney | |
| 22 Sep 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Gunner, 2533, 10th Field Artillery Brigade , Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2533 awm_unit: 10th Australian Field Artillery Brigade awm_rank: Gunner awm_died_date: 1917-09-22 |
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"...2533 Pte (later Sgt) Walter Thomas Cornish, 13th (later 10th Field Artillery Brigade) Battalion, of Orange, NSW, son of Philip Thomas and Frances K. Cornish of Arncliffe, NSW, brother of 346 Gnr (later Sgt) Edmund Thomas Cornish, killed in action on 8 August 1918. A railway porter prior to enlisting, he embarked from Sydney aboard HMAT Shropshire (A9) on 20 August 1915. He died on 22 September 1917, at the 17th Casualty Clearing Station, Belgium from wounds received in action earlier that day, aged 22. He is buried in the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, Belgium." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)
Biography contributed by Bradley Bliss
Walter Thomas Cornish was the second of three boys born in London to Phillip and Frances Cornish. When Walter was a boy the family emigrated to Australia, settling in Orange. Walter and his older brother Edmund were educated at Orange East Public School; and both brothers went on to enlist in the First World War. A youngest brother – Thomas – also served in WWI, however there appears to be no record of his enlistment.
20 year old Walter enlisted in June 1915, ten months after Edmund. A private in the 13th Battalion, 7th Reinforcements, he embarked from Sydney in August, arriving at the Greek island of Lemnos in October. Walter was hospitalised two months later, suffering from frostbite. He would be hospitalised on two further occasions; with pleurisy, and influenza.
In March 1916 Walter joined his brother Edmund as a Gunner in the 10th Field Artillery Brigade. Three months later he joined the British Expeditionary Force in France. Walter was gassed in August 1917, but recovered sufficiently to rejoin his unit, only to sustain a gunshot wound a month later. Gunner Cornish died of his wounds on 22 September 1917. He is buried in Belgium.
Following Walter’s death his parents received a letter from Major Harold de Low, of the 38th Battery, in which he offered his condolences:
I would like to express to you my very, great appreciation of your son. He has been with me ever since I had the battery … and I always found him willing and cheerful, often under very trying circumstances. He was very cool under fire, and generally a man beyond his years in courage, ability and coolness.
Major de Low added:
Your other son, Sergeant Cornish, is one of my best men. He will, I believe, go over to England to train recruits.
This was not to be, Walter’s brother Edmund was killed in action 11 months later, in August 1918.
Walter’s name appears on the Orange East Public School Honour Roll and the St Joseph’s Church Orange Honour Roll alongside those of his brothers Edmund and Thomas.
Walter and Edmund’s names also appear on the memorial plaque in Newman Park, along with 14 others who had 16 pin oak trees planted in their honour in August 1919 by East Orange Public School principal Mr AT Caldwell.
In 1923 the Anzac Memorial Avenue of trees was planted along Bathurst Road to commemorate fallen WWI soldiers. A tree was planted in honour of “Private WS Cornish”; presumably Walter. The tree was donated by AW Deane.
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