The AIF Project

Walter Herbert BECKENSALL

Regimental number190
Place of birthTimaru, New Zealand
SchoolFaraday Street State School, Carlton, Victoria
Age on arrival in Australia7 months
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationBootmaker
AddressMcIlwraith Street, North Carlton, Victoria
Marital statusWidower
Age at embarkation31
Height5' 7.5"
Weight150 lbs
Next of kinSon, Francis Walter Beckensall, 94 Canning Street, Carlton, Victoria
Previous military serviceServed in the 5th Australian Infantry Regiment, Carlton, Victoria.
Enlistment date22 August 1914
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll22 August 1914
Place of enlistmentMelbourne, Victoria
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name7th Battalion, A Company
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/24/1
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board Transport A20 Hororata on 19 October 1914
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll7th Battalion
Other details from Roll of Honour CircularOn enlistment he stated he was a widower. in fact his wife, Henrietta Louisa Beckensall, whom he married on 17 June 1903 according to Roman Catholic rites, and whom he had not divorced, was still alive (Statutory Declaration, 29 March 1920). His mother wrote to Defence, 6 June 1916, stating that 'perhaps he thought she [his wife] was dead or better she had been. She cleared away with another man eight years ago and left him with the little boy F.W. Beckensall.' His medals were therefore sent to his former wife for keeping in trust for eldest son.
FateKilled in Action 25 April 1915
Place of death or woundingGallipoli, Turkey
Age at death32
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 28), Gallipoli, Turkey

The Lone Pine Memorial, situated in the Lone Pine Cemetery at Anzac, is the main Australian Memorial on Gallipoli, and one of four memorials to men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Designed by Sir John Burnet, the principal architect of the Gallipoli cemeteries, it is a thick tapering pylon 14.3 metres high on a square base 12.98 metres wide. It is constructed from limestone mined at Ilgardere in Turkey.

The Memorial commemorates the 3268 Australians and 456 New Zealanders who have no known grave and the 960 Australians and 252 New Zealanders who were buried at sea after evacuation through wounds or disease. The names of New Zealanders commemorated are inscribed on stone panels mounted on the south and north sides of the pylon, while those of the Australians are listed on a long wall of panels in front of the pylon and to either side. Names are arranged by unit and rank.

The Memorial stands over the centre of the Turkish trenches and tunnels which were the scene of heavy fighting during the August offensive. Most cemeteries on Gallipoli contain relatively few marked graves, and the majority of Australians killed on Gallipoli are commemorated here.

Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
49
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Embarked Alexandria to join Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (Gallipoli Campaign), 5 April 1915.

Killed in action, Gallipoli, 25 April 1915.

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
SourcesNAA: B2455, BECKENSALL Walter Herbert

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