The AIF Project

Arthur Herbert CURWEN-WALKER

Date of birth12 November 1894
Place of birthBallarat, Victoria
SchoolBallarat High School, Victoria
Other trainingCadet, Royal Military College, Duntroon
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationSoldier
AddressRoyal Military College, Duntroon, Australian Capital Territory
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation20
Height5' 11.5"
Weight187 lbs
Next of kinH.C. Curwen-Walker, Ballarat, Victoria
Previous military serviceStaff Cadet for 3 years at Royal Military College, Duntroon; specially graduated on outbreak of war.
Enlistment date3 November 1914
Rank on enlistmentLieutenant
Unit name14th Battalion, G Company
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/31/1
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board Transport A38 Ulysses on 22 December 1914
Rank from Nominal RollLieutenant
Unit from Nominal Roll14th Battalion
Other details from Roll of Honour Circular'Over 6 feet - chest 42 inches - a powerful swimmer. At age 19 dived into 13 feet water in Murrumbidgee N.S.W. and brought up two unconscious fellow cadets (both big men) from bottom of river and to the bank one in each hand and saved their lives. He took an active interest in Students Christian Union and in the establishing a branch at Duntroon.' (details from father)
FateDied of wounds 3 May 1915
Place of death or woundingWalker's Ridge, Gallipoli, Turkey
Place of burialAt sea
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 39), 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
72
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Commemorated on Roll of Honour, Peacock Hall, Ballarat High School, Victoria. Commemorated in memorial window, St Peter's Anglican Church, Ballarat, Victoria.
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Reported wounded in action, 1 May 1915 (shrapnel wounds, abdomen).

Died of wounds on board HT 'Devanha', 3 May 1915, and buried at sea.

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
SourcesNAA: B2455, CURWEN-WALKER Arthur Herbert

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