Walter John Badans

Submitted by kiamalibrary on Thu, 18/09/2014 - 13:57

First Name:

Walter

Middle Name:

John

Last Name:

Badans

Date of Birth:

Sunday, July 7, 1895

Mother's Name:

Mary Jane

Father's Name:

Edward

Date Enlisted:

Monday, June 12, 1916

Rank at Enlistment:

Private

Rank at Discharge:

Corporal

Unit:

13th Battalion. 21st Reinforcement.

Service:

Infantry

Awards:

1914-1915 Star

British War Medal

Victory Medal

Date of Death:

Sunday, January 1, 1961

Place of Death:

Wollongong

Details:

Walter John Badans was born to parents Edward Badans and Mary Jane Knight on 7 July 1895 at Jamberoo.

At the height of World War I, on 1 June 1916, Walter joined the Australian Imperial Force in the 13th Battalion, and on 7 October 1916 embarked on the S.S. Ceramic, headed for Plymouth in England. Here Walter arrived on 21 November 1916 On 10 June 1917, whilst serving in France, Walter received a gunshot wound to his right leg. He returned on the H.S. Jan Breydel on 15 June 1917 and was admitted to the War Hospital on Warren Road, Guildford on 16 June 1917.

Walter married Margaret Guthrie of Sydney and they farmed with Walter’s brother Roy for a short while, and then moved to “Range Farm” where they continued farming for a few years prior to moving to Wollongong. Here they remained for the rest of their lives. Walter and Margaret had one son, Russell.

Dorothy O'Keefe, the niece of Walter, remembers him returning from the war a sick man. He has been gassed and wounded. He resumed work on a dairy farm in a small way in Jamberoo.

In an extract from Dorothy’s book, “Gone but not forgotten”, she says: “He was a skilled boxer and won medals for this sport during the war. Walter was also an extremely fast runner and it certainly paid off , when he was held prisoner by the Germans, he managed to escape and under gun fire zig-zagged as he ran, therefore being a very difficult target. What a brave man he must have been.”

Sources:

NAA: B2455, BADANS W J