Binning, Walter Priestley

No.3407 – L/Cpl Walter Binning 4^th Light Trench Mortar Battery

Walter Priestley Binning was born in Albany Western Australia in 1893 to Henry & Jessie Binning, he was one of six siblings. The family soon moved up to Fremantle where young Walter was educated. The family resided at Mary Street North Fremantle.

Walter took up the trade of carpentry after leaving school and was employed as a Carpenter & Joiner when he enlisted into the AIF in July 1915.

He was given a medical examination and was found to be 5 feet 11 inches, weight of 165 lbs; chest measurement of 35-36 inches; fresh complexion; brown eyes and fair hair. His religious denomination was Church of England. Initially sent to No.19 Depot Company Walter was soon assigned to the 11^th Reinforcements to the 16^th Battalion. This group embarked from Fremantle on the 1^st November 1915 aboard the H.M.A.T. A24 “Benalla”. After arrival in Egypt the reinforcement group was put into the Infantry Base Depot in Egypt. They were not sent on to Gallipoli as it had been evacuated in December.

The Australian Imperial Force was about to increase with three new divisions formed. However, in early March Walter was taken on strength of the 16^th Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir. He trained with them in Egypt until they departed for France on the 1^st June 1916. After their arrival in Marseilles, the 16^th Battalion headed north to Armentieres where they took up trench life in a so-called quieter sector of the Western Front. They were in this sector for June and half of July when they were sent south to the Somme battlefield.

The 16^th Battalion was drawn into the battle of Pozieres & Mouquet Farm in early August 1916. They made several assaults on the German positions and casualties in the battalion were heavy. Walter was wounded on the 11^th August 1916 and evacuated with shell shock. When he had recovered, he went back to the 16^th, but on the 24^th August he was transferred to the 4^th Light Trench Mortar battery.

He continued to serve with this unit through 1916/17 and fought with them at Battles such as Bullecourt, Messines & Third Ypres. On the 25^th September 1917, Walter was appointed Lance Corporal. On the 26^th September Walter was wounded in the back by shrapnel and was evacuated back to hospital in Etaples. He recovered a few weeks later and rejoined his unit on the 13^th November 1917.

On the 27^th February 1918 Walter was granted some much needed leave to England. He spent two weeks in ‘Blighty’ before going back to his unit on the 15^th March 1918. A week later the Germans launched their massive March Offensive and broke through the Third & Fifth British Armies. The Australians were sent south to the Somme sector to try and form a line and repel the Germans. The 4^th Brigade was sent to Hebuterne where they reformed the line with the help of New Zealand & British units. They stopped the German advance and retook some vital ground. On the 30 March 1918 Walter was killed in action during the preparation of a raid when a trench mortar shell prematurely exploded in the Stokes Mortar. Binning and two other men were killed by this explosion and were buried side by side east of Hebuterne.

Lieutenant L.C. Waterford stated that;

‘He was killed instantly about 10 yards from me by the premature burst of a shell in the gun during our attack at Hebuterne about midnight about the end of March 1918. I helped to bury him on the spot at daybreak under a steep bank (about 7ft high) ¾ mile north of Hebuterne.’

After the war, Walter’s grave was recovered along with Pte Currie & Private Broom who were killed in the same explosion, and they were reburied at Gommecourt Cemetery Hebuterne.