Blaikie, Walter Brunton
No.1898 – Private Walter Blaikie – 2nd Pioneer Battalion
Walter Brunton Blaikie was born in Yarrow Selkirkshire Scotland in 1891. He was educated in Scotland and also spent three years in the Territorial’s in Yarrow. When the Blaikies moved to Western Australia in 1910, Walter was 19 years old. The family took up residence in East Fremantle and Walter took up work as a farm hand.
Walter enlisted into the AIF on the 24th June 1915. He was accepted as fit for service with the medical examiner recording that Walter was 5 feet 6 & ½ inches in height; weight of 143lbs; chest measurement of 36-38 inches; medium complexion; light brown eyes and brown hair. His religious denomination was Presbyterian. He was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to the 3rd Reinforcements to the 28th Battalion.
He and his brother William were in the same reinforcements group and they trained in WA until the end of August 1915. They were then given their departure orders and travelled down to Fremantle where they boarded the HMAT Aeneas and set sail for Egypt. The journey took just over three weeks and after disembarking the men were sent into camp. Walter didn’t have long in Egypt as he joined the 28th Battalion on Gallipoli on the 12th October 1915. The 28th Battalion was located in the Northern section of Anzac near the Apex. On the 25th October Walter was ill with influenza and was sent to the 7th Field Ambulance. He returned to duty five days later and remained with the 28th Battalion at Gallipoli until their evacuation.
After having Christmas on Lemnos, the battalion returned to Egypt, arriving at Alexandria on the 10th January 1916. Walter would remain with the 28th Battalion until the 9th March when he joined a new unit, the 2nd Pioneer Battalion. The new unit didn’t have long in Egypt as they soon departed for France, arriving at Marseilles on the 26th March 1916. The 2nd Division was the first AIF division to arrive in France and they were sent to the Armentieres sector to gain experience on the Western Front.
Their work was often undertaken close behind the front lines in fixing roads and trenches as well as other labouring & engineering duties so they were often under shellfire. The 2nd Pioneers gained experience at Armentieres and Messines before they were sent to the Somme in July 1916. The 2nd Pioneers had a hard time in trying to keeping open the trench and communication avenues under the heavy German shelling. Walter and his unit remained on the Somme until late August 1916 and they were then sent to Ypres in Belgium. Unfortunately the time here was short and they were soon sent back to the Somme where they had to work in atrocious muddy conditions through the 1916/17 French winter. The 2nd Pioneer Battalion followed up their infantry in the German withdrawal and tried to improve the roads and trenches around Le Sars and Bapaume so the artillery could move forward. Walter continued to work in the Lagnicourt and Bullecourt sectors for the next few months.
After the Bullecourt assault in May 1917 the 2nd Division was withdrawn for a three month rest period, with much of this time taken up with training and sporting activities. In August 1917 Walter was appointed as a Driver and he continued with this role through the 3rd Battle of Ypres.
On the 9th December 1917 Walter was sent to the 15th Field Ambulance suffering from an illness. He had two weeks out of the line, returning to his unit on the 23rd December 1917. Walter remained on duty with the 2nd Pioneers in the Messines sector until the end of March 1918. As a result of the German offensive that was making headway towards Amiens, the 3rd & 4th Australian Divisions were sent to the Somme to halt this advance and they were closely followed by the 2nd & 5th Divisions. Being a Driver for his unit, Walter would have had a busy time transporting the unit’s gear to their new location on the Somme. Walter survived the next few months of conflict in this zone and on the 11th September 1918 he was given a well deserved rest when he was given furlough to England. He rejoined the 2nd Pioneer Battalion on the 30th September 1918 just in time for their role as infantry in the AIF’s last attack of the war. Due to the lack of infantry numbers, the 2nd Pioneers were given a task as infantry on the assault on Montbrehain. Walter came through this assault unscathed and the 2nd Division was then withdrawn for a rest period out of the line. The armistice was announced while they were still on their rest period and the 2nd Division was then sent north to Belgium, into what had been German occupied Belgium.
Walter spent Christmas and New Year in Belgium but on the 24th January 1919 he was sent to England. Earlier in the war Walter had married Mary Hope in Scotland and now he rejoined his wife. On the 28th February 1919 Walter boarded the HMAT Anchises and set sail for Australia, disembarking in Fremantle on the 7th April 1919. He was sent to No.8 AGH for a medical check-up but as he had not been wounded during his four years of service, Walter was given a clean bill of health. He was then discharged from the AIF on the 3rd June 1919.
They returned to live in Fremantle but later moved to the Southern Cross region. He then moved to Cowaramup in the South West.
In WW2 Walter would serve in the 19th Garrison Battalion with the regimental number W30880. He would later write to the authorities in the 1960’s for his Anzac medallion and he died in 1968 aged 76.