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Walter Peeler

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Walter "Wally" Peeler
A head and shoulders portrait of a man in military uniform. He is wearing a cap that has the Rising Sun badge in the middle. He has dark eyebrows and large ears.
Walter Peeler c. 1916
AllegianceAustralia Commonwealth of Australia
Service / branchAustralian Army
Years of service1916 – 1918
1940 – 1945
RankWarrant Officer Class II
Battles / warsFirst World War

Second World War

AwardsVictoria Cross
British Empire Medal
Other workCustodian of the Shrine of Remembrance

Walter "Wally" Peeler VC, BEM (9 August 1887 – 23 May 1968) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces. He was decorated with the Victoria Cross following his actions during the Battle of Broodseinde in 1917. Then a lance corporal in the Australian Imperial Force, he destroyed four German machine gun posts and single-handedly killed more than 30 German soldiers in the battle with his Lewis Gun.

Born in Castlemaine, Victoria, Peeler worked on his parent's orchard in his youth, and later gained employment with a foundry. By the time he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 17 February 1916, he was married with three children. Allotted to the 3rd Pioneer Battalion, he completed training in Australia and the United Kingdom, before transferring to the Western Front. He participated in the Battle of Messines, where he suffered bullet and shrapnel wounds to his face. Eight days after his Victoria Cross exploit, Peeler was severely wounded by a bullet to his right arm, and spent the following seven months recuperating in the United Kingdom. He was discharged from service with the rank of sergeant in December 1918.

Peeler re-settled with his family in Victoria. In 1934, he was appointed the inaugural custodian of the Shrine of Remembrance; he held this position for the next thirty years. In May 1940, Peeler enlisted for service in the Second World War, understating his age by fourteen years. He was posted to the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion, and served in the Syria-Lebanon Campaign. With the entry of Japan into the war, his unit was detailed to return to Australia in early 1942. However, it was hastily diverted to Java to assist in the Dutch defence of the island as part of Blackforce. Peeler and the other soldiers of Blackforce were taken as prisoners of war in March 1942. After three-and-a-half years as prisoner of the Japanese, Peeler was freed in August 1945 and returned to Australia in October, resuming his duties at the Shrine of Remembrance. Aged 80, he died at his home in South Caulfield on 23 May 1968.

Early life

Peeler was born at Barker's Creek, near Castlemaine, Victoria, on 9 August 1887, the eighth child of William Peeler, a farmer and miner, and his English-born wife Mary Ellen (née Scott). In his youth, Peeler worked on his parent's orchard, before gaining employment with Thompson's Foundry in Castlemaine.[1][2] On 10 July 1907, Peeler wed Kathleen Emma Hewitt;[3] the couple later had five children.[1] An active sportsman, Peeler was a member of the Castlemaine Cricket Club and at one stage secretary of the Wesley Hill Football Club.[2]

First World War

By 1916, Peeler was living in Richmond with his wife and three daughters.[2] On 17 February that year, he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force for service in the First World War. Ranked private, he was posted to the machine gun section of the 3rd Pioneer Battalion and undertook his initial training in Victoria.[3][4] The unit embarked from Melbourne on 6 June, with Peeler aboard HMAT Wandilla,[4][5] and arrived seven weeks later at Plymouth, England.[6] The battalion completed further instruction and training while stationed in England. During this time, Peeler was charged with being absent without leave for a period of six hours on 3 July, and was subsequently docked a day's pay.[6] On 6 November, he was advanced to lance corporal,[1][3] before proceeding overseas with the 3rd Pioneer Battalion to France, and the Western Front, two weeks later.[6]

A slightly grainy head and shoulders portrait of a man in military uniform. He is wearing a slouch hat, with the strap coming down under his chin.
Sergeant Peeler c.1918

On arrival in France, the 3rd Pioneer Battalion was posted to the Armentières sector of the front, where it worked on trench and railway construction.[7] During mid-December, Peeler completed a week-long course at the Machine Gun School in Le Touquet, before returning to his unit in the trenches.[6] Early in 1917, he moved with his unit further north, in preparation for the upcoming Messines offensive.[7] On 8 May 1917, Peeler was the subject of a General Court Martial in the field, charged with "careless and negligent handling of a Lewis Gun whilst instructing" on 26 April, that consequently caused "grevious bodily injury" to Private John Martin Fife. Peeler was found guilty of the charge, and stripped of his lance corporal stripe.[6]

On 7 June 1917, Peeler participated in the initial assault on Messines Ridge, manning a Lewis Gun during the action.[7] He was injured during the attack, suffering shrapnel wounds to his face and eye from an artillery shell, and a gunshot wound to his right cheek.[6][7] As a result of his wounds, Peeler spent three days in hospital before returning to his battalion on 10 June. He was re-promoted to lance corporal twelve days later.[6] The 3rd Pioneer Battalion spent the next four months in a quieter section of the front, and Peeler did not take part in another major action until October.[7]

Victoria Cross

As part of the third stage of General Sir Herbert Plumer's Passchendaele offensive, an attack against Broodseinde was scheduled for 4 October 1917.[8][9] The 10th Australian Infantry Brigade, of the 3rd Australian Division, formed up as one of the assault formations tasked with delivering the main attack, and ultimately with seizing the heavily defended Broodseinde Ridge.[9] In order to support the 10th Brigade's attack, a group of twenty-four men from the 3rd Pioneer Battalion's machine gun section was attached to the 37th Battalion to provide defence against low-flying German aircraft.[1][9][10]

The attack on Broodseinde commenced at the predetermined time of 06:00, under the cover of an artillery barrage.[9] Armed with a Lewis Gun, Peeler advanced with the first wave of soldiers, promptly covering an area of approximately 100 metres (110 yd). However, the troops soon encountered a party of German soldiers situated in a shellhole, sniping at the Australians and momentarily halting the advance.[3][11] Dashing forward across the exposed ground and firing his machine gun from the hip,[12] Peeler killed the group of nine Germans, thus "clearing the way for the advance".[3][11] He executed similar feats on two subsequent occasions, dispatching several other German soldiers and emerging unscathed.[3][12]

A group portrait of ten soldiers and three sailors onboard a ship.
The group of ten Australian Victoria Cross recipients repatriated to Australia to assist in recruitment pictured on HMAT Medic with three naval officers. Peeler is standing at left.

The Australian force continued to advance, encountering defences such as pillboxes and machine-gun positions. At one stage during the assault, Peeler was directed to a German machine gun situated in the open that was preventing any means of advance. Firing a single burst from his Lewis Gun,[12] he killed the gunner and caused the remainder of the German party to seak cover in a nearby dugout.[11][13] He then lobbed a "well aimed" grenade into the German position, dislodging the ten men; he subsequently killed each of these soldiers.[12][13] Described as being "particularly prominent in the advance" by historian Charles Bean,[10] Peeler had "almost single-handedly" destroyed four German posts in a period of an hour,[12] accounting for more than 30 German soldiers.[1][3]

By 07:15 on 5 October, the 37th Battalion had captured its set objective, having seized a total of eight pillboxes, several concrete dugouts, 20 machine guns and 420 prisoners in the process; two hours later, the Australian force had gained supremacy of Broodseinde Ridge.[14] For his efforts at Broodseinde, Peeler was awarded the Victoria Cross, one of two Australians so decorated that day.[3] On 12 October 1917—eight days after Peeler's Victoria Cross action—the men of the 10th Brigade returned to the frontline in an effort to exploit the success of the previous week. The ground was dominated by a series of German pillboxes, which was further exacerbated by pouring rain that had converted the battlefield into a quagmire.[15] Peeler went into the assault with the brigade,[1] but the Australian force was soon subject to a "torrent of machine gun fire",[15] and he was severly wounded with a bullet to his right arm. Evacuated to the 11th Australian Field Ambulance, Peeler's wound necessitated treatment in England and he embarked for the Northhamton War Hospital on 15 October, arriving the following day.[6][7]

While recuperating in England, the announcement and accompanying citation for Peeler's Victoria Cross was promulgated in a supplement to the London Gazette on 26 November 1917, reading:[13]

War Office, 26th November, 1917.

His Majesty the KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of the Victoria Cross to the undermentioned Officer, Non-commissioned Officers and Men: —

No. 114 L./Cpl. Walter Peeler, Aus. Imp. Force.

For most conspicuous bravery when with a Lewis gun accompanying the first wave of the assault he encountered an enemy party sniping the advancing troops from a shell-hole.

L./Cpl. Beeler immediately rushed the position and accounted for nine of the enemy, and cleared the way for the advance. On two subsequent occasions he performed similar acts of valour, and each time accounted for a number of the enemy.

During operations he was directed to a position from which an enemy machine gun was being fired on our troops. He located and killed the gunner, and the remainder of the enemy party ran into a dugout closeby. From this shelter they were dislodged by a bomb, and ten of the enemy ran out. These he disposed of.

This non-commissioned officer actually accounted for over thirty of the enemy.

He displayed an absolute fearlessness in making his way ahead of the first wave of the assault, and the fine example which he set ensured the success of the attack against most determined opposition.

A head and shoulders portrait of a man in military uniform. He has neat, tidy hair and a group of three medal ribbons on his breast. The actual photograph is in the shape of an oval, surrounded by a boarder.
Studio portrait taken of Peeler for Saint Patrick's Day c.1920

Recuperation and repatriation

As news of Peeler's decoration spread, it prompted a "wave of celebrations" in his hometown of Castlemaine; flags flew in his honour, and one of his daughters discovered herself being cheered by fellow pupils at school.[7] On 8 January 1918, Peeler was formally conferred with his Victoria Cross by King George V in an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace. Peeler rejoined the 3rd Pioneer Battalion in France on 17 May, having sufficiently recovered from his wound; he was promoted to temporary corporal two weeks later.[1][7]

On 22 June 1918, Peeler was posted to the Corps Gas School for a period of eight days, before returning to the 3rd Pioneer Battalion.[6] He was promoted to sergeant on 30 July.[1][3] Around this time, Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes invited several of Australia's Victoria Cross recipients of the war to return to Australia and assist in a recruiting drive;[16] Peeler was among a group of ten who accepted the offer. The party embarked aboard HMAT Medic on 24 August, and arrived in Melbourne seven weeks later. Following the Armistice with Germany effectively ending the war, Peeler was discharged from the Australian Imperial Force on 10 December.[3]

Inter-war years

Following his discharge, Peeler gained employment with the soldier-settler branch of the Victorian Department of Lands. He served with the Department for a period of six years, before acquiring an orchard in the Castlemaine district. However, this venture proved short-lived and he soon relocated with his family to Melbourne, joining H.V. McKay Harvester Works at Sunshine, whose staff included fellow Victoria Cross recipient Lawrence Dominic McCarthy. Upon the completion of the Shrine of Remembrance in 1934, Peeler was appointed as the memorial's first custodian. He occupied this post for next thirty years, with the Shrine becoming "his second home".[1][7][17]

Second World War

Enlistment and Syrian Campaign

On 27 May 1940, Peeler enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force for service in the Second World War,[17][18] giving his date of birth on his enlistment forms as 9 August 1901, thus understating his age by fourteen years.[7][6] At 52, Peeler was twelve years over the maximum age limit, although he later claimed he was not the "oldest fellow in my unit".[7] Granted the acting rank of sergeant, he was allotted to the newly raised 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion.[6] Stationed at Puckapunyal, the battalion completed its initial training at the army base,[19] during which time Peeler was raised to acting staff sergeant and made Company Quartermaster Sergeant of D Company on 1 August.[7][6]

A soldier in full military uniform wearing a slouch at marching along and saluting. He is followed by several other soldiers, while outhers are lined up to the side saluting.
Warrant Officer Peeler leads his company of ex-prisoners of war in the salute of Major Green, Commanding Officer of 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion.

On 7 April 1941, the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion embarked aboard HMT Queen Mary at Sydney, bound for the Middle East; Peeler's rank of staff sergeant was confirmed as substantive on the same day. After just under four weeks at sea, the troopship disembarked at Port Tewfik in Suez, before the battalion entrained for Palestine where it was attached to the 7th Division in support of the Syrian campaign against Vichy French forces.[6][19]

The 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion was initial divided during the Syrian campaign, with each company attached to a different brigade of the 7th Division. Peeler's D Company—assigned to the 25th Brigade—was originally tasked with the maintenance and general repair of roads in the area. However, as the Vichy French launched a counter-attack on 15 June, the "scattered companies" were reunited around the Merdjayoun area in an effort to prevent any further advance from the French forces.[19] On the night of 27 June, after a costly assault against the Vichy French at Merdjayoun earlier that day, Peeler led a patrol of men out in front of the line to recover wounded soldiers. After "much searching", four soldiers were subsequently discovered and brought back to the Australian line.[17][20] Despite suffering heavy casualties at Syria, the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion served throughout the entirety of the campaign, including participation in the Battle of Damour in July.[19]

After the defeat of the Vichy French in Syria, the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion was relocated to Tripoli in Libya, establishing itself in an olive grove. The unit trained and carried out garrison duties in Tripoli over the next four months, with each company posted to different locations in the area as required. During November, the battalion was moved to Qatana in Syria. With the entry of Japan into the war late in 1941, the 6th and 7th Divisions were directed to return to Australia for service in the Pacific theatre.[19] In January 1942, Peeler was among the men of the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion who embarked aboard HMT Orcades in order to make the journey back to Australia. He was promoted to Warrant Officer Class II during this time.[6]

Defence of Java and prisoner of war

With the rapid Japanese advance through the Pacific, and the fall of Singapore in February 1942, the 3,400 troops aboard Orcades were hastily diverted to Java, Dutch East Indies.[7][19][21] Disembarking at Batavia on 18 February,[6] Peeler's battalion was combined with the other units aboard Orcades to form Blackforce, a formation under the command of Brigadier Arthur Seaforth Blackburn tasked with the defence of a series of airfields in Java and support of the Dutch resistance against the Japanese.[1][22] Blackburn organised his men into a brigade formation, consisting of a headquarters and three infantry battalions—the men of the 2/2nd Pioneers made up the bulk of Blackforce's 2nd Battalion.[23]

A smiling man in military uniform wearing a slouch hat holds a young child with blonde hair up in the air. Other soldiers can be seen standing in the background, and a boat in suspended above their heads.
Peeler playing with three-year-old Ferne Pope on the deck of HMS Highland Brigade during his journey back to Australia after three years as a prisoner of war.

On 28 February 1942, elements of the Imperial Japanese Army landed on Java.[19][24] At this time, Blackforce was stationed at Buitenzorg, set to advance westward in order to confront the Japanese force. Due to the rapid advance of the Japanese, the Dutch forces had withdrawn further eastward, detailing Blackforce with the defence of Buitenzorg and Leuwiliang.[24] As the situation became critical for Blackforce, Blackburn was forced to withdraw his men further east on the night of 4/5 March, and again on 7/8 March. On 8 March, however, the Dutch surrendered, ordering all men to lay down their arms. Brigadier Blackburn, with supplies running low and cut off from contact with the Australian Government, announced the surrender of Blackforce on 12 March.[25] Peeler and his fellow soldiers comprising the ranks of Blackforce thus became prisoners of war to the Japanese. At this stage, Peeler was one of three Australian Victoria Cross recipients of the First World War serving overseas, all of whom were "swept up in the Japanese advance"; Blackburn surrendered with Peeler at Java, while Walter Ernest Brown was caught up in the fall of Singapore, and is believed to have been killed attempting to evade capture.[7][26]

Peeler was among a contingent of Australian prisoners of war transported to work on the Burma Railway.[1][7] Despite the "harsh treatment" Peeler and his fellow prisoners suffered,[17] he later played down his ordeal, stating: "I wasn't treated too badly, apart from nearly starving ... But what the Japs did to the others on the railway was pretty horrifying".[7] After three-and-a-half years incarceration, Peeler was freed following the capitulation of the Japanese in August 1945, and the subsequent liberation of former prisoner-of-war camps in the Pacific.[1][17] On 6 October 1945, Peeler embarked aboard HMS Highland Brigade and commenced his return to Australia; he arrived in Melbourne fifteen days later.[6] Back in Australia, Peeler learnt that his son Donald had been killed in action on the island of Bougainville on 31 December 1944, while serving with the 2/15th Battalion.[1][27][28] For his "Distinguished service in the South-West Pacific Area", Donald Peeler had been posthumously Mentioned in Despatches.[29] Warrant Officer Class II Walter Peeler was discharged from the Second Australian Imperial Force on 12 December 1945.[18]

Later life and legacy

On his discharge, Peeler resumed his duties as custodian of the Shrine of Remembrance, guiding visitors around the memorial.[1][30] In the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 1961, his "long and dedicated service" at the Shrine was recognised with the award of the British Empire Medal.[30][31] He retired three years later at the age of 76, stating: "It's time I had a rest."[30] In 1966, Peeler was interviewed by a newspaper, and when queried on his Victoria Cross exploit he recalled:[32]

My wartime experiences are nothing to make a splash about ... I'm just an ex-soldier who did his job. I never saw the faces of those I killed. They were just men in an enemy uniform. It was simply them or me. I don't think I was brave—not any more than the other Aussies who were with me. I simply had a job to do and I did it ... Only afterwards did I realise how lucky I'd been not to get killed myself.

— Walter Peeler

On 23 May 1968, Peeler died at his home in South Caulfield, Victoria. Survived by his wife and their four remaining children, he was buried in Brighton cemetery. Peeler's wife, Kathleen, died the following year.[1][17] Known as Wally,[1][3] Peeler is commemorated in the Victorian Garden of Rememberance, and a soldier's club in Casula, New South Wales, bears his name.[30] His Victoria Cross and other medals are on display in the Hall of Valour at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.[33]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Staunton, Anthony (1988). "Peeler, Walter (1887 – 1968)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
  2. ^ a b c Snelling 2000, p. 172
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Staunton 2005, p. 110
  4. ^ a b "Peeler, Walter" (PDF). First World War Embarkation Roll. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
  5. ^ "Walter Peeler". The AIF Project. Australian Defence Force Academy. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Peeler, Walter VX8345". Records Search. National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Snelling 2000, p. 173
  8. ^ "Battle of Broodseinde Ridge". Australian Military Units. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  9. ^ a b c d Snelling 2000, p. 167
  10. ^ a b Bean 1941, p. 850
  11. ^ a b c "Recommendation for Walter Peeler to be awarded a Victoria Cross" (PDF). Recommendations: First World War. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  12. ^ a b c d e Snelling 2000, p. 168
  13. ^ a b c "No. 30400". The London Gazette (invalid |supp= (help)). 26 November 1917.
  14. ^ Snelling 2000, p. 169
  15. ^ a b Snelling 2000, p. 170
  16. ^ Macklin 2006, p. 214
  17. ^ a b c d e f Staunton 2005, p. 112
  18. ^ a b "Peeler, Walter". World War II Nominal Roll. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g "2/2nd Pioneer Battalion". Australian military units. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  20. ^ Long 1953, pp. 450–451
  21. ^ Wigmore 1957, p. 446
  22. ^ Wigmore 1957, pp. 457, 495–496
  23. ^ Wigmore 1957, p. 496
  24. ^ a b Wigmore 1957, pp. 499–501
  25. ^ Wigmore 1957, pp. 502–503
  26. ^ Wigmore 1957, pp. 536–537
  27. ^ "Peeler, Donald". World War II Nominal Roll. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
  28. ^ "Peeler, Donald". Casualty Details. Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
  29. ^ "Recommendation of Donald Peeler to be Mentioned in Despatches" (PDF). Index to Recommendations: Second World War. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
  30. ^ a b c d Snelling 2000, p. 174
  31. ^ "No. 42370". The London Gazette (invalid |supp= (help)). 10 June 1961.
  32. ^ Snelling 2000, pp. 171, 174
  33. ^ "Victoria Crosses at the Memorial". Hall of Valour. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 21 November 2009.

References

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