TOPIC:

Edward William Walker
Wounded in Action - 10/13 March 1915

Private, Imperial Light Infantry
Sergeant, Steinaecker’s Horse – Anglo Boer War
Corporal, 2nd Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment – WWI

- Queens South Africa Medal (Transvaal) to 1118 PTE. E.W. WALKER, IMPL. LT. INFY.
- Kings South Africa Medal (South Africa 1901 & 1902) to TPR: E.W. WALKER. STEINAECKER’S H.
- 1914/15 Star to 15202 CPL E.W. WALKER. LINC: R.
- British War Medal to 15202 CPL. E.W. WALKER. LINC. R.
- Victory Medal to 15202 CPL. E.W. WALKER. LINC. R.

Edward Walker was born in West Hartlepool, County Durham on 20 May 1880 – an interesting man, he will be remembered for the variety of names he answered to, all of them variations of the ones he was, ostensibly, born with.

All of the above makes tracing his origins a monumental task. Suffice it to say, the first verifiable glimpse we are able to obtain of Edward comes courtesy of the attestation papers he completed when enlisting for service with the Imperial Light Infantry during the Anglo Boer War.

Having made his way to South Africa at some point, Walker put his hand up for service at Pietermaritzburg, Natal on 25 July 1900. The Anglo Boer war had been raging for more than nine months by the time he affixed his signature to the official document that would make him a Private, no. 1118 with the Imperial Light Infantry. As a theatre of war, Natal in July 1900, was in the dying stages. Buller, after many costly and unsuccessful attempts had finally bulldozed his way into Ladysmith on 28 February of that year, thereby ending a three month siege.

Blood in plenty had been shed along the way - at Colenso on 15 December 1899; at Spioenkop on 23 January 1900 and at Pieter’s Hill and Vaalkrantz in February 1900 in the lead up to the main event, before Buller was able to claim the Relief of a town which was teetering on the brink of surrender with the cupboards bare and almost the last emaciated horse put to the butcher’s knife to feed the malnourished and desperate population.

The Imperial Light Infantry he joined had seen their fair share of action in the aforementioned battles and had acquitted themselves well in the process. They were almost at the point of disbandment when he arrived on the scene. Signing on for 4/6 a day, he was 20 years old, 5 feet 9 ½ inches in height, weighed 168 lbs and had a fair complexion, blue eyes and dark hair. A big man for the times, he wore a size 9 boot. As his next of kin he gave the name of a cousin, Robert Martland, of 24 Frederick Street, West Hartlepool, Durham.

Walker took to the field at the point where Buller’s Natal Field Force had virtually expelled the Boers from Natal. They had reoccupied Dundee and were pushing the retreating Commandos over Laings Nek and back into the Transvaal. From June to October his regiment did garrison duty about Newcastle and Volksrust and, during 1901 the Imperial Light Infantry garri¬soned various forts and posts on the borders of Natal, and in the south-east corner of the Transvaal. They were disbanded in June 1901, as by that time mounted troops were what was needed; with the result that many of the men joined mounted corps.

This was certainly true of Walker – having earned the Transvaal clasp to his Queens Medal, he was a free agent with effect from his discharge date – 31 May 1901. Looking around for another unit to join, he didn’t have to look very far – on 4 June 1901 at Pietermaritzburg, he enlisted with the much revered Steinaecker’s Horse. Assigned no. 1395 he started out as a Sergeant. A member of A Squadron, Walker confirmed that he had served with the I.L.I. for 11 months until Time Expired. He listed no previous occupation and had grown an inch in the intervening period, standing 5 feet 10 ½ inches in his socks. He provided his address as Komati Poort.

Steinaecker’s Horse, raised for service in the Eastern Transvaal with a specific brief to keep the Boers out of Portuguese East Africa (specifically Delegoa Bay) and to harass the Boers at every given opportunity, had already established an enviable reputation by the time Edwards joined and were fast becoming the Boer’s nemesis in their remote area of operation.

In July 1901 the corps had met their first piece of bad luck. On the 22nd a party of about 100, many of whom were without horses, returned from a successful foray, bringing in some prisoners, stock, and a party of surrendered Burghers to Bremersdorp in Swaziland, a post which had been held by the corps for six months. They were followed by a force of Boers under Generals Oppermann, Smuts, and Grobelaar which many times outnumbered them. The detachment evacuated the town, hoping to get clear away; but on the 23rd they were caught up by the enemy, and after a running fight, in which they lost 4 killed and a greater number wounded and captured, were forced to abandon their baggage. Captain Greenhill-Gardyne was said to have conducted the retirement most ably. A party of the Yorkshire Regiment made a very fine march from Komati Poort to assist, but did not arrive in time.

Shortly after this Major Steinaecker surprised a laager and took 18 prisoners, and from this time onwards the corps had on many occasions severe fighting in localities where help was very far distant. On 7th August 1901 a post of 25 men on the Sabie river was attacked by a strong force of Boers. The post had been newly established, and the fortifications were not complete. The enemy, who numbered about 300, attacked vigorously and lost heavily. Commandant Moll was wounded in the attack, and was afterwards captured by a patrol of the corps. The defenders had Captain H Farmer Francis killed, several wounded, and the remainder captured.

At the end of August Captain Gardyne, in command of a small party, captured 11 Boers, some waggons, and much stock, 150 miles north of Komati Poort. In February 1902 Captain Holgate, the scout of the bridge destruction party, with 16 men, surprised and captured 18 of the enemy on the Swaziland border.

After the conclusion of the war on 31 May 1902 Steinaecker's Horse, in somewhat reduced strength, remained in occupation of the eastern border until February 1903, when the South African Constabulary took over a number of the officers and men, and the others were disbanded.

It was said, of the life led by Steinaecker's Horse, that their district was one in which few white men could live, as is proved by the fact that every regular regiment which had the misfortune to be stationed near Komati Poort lost more than 50 per cent of its strength through fever.

The regulars were generally accommodated in tents or huts, but Steinaecker's men had often to lie out for weeks at a time in districts so wild that lions were a most real danger,—as in the Sabie river valley,—and more than one poor fellow was seized and carried off almost from the camp fire, while one was taken by crocodiles. Many of the corps did not see the railway for months on end, while some of the wounded had actually to be carried over 150 miles before reaching any sort of hospital.

As was the requirement, Walker had signed up for 3 years but, on 7 February 1903, was allowed to take his discharge and return to civilian life.

Unlike many of his comrades who found the South African climate appealing enough to remain in the country; Walker returned to the United Kingdom at almost the first opportunity. Perhaps the fact that he wed fellow Hartlepool native, Laura Jane Storkey, in Newcastle in May 1903 had something to do with his decision to return. Intriguingly, his names were provided as Edward William K. Walker on the marriage certificate.

By the time the 1911 England census came round, Walker had undergone one of his confusing name changes. Calling himself William Kipp-Walker, he and wife Laura Jane were living at 19 Maple Street, Middlesborough. The house of 4 rooms accommodated not only he and his wife but their 3 year old daughter, Lavinia, as well. They had rather a full house having rented one of the rooms to Arthur Pears, 22, who probably worked with Walker at the Steel Manufacturer’s where they were both employed as Stock Takers. Laura’s sister Daisy, a 19 year old Shop Assistant in a Drapery was staying over to add to the congestion.

Unbeknown to all the War to end All Wars was about to break out. This conflict, the first on a truly global scale, commenced on 4 August 1914 with Germany under Kaiser Wilhelm II and his Axis allies pitted against Great Britain and her allies. In the absence of a personnel file, it is difficult to determine Walker’s exact movements – we do know that he enlisted with the 2nd Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment, the unit he served throughout the war with, on 27 January 1915. He was assigned no. 15202 and the rank of Corporal. He entered France as a theatre of the war, landing there on 23 February 1915.

The 2nd Lincs. had been in Bermuda at the onset of the war, remaining there until September. Sailing via Halifax in Canada, they went into camp at Winchester on their arrival in England. After several weeks of training they sailed across the Channel, arriving at Havre on 5 November 1914 – as we know Walker only joined their ranks later. Their first great battle of the war, fought between 10 and 13 March 1915, was that of Neuve Chapelle where they fought splendidly. In his report, the Brigadier stated that, “The intrepidity shown by the battalion and by their comrades, the Berkshires, was one of the main features in the success of the initial attack.”

During the early months of 1915 proposals for a combined attack on the German lines were the subject of conferences between the French and British High Commands. The battle was to begin by the capture of Neuve Chapelle as a distinct operation. The gap in the enemy’s defences thus created was to be enlarged by simultaneous attacks to the right and left. The Royal Berkshire Regiment on the right, and the 2nd Lincolnshire (Lieut.-Colonel G.B. McAndrew) on the left. The 2nd Rifle Brigade was to pass through the Royal Berkshire to the 2nd objective, the road along the east edge of the village, and the 1st Royal Irish Rifles through the 2nd Lincolnshire, prolonging the line of the second objective from the left of the Rifle Brigade.


Map of the Neuve Chapelle battle

At this period almost all the houses in the village were in ruins, but the remains of the walls provided good cover. The northern side of the village was wooded and an important feature was the triangle of roads, where the enemy had mounted a number of machine-guns. The enemy’s front-line trenches were heavily wired, though he suffered from the same disabilities as his opponents from the soft ground, and in wet weather his defences were flooded with water. East of the village and between the latter and the Bois de Biez (a large wood) was a small watercourse the River des Layes.

For the first time during the war the enemy’s wire entanglements were to be cut by artillery fire. The guns were to open at 7.30 a.m., thirty-five minutes being allotted to the first phase of the bombardment, during which 18 pounders, firing shrapnel, were to cut passages through the wire while other guns were to shell the hostile trenches to be attacked, as well as selected areas. At 8.5 a.m., the guns were to lift their fire from the enemy’s forward trenches to the village and strong points north and south. Then 9.2-in. and the 6-in. howitzers were to concentrate on the village, whilst 18 pounders and 13 pounders put down a screen of fire east of Neuve Chapelle. The infantry were to attack at 8.5 a.m., when the artillery lifted off the enemy’s front-line trenches.

The 2nd Battalion, billeted in La Gorgue on the 1st March, spent several days before the battle, not only in supplying working parties to dig assembly trenches in the orchard behind B Lines, in front of Neuve Chapelle, but also in practising the clearing, filling-in and blocking of trenches. At 8 p.m. on the 9th March they marched out of billets at La Gorgue for B Lines, from which they were to attack on the following morning. C and D Companies took over the first (or firing) line, i.e., the permanent trench or breastworks, with A and B about one hundred and fifty yards in rear in assembly trenches.

During the night rain and occasional snow fell, while the troops were moving to their assembly positions. Dawn on the 10th March broke cold, wet and misty, but by about 6.30 a.m. the weather showed signs of improvement. The 2nd Lincolnshire (Lieut.-Colonel G.B. McAndrew, commanding) as the hour for the attack approached were disposed as follows : C Company (Captain H.St.G. Eagar) on the right, in the front trench and breastworks; D Company (Captain R. Bastard) on the left in similar trenches; A Company (Captain Littleton) was in support of C; and B Company (Major S.Fitz.G. Cox) supported D in the assembly trench. At 7.30 a.m., the solitary boom of a great gun broke the silence giving the signal for the bombardment to begin. Immediately the air was rent by a terrible crash as the guns opened fire on the enemy’s wire entanglements and trenches. In a few minutes the hostile entanglements were blown to bits along the whole front, with the exception of a stretch of four hundred yards on the left. The German frontline trenches were practically obliterated, killed and wounded being buried beneath the debris or flung about, horribly mutilated.

At 8.5 a.m. the artillery lifted on to the village and a general line of about three hundred yards east of the front line. The infantry assault then began. Whilst the Lincolnshire watched the destruction of the enemy’s wire and trenches, they suffered considerable casualties from our own guns, and it was a relief when, as the guns lifted, C and D Companies clambered up and over their breastworks, using small ladders, which had been specially constructed and placed in position the previous evening. Led by Captains Eagar and Bastard, the two companies rushed across No Man’s Land.

They were met by a pretty hot rifle-fire from those Germans who emerged from cover to meet the expected British infantry attack. A machine-gun was still in action, served by two wounded ’ German officers. Captain Bastard was first into the enemy’s trenches, followed closely by Captain C.G.W. Peake, and his blocking party, whose instructions were to block the German trench at Sign Post Lane until touch with the 23rd Brigade had been established. Holding a blue flag in the air, Captain Peake, followed by his men, rushed up a trench on the left, driving about thirty Germans before him. G.S. grenades were flung at these Germans who, running out of a trench to their rear, endeavoured to escape. But their pursuers cut off their line of retreat with more bombs and troops of the 23rd Brigade having come up on the left of the Lincolnshire, the hostile troops were forced to surrender. The whole of the enemy’s front-line trenches along the battalion front had been gained with only a loss of about twenty men.



Meanwhile A and B Companies had followed close on the heels of C and D and entered the German lines. The enemy now appeared to be in full retreat. Greatly elated at their success the Lincolnshire pushed on over the hostile communication trenches towards their objective.

Even the wounded tried hard to follow up their comrades. It was between the first and second German lines that the 2nd Lincolnshire sustained a great loss. Their Commanding Officer, Lieut.-Colonel G.B. McAndrew, fell mortally wounded : his right leg had been practically blown off by a shell (from friendly guns according to the War Diary).

The forward line, consisting now of C and D Companies reinforced by some of A Company, continued to advance until they reached a broad strip of water running right down their front. This water was about four to five feet deep and impassable. A plank was found and the water temporarily bridged, enabling the men to pass over and form a firing line on the opposite side. The Germans were discovered about one hundred and fifty yards in front, taking cover behind a hedge from the fire of British guns. The Lincolnshire opened fire and the enemy retired. But now, unfortunately, the British shells suddenly began falling short. Those of the battalion on the far side of the dyke had to retire fifty yards.

A discussion then took place between the officers and the conclusion they arrived at was that it was better to retire across the water obstacle and entrench. This was accomplished and west of the dyke the Lincolnshire formed up on a slight rise. A few minutes later the Royal Irish Rifles passed through, just as the Lincolnshire had done. The battalion then crossed the water obstacle again and began to dig a trench behind it, a report being sent back that this was being done.

The enemy’s fire having died down, the reorganization of companies took place, and on the night 10th/11th the 2nd Lincolnshire were disposed as follows : C Company on the right, D on the left, in trenches dug by the battalion ; A and B Companies were in support in what had been the German second-line trenches. Roll call that night revealed a heavy casualty list, especially in 0fficers.

The general results of the operation on 10th March were the capture of the German defences from the Port Arthur Salient to just beyond the Moated Grange, i.e., a front of about four thousand yards. Neuve Chapelle village was captured and held and the British line advanced to a depth of about one thousand two hundred yards. During the night 10th/11th the opposing forces continued to consolidate their positions. Just before midnight, orders were received for the attack to be continued on the 11th; the line La Cliqueterie Farm-La Plouich-Rouge Banes was given as the objective of the 7th and 8th Divisions.

Throughout the hours of darkness the Lincolnshire stretcher bearers worked hard at bringing in the wounded, though only two stretchers were available. In the small hours of the 11th A and B Companies were moved up in close support of the Royal Irish Rifles. At about 5 a.m. the battalion was collected in some trenches to the left rear. On relief, all battalions of the 25th Brigade were told to assemble independently and take advantage of all available cover. Thus the 2nd Lincolnshire assembled behind the Royal Irish Rifles. Battalion Headquarters were in a trench in rear of C and D Companies, just south of the point where the Armentieres road crosses Signpost Lane. Major S.Fitz.G. Cox now took command of the battalion, which by 10 a.m. had been moved about two hundred yards farther back, to the trench occupied by A and B Companies the previous night. All day long the Lincolnshire remained in this position, at one time for two hours under heavy shell-fire, described as “horribly exact.”

At about 12.15 communication with Brigade Headquarters having failed, Major Cox decided to move the battalion into Neuve Chapelle in support of the Royal Irish Rifles. Through a pretty hot fire the Lincolnshire proceeded up the road and eventually got into the village and found shelter amongst the ruins. The Royal Irish Rifles were then engaged with the enemy in front, but although A Company was sent up in close support of the Rifles, the Lincolnshire were not engaged. Throughout the night 11th/12th they remained in the village, but early on the latter date returned to their original German trench.

The renewed attack by the British on the 11th failed to make any material progress. On the I 9th the Germans launched their counter-attack, but similarly they gained little. The Lincolnshire Diary records that the battalion remained in its trenches “all that day and the night (12th/13th);” forward Battalion Headquarters were with C Company. The night of the 12th, however, saw the last of the battle, the opposing forces consolidating their line. The Lincolnshire carried out several reliefs and on the 17th the battalion moved to a reserve position on the Tilleloy road.

A contemporary of Walker’s – one Private E. Donaldson, also of the 2nd Lincs., writing to his parents, described the action thus:

“We have just come out of the trenches for a rest after sixteen days and nights hard fighting. I expect you have read about the battle of Neuve Chapelle. I got through alright. I have not had a wash since the day before the charge, thirteen days ago. We have been at it day and night since the day of the awful charge. We lost our commanding officer and our Colonel and eleven officer besides, and about 400 men of the regiment. I read about the retreat from Mons but it was nothing in comparison with the battle of Neuve Chapelle.”

It was during the battle of Neuve Chapelle that Walker incurred a Gun Shot Wound to the right thigh. According to the Regimental Diary, the regiment suffered 7 officers killed, 8 officers wounded and 298 men killed and wounded in the battle.

Having received treatment Walker returned to active service, fighting on until he was sent to the Irish Command Discharge Centre at Arbour Hill, Dublin. According to the Daily Orders he was then part of the 3rd Battalion, Linc. Regiment based at Cork with the rank of Lance Sergeant on 10 May 1918 – the very day he was ordered to Liverpool for dispersal. His discharge, on medical grounds, came on 7 June 1918 – five months before the Armistice that ended the war. For his efforts he was awarded the normal trio of WWI medals along with a Silver Wound Badge.

Pension ledger pages confirm his wound to have been a “GSW Rt Thigh.” They also provided his address as Graffinberg House, Redcar, Yorkshire. He was to receive 11/- for 156 weeks from 7 July 1921, plus £40 with no Grounds for further increase.

The 1921 England census confirmed that Walker now resided at 41 The Fleet, Dormanston, Redcar. He had reverted to the use of the names Edward William Walker and was employed as a Plate Mill Stock Taker with Dorman, Long Co. Ltd. – trading as Redcar Iron & Steelworks. Daughter Lavinia was now 13 years old and had been joined by a sibling, Winifred (9) who had been born in Redcar. There is every chance that Walker joined the employ of the new Dorman, Long Steel Plant which commenced operations in Redcar in 1917.


The Cleveland Standard 27 February 1932

Having worked for many years he passed away, unexpectedly, on 15 February 1932. His probate revealed that he had been in North Ormesby Hospital, Middlesbrough at the time and that his effects of £163 15s 4d. were left to his widow, Laura Jane, of 79 Westfield Way, Dormanstown, Redcar, Yorkshire.

There was time for one final twist in the tail – a brief insert in the Cleveland Standard of Saturday, 27 February 1932, under the banner “DIED AFTER A FIT” revealed that:

‘A verdict of “Death from natural causes” was returned at an inquest held at North Ormesby Hospital, Middlesbrough on Monday on William Edward Walker, aged 52, of Westfield Way, Dormanstown, Redcar, who died in the hospital following a fit at Messrs. Dorman, Long & Co.’s Warrenby Iron Works. The relatives of the man had thought that death might have been due to a shrapnel injury of the head which he had received during the war. A post-mortem examination revealed that the fit had had nothing to do with this.’


An aerial photo of the Warrenby Iron Works in 1924











Sources:

- Various contributors from the Great War Forum www.greatwarforum.org/topic/301939-15202...ncs/#comment-3175152
- The History of the Lincolnshire Regiment 1914-1918 by C.R. Simpson
- Ancestry for census data
- British Newspaper Archive for Cleveland Standard article via Robert Kesterton
- Anglo Boer War Forum for Stirlings Colonials in South Africa

Thank you Rory, a great story behind the man and his exploits, also good to see the acknowledgements and reference to a great British steelworks, sadly now gone

Clive