Walter Peeler

Walter Peeler VC, BEM

Walter Peeler was born on 9 August 1887 at Barker’s Creek, near Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia. Before the First World War he worked in the district and established a family life that would be interrupted by two world wars. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in February 1916 and was posted to the 3rd Pioneer Battalion.

Peeler embarked for overseas service later that year and joined his battalion on the Western Front. The pioneers performed some of the most physically demanding and dangerous work of the Australian divisions. They constructed and repaired trenches, roads and communications while also being expected to fight as infantry when required. Peeler proved himself a capable soldier and was promoted to lance corporal.

Victoria Cross

On 4 October 1917, during the Battle of Broodseinde in Belgium, Lance Corporal Peeler was attached to the 37th Battalion when the Australian attack encountered determined German resistance.

Armed with a Lewis gun, Peeler repeatedly moved forward under heavy fire. When an enemy machine gun opened on the advancing Australians, he rushed the position and accounted for the gun crew. He continued forward, attacking additional enemy positions and engaging German soldiers who threatened the advance.

During the fighting he performed a series of exceptionally aggressive actions, repeatedly exposing himself to enemy fire. His conduct helped clear the way for the advancing troops and contributed materially to the success of the attack.

For his conspicuous bravery and determination at Broodseinde, Walter Peeler was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry available to Australian and British Empire forces.

His award transformed the young Victorian soldier into a nationally recognized figure, but his military service continued. He was subsequently promoted temporary corporal on 31 May 1918 and sergeant on 30 July 1918.

In August 1918, Peeler embarked for Australia with other Victoria Cross recipients who had been recalled to assist the recruiting campaign. He arrived home on 11 October 1918 and was discharged from the Australian Imperial Force on 10 December 1918.

Between the Wars

After returning to civilian life, Peeler remained closely associated with Australia’s military community and the commemoration of those who had served.

In 1934 he became custodian of Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance, one of Australia’s most important war memorials. The position placed a Victoria Cross recipient at the centre of Victoria’s remembrance of the First World War generation.

His service at the Shrine was interrupted by another war.

A Second World War

Despite already having served through the First World War and having earned the Victoria Cross, Peeler enlisted again during the Second World War.

Serving under the number VX8345, he joined the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion and eventually held the rank of Warrant Officer Class II. His unit served in the Middle East, including the campaign in Syria, before being sent to the Netherlands East Indies as Japanese forces advanced through Southeast Asia.

Peeler was captured in Java in 1942.

The Victoria Cross recipient who had survived the Western Front now faced a very different ordeal. He spent approximately three and a half years as a prisoner of war of the Japanese before liberation in 1945.

After returning to Australia, Peeler resumed his position as custodian of Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance. He remained there until 1964, becoming a familiar figure to generations of visitors and veterans.

In 1961 he was awarded the British Empire Medal, Civil Division, in recognition of his long and devoted service at the Shrine of Remembrance.

Walter Peeler died on 23 May 1968, aged 80.

His life encompassed an extraordinary span of Australian military history. He fought on the Western Front, earned the Victoria Cross at Broodseinde, returned to military service during the Second World War, survived years as a prisoner of the Japanese, and then devoted much of his postwar life to preserving the memory of Australians who had served.

His medals, including his Victoria Cross, British Empire Medal, First and Second World War service medals and the Coronation Medals of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II, are preserved in the collection of the Australian War Memorial.