Pvt. Sydney James (Syd) Walker - WW1 Soldier: 100 Years of WW1 Commemoration continues...
Pvt. Sydney
James (Syd) Walker #36898, Infantry:
SYDNEY WALKER
painted portrait, from Otautau Museum Collections
[above photo is in Public Domain]
painted portrait, from Otautau Museum Collections
[above photo is in Public Domain]
Syd was the second eldest son of Charlotte Agnes
(nee Walker) and Thomas James Walker, of Otautau. His parents were cousins, the
children of two brothers who both settled in Otautau after immigrating to NZ. He was the younger brother of Harry (William Henry), who was featured in the blog post prior to this one.
Born on 18 May 1896, he enlisted in WW1 on 22 September 1916, at the age
of 20, on the same day as his older brother Harry, and right after him - their
conscription numbers are consecutive. Syd’s occupation was a groom employed by R.
Stenhouse, who owned the Otautau Livery & Bait Stables. He had however been
previously part of the Otautau 14th Regiment in the Territorials.
Syd was a Rifleman in the NZ Rifle Brigade along with his brother Harry, which
was part of the 21st Reinforcements known as J Company. He sailed for Plymouth,
Devon on the ship Waitemata on 19th Jan, 1917, together with his brother. It must have been a comfort to the family for them to know that the boys had gone to war together, as company for one another. Syd served for a total of 2 years and 184 days, participating in the war
effort overseas in Europe and on the Western Front, for 2 years and 35 days. On
18 Jan 1918, he was detached to the 1st ATC (Australian Tunnelling
Company) at Rouen for some time – this is the same Company that is now famous
for their tunnelling exploits at Hill 60. There is no clearly apparent reason
for this detachment in his Army records. But on later receiving a gunshot wound
in his left forearm on 26th Aug 1918 in the field, Syd eventually arrived
at the NZG hospital in London, on 4 Sept 1918 with his arm in a sling. The
wound seemed to cause Syd much trouble, as he was in and out of hospital and convalescing,
for the rest of the war.
On 8 Jan 1919, he embarked to return to NZ on the Matatua. Syd was finally discharged from active service on 22 March 1919, as being “no longer physically fit for war service on account of wounds rec. in action.” The brothers had left for war together, but returned separately. It must have been a hard blow for them to have to be parted while on active service, during injuries and to leave at different times.
On returning from the war, Syd applied for his Overseas War Service Gratuity which was granted on 25 Nov 1919, the amount being £87.18 shillings for a total of 770 days service in WW1. Syd never married either, he was the only one of his siblings not to do so. It is not clear from records, just what Syd did when he first returned, but from 1 June 1929, Syd became a partner in the well-known Otautau butcher’s firm of Stephens & Walker, with Fernleigh Stephens. One of this businesses advertisements from just a month after their shop opening, is shown below:
On 8 Jan 1919, he embarked to return to NZ on the Matatua. Syd was finally discharged from active service on 22 March 1919, as being “no longer physically fit for war service on account of wounds rec. in action.” The brothers had left for war together, but returned separately. It must have been a hard blow for them to have to be parted while on active service, during injuries and to leave at different times.
On returning from the war, Syd applied for his Overseas War Service Gratuity which was granted on 25 Nov 1919, the amount being £87.18 shillings for a total of 770 days service in WW1. Syd never married either, he was the only one of his siblings not to do so. It is not clear from records, just what Syd did when he first returned, but from 1 June 1929, Syd became a partner in the well-known Otautau butcher’s firm of Stephens & Walker, with Fernleigh Stephens. One of this businesses advertisements from just a month after their shop opening, is shown below:
(Advertisement from Otautau Standard & Wallace County Chronicle 16-07-1929;
thanks to National Library of NZ -
accessed from https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ )
accessed from https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ )
While it was thought Syd had no children, new information came to light
after the advent of DNA testing for family research, that shows that he fathered
Duncan Daniel Stephens, before the marriage of Fernleigh & Jane Johnson “Jeanie”
(nee McCallum) Stephens. This happened just before Syd
went to war, and could be a reason he went with his brother. It appears Jeanie and Syd had some form of relationship before
she married Fernleigh. There are reports from family members that Syd and Fernleigh were often at odds during their many years in business together. The ravages of war alone would have made
life difficult for injured survivors and possibly Syd’s being spurned in love
could have added to the problem, and it certainly explains one possible reason why he never married.
At the time of Syd's death on 18 May 1967, in Invercargill, at the age of 71, the death informant was none other than Mrs J. Stephens, of Main St, Otautau... the mother of his unacknowledged (and as yet unknown) child, and wife of his business partner! We can but assume he would have taken pride in the fact that he had a son, if he could but have known. And how amazing that all these years later, it is DNA testing that can confirm the fact. Syd’s occupation at his death was butcher and he was buried in the Soldier’s block at the new Hodgkinson Cemetery, Otautau.
At the time of Syd's death on 18 May 1967, in Invercargill, at the age of 71, the death informant was none other than Mrs J. Stephens, of Main St, Otautau... the mother of his unacknowledged (and as yet unknown) child, and wife of his business partner! We can but assume he would have taken pride in the fact that he had a son, if he could but have known. And how amazing that all these years later, it is DNA testing that can confirm the fact. Syd’s occupation at his death was butcher and he was buried in the Soldier’s block at the new Hodgkinson Cemetery, Otautau.
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Excellent article!! :) Fernleigh and Jeanie Stephens were my great grandparents.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I enjoyed researching and writing it! The family information received was very helpful too. We are continuing to add to our collection of information on these soldiers, and their families, so please check back from time to time to see what else we have managed to add. Cheers
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