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Walter Tyson - Information

Walter Tyson was a son of George and Campbelltown native Harriet Elizabeth Tyson. Born in Liverpool in 1896, Walter had a shocking childhood. In 1899, when he was three years old, he lost his mother and baby sister, Maud. Then in 1901, his father also passed away. Walter and his older siblings were now orphaned. Walter and his brother George were left in the care of relatives and helped raised by their two older sisters, Eveline and Elsie. He remained with his sister, Elsie, staying with her and her husband on Langtry Avenue in Auburn. Walter supported himself working as a surveyors' foreman, good work for a man as young as he was, still just a teenager. Shortly after war was declared in 1914, his brother, George, joined the military and was sent overseas. Walter then also decided to enlist in the AIF, signing on at the Royal Showground Camp in Sydney on the 1st of May 1916, he was 19. He began training at Dubbo and at Liverpool Camp and was allocated to the 16th Reinforcements, 19th Battalion. He then boarded the HMAT Ceramic in Sydney on the 7th of October 1916.

After his voyage, Walter disembarked in Plymouth in November. The following month, three days after Christmas, he was sent to France. On the 5th of February 1917, Walter was taken on strength to the 19th Battalion, joining them in the snow covered lines. He was not in the lines long when fierce fighting erupted. To save manpower, the Germans had constructed a new defence position which would shorten their front. Withdrawing to their new line, the Allies cautiously advanced on them, only to be hit by vanguard troops. The 19th Battalion were hit hard at Lagnicourt. They were then ordered to attack the Germans at their new stronghold, known as the Hindenburg Line. Here, Walter was wounded in action on the 3rd of May during the Second Battle of Bullecourt. Walter received a gun shot wound to his hand, and was treated at Boulogne before being evacuated to England. After his hand had healed, he enjoyed some convalescence. However in August, this resulted in a trip to hospital in Bulford with venereal disease. Requiring extensive treatment, he returned to France in June 1918. He was marched into base, and transferred to the 18th and then to the 17th Battalion in October. He remained with the 17th Battalion until the war ended the following month. In January 1919, he was detached to the Australian Corps School in France. He was then transported back to England in May and was shipped home in late July.

Walter returned to his life and family, reuniting with his brother, George. He then met and fell in love with Beatrice Angeline Male. On the 19th of September 1923, Beatrice and Walter married in Barellan. They began their family, while Walter worked as a carpenter. Walter passed away in 1969 in Griffith.