Walter Peeler, (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 following his actions during the Battle of Broodseinde in October 1917. Then a lance corporal in the Australian Imperial Force, he repeatedly took the lead in the 37th Battalion's advance on well-defended German positions, destroying four machine gun posts and killing more than 30 German soldiers during the battle.
Born near Castlemaine, Victoria, Peeler worked at various jobs in his home town and in the Melbourne area before enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force in February 1916. Posted to the 3rd Pioneer Battalion, he arrived on the Western Front during November. In June 1917, his battalion participated in the assault on Messines ridge, where he was lightly wounded. Eight days after his Victoria Cross action, Peeler was severely wounded in his right arm and spent the next seven months recuperating in the United Kingdom. Following the armistice with Germany, he was discharged from service with the rank of sergeant in December 1918.
Peeler re-settled with his family in Victoria, and was appointed the inaugural custodian of Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance in 1934. In May 1940, Peeler enlisted for service in the Second World War, understating his age by fourteen years to avoid the upper age limit imposed on volunteers. He was posted to the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion and initially saw action in the Syria–Lebanon campaign. However, with the entry of Japan into the war, his unit was one of the first sent to the Netherlands East Indies in early 1942. The unit arrived in Sumatra and was disembarking when it was diverted to Java where it assisted in the Dutch defence of the island. When Dutch resistance collapsed in March, allied forces in Java signed a formal surrender with British, Australian and American troops becoming prisoners of war. After three-and-a-half years as prisoner of war, Peeler was freed in August 1945 and returned to Australia in October, resuming his duties at the Shrine of Remembrance. He retired in 1964 and, aged 80, died at his home in South Caulfield in 1968.
Early life
Walter "Wally" Peeler was born at Barker's Creek, near Castlemaine, Victoria, on 9 August 1887. He was the eighth child of William Peeler, a farmer and miner, and his English-born wife Mary Ellen (née Scott). As a youth Peeler worked in his parents' orchard, before gaining employment with Thompson's Foundry in Castlemaine. On 10 July 1907, he wed Emma Hewitt; the couple were to have five children. before departing from Melbourne headed for England aboard HMAT Wandilla on 6 June. The battalion arrived in Plymouth seven weeks later. During the three months Peeler's unit spent in England undergoing additional training, he was charged with being absent without leave for six hours on 3 July, and fined a day's pay. In mid-December, Peeler attended a week-long course at the Machine Gun School in Le Touquet, The 3rd Australian Division's 10th Australian Infantry Brigade was one of the assault formations charged with delivering the main blow, and ultimately with seizing the heavily defended Broodseinde Ridge.
The attack on Broodseinde began at 06:00 under the cover of an artillery barrage. Firing his machine gun from the hip, Peeler dashed forward across the exposed ground and shot the group of Germans, "clearing the way for the advance". He performed similar feats on two subsequent occasions, killing several German soldiers and emerging unscathed. One of the Australians then lobbed a "well aimed" grenade into the dugout, driving out ten soldiers whom Peeler then shot. For his actions during the battle, Peeler was awarded the Victoria Cross; one of two Australians to be so decorated that day. The brigade's attack was soon subject to a "torrent of machine gun fire", Among the group who accepted the offer, Peeler was one of ten who embarked for Melbourne aboard HMAT Medic on 24 August, arriving in Melbourne seven weeks later. He would not return to France; on 11 November 1918 an armistice with Germany was declared, effectively ending the war. Peeler was discharged from the Australian Imperial Force on 10 December.
Second World War
Enlistment and Syrian Campaign
thumb|alt=A marching soldier, in full military uniform and slouch hat, leading several other soldiers. He is saluting a stationary group to his right.|left|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 27 May 1940, Peeler enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force for service in the Second World War, giving his date of birth on his enlistment forms as 9 August 1901, thus understating his age by fourteen years. during which time Peeler was made acting staff sergeant and Company Quartermaster Sergeant of D Company on 1 August. Despite suffering heavy casualties in Syria, the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion served throughout the campaign, including participation in the decisive Battle of Damour in July. He was promoted to Warrant Officer Class II during this time. 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.
On 28 February 1942, elements of the Imperial Japanese Army landed on Java. Blackforce was stationed at Buitenzorg, poised to advance west to confront the invaders. However, rapid Japanese progress pushed the defending Dutch forces in the opposite direction, and Blackforce was assigned the defence of Buitenzorg and Leuwiliang. Peeler and his fellow soldiers thus became prisoners of war. At the time, he 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";
Peeler was among a contingent of Australian captives transported to work on the Burma Railway. Donald Peeler was posthumously mentioned in dispatches for his "distinguished service in the South-West Pacific Area". Warrant Officer Class II Walter Peeler was discharged from the Second Australian Imperial Force on 12 December 1945. In the 1961 Queen's Birthday Honours, his "long and dedicated service" at the Shrine was recognised with the award of the British Empire Medal. He retired three years later at the age of 76, stating: "It's time I had a rest."
thumb|right|150px|Peeler's grave at Brighton General Cemetery
Peeler died at his home in South Caulfield, Victoria, on 23 May 1968. Survived by his second wife, Kathleen, and his four remaining children, he was buried in Brighton Cemetery. Kathleen died the following year.