Private Harold Alexander Walker
- Rank
- Private
- Service number
- WX9224
- Unit
- 2/4 Machine Gun Battalion
- Cause of death
- Killed in Action
- Place of death
- Singapore
- Date of death
- 12 February 1942
- Age
- 23
- Plaque number
- L233A
- Co-located plaques
- L233 - PTE Harold Radburn
- Dedicated by
- Family on 19 August 2017
- More information
Biography presented during plaque dedication:
Private Harold Alexander Walker of 2/4 Machine Gun Battalion was born in June 1918 in Greenbushes, Western Australia.
His parents were John and Ivy Walker and he had four sisters and one brother. He went to school in Mullalyup and later to Denmark state school.
After leaving school he was apprenticed to Mr Wood’s Bakery as a Baker. He arose at three am to stoke fires for bread making and then to deliver bread around town by horse and cart.
After finishing his apprenticeship in 1940, he enlisted in the second Australian Imperial Force.
He was posted to 2/4 Machine Gun Battalion and trained with them in Northam. The unit then continued training at Woodside in South Australia.
The battalion was listed as one of the support units for 8 Division, and as more of the division was deployed ‘up north’, by October, it was in Darwin with 23 Brigade.
The unit left Darwin in December 1941 intended for Singapore via Port Moresby. As a consequence of enemy attacks at Rabaul, the convoy then went to Sydney and Fremantle, eventually reaching Singapore at the end of January 1942.
The Battalion was utilised preparing defences around Singapore and was deployed to defend the ese attack which commenced on 8 February.
The machine-gunners suffered heavily, between 8 and 15 February. The battalion had 137 men killed or missing.
Private Harold Alexander Walker, service number WX9224, was killed in action at Singapore on 12 February 1942. He was 23 years of age.
He is interred at Kranji Cemetery Singapore.
His plaque is placed alongside that of Private Frederick Ludge from the same battalion, who died the day before him.