Walter Townsend Anstiss

  General Notes:

Private Walter Townsend Anstiss - 33671

Walter was born at Glentunnel on 2nd November 1878, son of John Owen Anstiss and Susan Townsend Partridge. Before enlisting, his last employment was as a farm labourer for his father at Glentunnel. He was 5ft 7 in tall with a dark complexion grey eyes and dark brown hair. As both Walter and his brother Ernest had enlisted, his father sold the farm and moved to Springston. John Owen had been postmaster and storekeeper as well as Clerk of the South Malvern Road Board, Chairman of the South Malvern Cemetery Board, Secretary of the Coalgate Saleyards Company and Churchwarden.

Walter enlisted on 19th September 1916 and was assigned to the Canterbury Infantry Battalion, 21st Reinforcements with his brother Ernest John. He embarked on board the Ulimaroa from Wellington for England and arrived in Devonport on 27th March 1917. He must have had fun on board ship for his conduct sheet notes he was gambling on board ship and appearing on guard duty unshaven. He marched into Sling and was assigned to Canterbury Infantry, 4th Brigade and sent to Codford on 2nd April 1917. He left with them for France on 21st May. He was wounded in action on 28 July suffering gunshot wounds causing a compound fracture skull. He was taken by No 4 Field ambulance to the No 2 Australian Casualty Clearing Station No.2 at Trois Arbres, near Bailleul, where he died the next day, aged 38. He was buried in the Trois Arbres Cemetery, Steernwerck, In New Zealand Walter is remembered on the Malvern County War Memorial.

Researched and written by L M Seaton



Cemetery locale Information: Steenwerck is a village on the D77 about 6 kilometres south-east of Bailleul, and to the east of the road from Bailleul to Estaires. Steenwerck village remained untouched for much of the First World War, but on 10 April 1918 it was captured by the Germans and remained in their possession until the beginning of October. Trois-Arbres passed into German hands a day later than Steenwerck, after a rearguard defence by the 34th Division. The site for Trois Arbres Cemetery was chosen for the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station in July 1916, and Plot 1 and the earlier rows of Plot II, were made and used by that hospital until April 1918. A few further burials were made in the cemetery after the German withdrawal at the end of 1918 and after the Armistice, graves were brought into it from the battlefields of Steenwerck, Nieppe, Bailleul and Neuve-Eglise. There are now 1,704 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 435 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to ten casualties known or believed to be buried among them. The cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker.

Source: Selwyn Kete: Soldiers of Selwyn http://keteselwyn.peoplesnetworknz.info/soldiers_of_selwyn/topics/show/88-private-walter-townsend-anstiss