Walter Brunton Brownlee – a determined Scottish Lad

Among the names inscribed on the Nabiac War Memorial, most of which have connections to local families, one may be unfamiliar – Walter Brunton Brownlee.

Walter was born in Liberton, Scotland in December 1896.¹ He reputedly migrated to Australia in 1914,² arriving, I believe, shortly after the commencement of WW1. The passenger manifest of the SS Indrapura which arrived in Sydney in late 1914 includes a 17-year-old W Brownlee described as a “farm student”.³ Perhaps he came as a “Dreadnought Boy”?⁴ (See note below)

He spent a relatively short time in the Nabiac district working for Mr John Affleck, who is said to have come from the same region of Scotland, and later with Mr W H Abbott and Mr Allard.⁵

His real ambition seems to have been to enlist and fight for the Empire. Being very short in stature (barely 5 feet tall) he suffered many rejections but was finally accepted in May 1917. Like so many others he sustained wounds on the battlefield, which led to his death on 20 June 1918.⁶

Walter was not forgotten by the Wallamba community, his name is inscribed on the Nabiac War Memorial,⁷ neither was he forgotten by his widowed mother and community in Scotland as his name is also inscribed on the Liberton War Memorial, located near Edinburgh.⁸

Author: Penny Teerman

(Note: Many British teenagers were assisted to migrate to Australia between 1911 and 1939 under the Dreadnought Scheme which provided training in farming skills to fit them for work on rural properties in NSW. http://thedreadnoughtboys.blogspot.com)