1349 LANCE CORPORAL WALTER ALICK BALLS
‘C’ COMPANY 1/4TH BATTALION, SUFFOLK REGT T.F.
KILLED IN ACTION
18TH JULY 1916
AGE 23 YEARS
The above photograph shows Walter attending his sister Ethel’s wedding in 1913 (with thanks to David McKenna).
Walter was the fourth child and second son born to William, a stockman and Alice (née Hambling) in the village of Blyford in late 1892. In 1902 his father died, leaving Alice to care for four children under twelve years including Walter. By 1911 Walter now eighteen years old was employed as a butcher, whilst still living at home in Halesworth Road, Blyford. At some time in 1912, Walter would have joined the local Territorials to serve as 1349 Private W A Balls. After completing his basic training and being classified as efficient, he would have signed the Imperial Service Obligation which then committed him to serve overseas in the event of a National Emergency, unlike the original terms of service for members of the Territorial Force which had been that of purely Home Defence. With the declaration of war in early August 1914, the whole of the Territorial Force was mobilised. Eventually Walter and the other men from the Company who had signed the obligation were separated from those who had wished to remain in England who then went on preparing defences against a possible invasion.
The Imperial Service men then entered a period of intensive training before crossing to France on 8th November 1914.
Very little is known of Walter’s early service whilst at the Front. No doubt he would have been involved in the Battalions baptism of fire at Neuve Chapelle in March 1915. In a letter to his mother dated 7th July 1915 (see over) he thanked her for the lovely parcel that he had received the previous Saturday after returning to his dug out at the end of a hard night digging a new reserve trench. He also asked after his younger brother George who had enlisted into the 9th Suffolk’s the previous November. The general tone of Walter’s letter appeared to be very positive with one passage relating to how they were for a short time in billets surrounded by Cherry Trees, the fruit of which they were enjoying very much, no doubt much to the annoyance of the French Farmer. For the remaining months of the summer to late autumn 1915 his Battalion continued to serve both in and out of the front line with much time spent in constructing new lines of defence and small scale operations, early in December Walter heard the good news that he had been selected for some home leave, being granted eight days from the 11th December. How much time this would allow him to spend with his family with all of the travelling involved is not known but those few days at home no doubt proved a great change from his life at the front. Six weeks after his return Walter had been selected to attend the Divisional Bomb (Grenade) School from 20th January returning to his Company five days later. In his new role he must have impressed as on 17th March he received promotion to Lance Corporal. This was the same day that the Battalion proceeded to new positions in the area of Annequin with them all now wearing the new steel shrapnel helmets that had just been issued.
During the night of the 13th – 14th May 1916 a trench raid was mounted on the German Front Line. Led by Captain Brunger from Framlingham a party of thirty-one men including Grenadiers (Bomb Throwers) of which Walter was now one and all drawn from ‘C’ Company many of whom would have served with the original Halesworth Company left their trench at 01.30. After crossing No Man’s Land, they then caused havoc in the German line by showering them with many Mills Bombs. The raid proved to be a great success with an unknown number of Germans killed or wounded and a German Officer made a prisoner for the loss of three of our men killed and seven others wounded. Those numbers today may seem severe but due to the large number of losses every day during the Great War they would have been considered light. For his party’s actions and leadership Captain Brunger was awarded a Distinguished Service Order only to be killed himself whilst serving with the Norfolk Regiment in October 1918.
Just two months later Walter would be dead from 15th July the 4th Suffolk’s were in reserve positions in the area of Bezantin-Le-Petit when at 23.30 hours they moved forward to relieve the 10th Bn Kings Own Yorkshire Infantry in the front line. Realising something was taking place the Germans kept up a heavy artillery barrage right throughout the relief which was completed by 05.00 hours. It was during this move that Walter lost his life as with many others during the Battle of the Somme. Walter’s remains were never found, and he is now remembered on the Thiepval Memorial along with 72,317 others who paid the ultimate sacrifice and whose bodies were never found.
On hearing the news of Walter’s death Alice would have been beside herself with grief, as on the first anniversary of his death and for many years after she placed a Memorial notice in the Halesworth Times. Although saddened by her loss she must have felt blessed in some way as her other three sons, all of whom served in France and Belgium came through unscathed. They were William the eldest who served with the 9th East Surrey Regiment from 1916, he became a P.O.W. in 1917. Francis known as Frank who had originally joined The Queens Regiment in 1917 and was transferred to the Labour Corps later; and finally George, who had been mentioned in Walter’s letter and who enlisted into the 9th Suffolk’s until transferring to the Machine Gun Corps later in the war.
From 8th May 1917 Walter’s mother Alice, having been listed as his next of kin, went on to receive a small weekly pension of 2s 0d (10p) for the loss of her son. This had been followed in July 1919 by a War Gratuity payment that totalled £16.6s.2d (£16.31p).
In Suffolk Walter is remembered on the Halesworth Memorial and also in Blyford Church the village of his birth. (See above).
Walter’s medal entitlement would have been the 1914 Star Trio, Memorial Plaque and Scroll. The location of these is unknown.
Below is a copy of the letter dated 7th July 1915 that Walter had sent to his mother Alice.
