page_title: Walter Peeler
section_title: Victoria Cross
hierarchical_section_title: Walter Peeler / First World War / Victoria Cross
caption_attribution_description: English: AWM caption: Melbourne, Australia, 1918-10. Aboard the troop transport Medic. Ten Victoria Cross winners of the First Australian Imperial Force who were invited by the Prime Minister of Australia, W.M. Hughes, to return to Australia to assist in recruiting campaign. Back row, left to right: SGT. W. Peeler, VC, 3rd Pioneers Battalion; Corporal T. J. Bede Kenny, VC, 2nd Battalion; SGT. J. W. Whittle, VC, DCM, 12th Battalion, CPL. J. C. Jensen, VC, 50th Battalion; PTE. J. Carroll, VC, 33rd Battalion. Centre row: Lieutenant J. J. Dwyer, VC, 4th Machine Gun; LIEUT. L. Keysor, VC, 1st Battalion; LIEUT. W. Ruthven, VC, 22nd Battalion. Troop Transport Medic Officer, 1st Officer CAPT. Simmons. Front row: Sergeant R. R. Inwood, VC, 10th Battalion; SGT. S. R. McDougall, VC, 47th Battalion.
context_page_description: Walter "Wally" Peeler, VC, BEM 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 in 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.
context_section_description: As part of the third stage of General Sir Herbert Plumer's Passchendaele offensive, an attack against Broodseinde was scheduled for 4 October 1917. 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. To provide defence against low-flying German aircraft during the attack, a group of 24 men, including Peeler, from the 3rd Pioneer Battalion's machine gun section were attached to the 10th Brigade's 37th Battalion.
  The attack on Broodseinde began at 06:00 under the cover of an artillery barrage. Armed with a Lewis Gun, Peeler advanced with the initial wave. The Australians rapidly crossed the first 100 metres (110 yd) before becoming pinned down by a party of nine German soldiers, who were situated in a shellhole and sniping at the advancing troops. 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.
  The Australian force continued to press their assault, encountering pillboxes and machine gun positions as they pushed forward. One such machine gun position, situated in the open, held up the advance. Firing a single burst from his Lewis Gun, Peeler killed the gunner and caused the remainder of the gun's defenders to seek cover in a nearby dugout. One of the Australians then lobbed a "well aimed" grenade into the dugout, driving out ten soldiers whom Peeler then shot. Described as being "particularly prominent in the advance" by historian Charles Bean, Peeler "almost single-handedly" destroyed four German posts in an hour, accounting for more than 30 soldiers.
  By 07:15 the following morning, the 37th Battalion had captured its objective, having seized eight pillboxes, several concrete dugouts, 20 machine guns and 420 prisoners. Two hours later, the Australians were in possession of Broodseinde Ridge. For his actions during the battle, Peeler was awarded the Victoria Cross; one of two Australians to be so decorated that day. On 12 October, eight days after Peeler's actions, the men of the 10th Brigade returned to the front line in an effort to exploit the success of the previous week. The ground in front of their position was dominated by a series of German pillboxes and had been turned into a quagmire by heavy rain. The brigade's attack was soon subject to a "torrent of machine gun fire", and Peeler was severely wounded in his right arm. Initially evacuated to the 11th Australian Field Ambulance casualty station, it was decided that his wound necessitated treatment in England so he embarked for the Northampton War Hospital on 15 October, arriving the following day.
  While recuperating in England, the announcement and accompanying citation for Peeler's Victoria Cross was promulgated in a supplement to the London Gazette on 26 November 1917, reading:
  War Office, 26th November, 1917.
  His Majesty the KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of the Victoria Cross to the undermentioned Officer, Non-commissioned Officers and Men: —
  No. 114 L./Cpl. Walter Peeler, Aus. Imp. Force.
  For most conspicuous bravery when with a Lewis gun accompanying the first wave of the assault he encountered an enemy party sniping the advancing troops from a shell-hole.
  L./Cpl. Peeler immediately rushed the position and accounted for nine of the enemy, and cleared the way for the advance. On two subsequent occasions he performed similar acts of valour, and each time accounted for a number of the enemy.
  During operations he was directed to a position from which an enemy machine gun was being fired on our troops. He located and killed the gunner, and the remainder of the enemy party ran into a dugout close by. From this shelter they were dislodged by a bomb, and ten of the enemy ran out. These he disposed of.
  This non-commissioned officer actually accounted for over thirty of the enemy.
  
caption: The group of ten Australian Victoria Cross recipients repatriated to Australia to assist in recruitment pictured on HMAT Medic with three naval officers. Peeler is standing at left.
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