Year of birth: 1899

Place of birth: Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia

Profession: Warehouseman

Country: Australia

Force: Australian Imperial Force

Rank: Private

Service number: 5449

Enlistment date: 28/02/1916

Enlistment place: Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia

Units:  —  Australian Infantry, 17th Bn. (New South Wales)  (Last known unit)

Date of death: 20/09/1917

Place of death: Anzac, Zonnebeke, Belgium

Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.)

Age: 18

British War Medal Medal

Victory Medal Medal

Private Walace Richard Meller was part of the 17th Battalion Australian Infantry, 5th Australian Brigade, 2nd Australian Division. His battalion took part in the Battle of the Menin Road on 20 September 1917 and was responsible for taking the third objective near Garter Point left of Polygon Wood. The two first objectives were taking successfully and the 17th Battalion moved up to the third objective, which was also taken successfully. Private Meller was first reported missing and later reported killed in action. The 17th Battalion A.I.F. suffered a few casualties going up to the second objective but it is most likely that Private Meller was killed taking the third objective. In his Red Cross Wounded and Missing File that 21 men of the 17th Battalion were buried during the night of the 20/21 September, from which only 5 were known by name. The others were buried as unknown Australian soldiers. They were buried in the vicinity of Anzac House. It could be possible that Walace was one of them.

17th Australian Infantry Battalion, (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM4 23/34/26). https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1338583 Sources used

First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920, (National Archives of Australia, Canberra (NAA), B2455, MELLER W R). https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/SearchScreens/NameSearch.aspx Sources used

MacKenzie K.W., The story of the seventeenth battalion A .I .F. : in the Great War 1914-1918, (Sydney, Shippin Newspapers, 1946), pp. 192-193. Sources used

McCarthy Chris, Passchendaele : The Day-by-Day account, (London, Uniform, 2018), p 80-83. Sources used

Red Cross Wounded and Missing File and Embarkation Roll https://www.awm.gov.au/advanced-search?query=meller+5449 Sources used

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1599687

Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=b1e1ea6e-1c04-4166-bd46-84be870d8bb2

Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/7539708

The AIF Project (UNSW Canberra) https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=206217