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Chaplain Water Dexter was a highly decorated Chaplain in the First World War, and was attached to the 1st Australian Division, 5th Australian Infantry Battalion and the Australian Chaplains Department. He was the first "padre" to land at Gallipoli.
Mary Carr Walter Ernest Dexter was born in Birkenhead, England, as one of nine children to Thomas and Martha Dexter.
Walter joined the British Forces and served as a trooper of the Lumsden's Horse unit during the South African (Anglo-Boer) War and won a Distinguished Conduct Medal.
Mary Carr Over the years Walter resumed his nautical career and in 1899 he passed an examination for the Master's Certificate.
Walter back at sea, rescued people from a shipwreck off Mauritius proving yet again his courage and bravery. He was given a gallantry medal by The Royal Humane Society for this valiant act.
Mary Carr Walter married Frances Rohan in Mauritius, but Frances was to die a year later.
In 1906, Walter began studying theology in England. In 1908, he graduated with a Master of Arts (MA) and Licentiate of Theology (LTh).
Mary Carr Walter was ordained as an Anglican minister. Walter explained that “a driving force" - "It was certainly not myself" — caused him to enter the ministry, and it was a decision which he had not regretted.
Walter moved to his first parish, at Wonthaggi on Victoria's coalfields. For two years his vicarage was a tent.
Mary Carr Walter married Dora Roadknight.
Mary Carr With the outbreak of war, Walter volunteered with the Australian Imperial Force. He passed his medical on 7th September and was made a Chaplain 4th Class.
Mary Carr Walter sailed from Melbourne for Egypt on the Orvieto. On the journey, HMAS Sydney, a warship accompanying the convoy, captured the crew of the German cruiser Emden. They became prisoners on the Orvieto, and Walter became friendly with Captain Karl Von Muller, writing, “He is the kind of man I would like for a first officer.” "Left Melbourne 3 pm, Dorrie and Mum on board the Orvieto, to see me off … I watched Dorrie as far as I could & then turned away & threw myself amongst the men & endeavoured to still my mind. “Mizpah”. " - Walter Dexter
Mary Carr While training in Egypt, Walter became known as "the pinching padre", so good was he at purloining items to improve life for "his boys". When he wasn't allowed to land at Gallipoli, he wrote, “I felt awfully upset about it, to think of my boys going into action & me not there.” This image was taken by Walter.
Mary Carr In Egypt, Walter ministered tirelessly to the wounded. Sergeant-Major Harold Burton said of him, “He was as good as a doctor, binding and dressing the wounds; some of them would make you sick just to look at, but he kept on working all day and far into the night.” This image shows the 5th Battalion, with Walter sitting second from the left in the front row.
Mary Carr Finally allowed to land at Gallipoli, reportedly as its first chaplain, Walter held his first service at on May 23. "At 7 am held Communion service in a little gully … one feels that the beautiful service drew them nearer to God than they have ever been before. Bullets were whistling over our heads all the time." This image was taken by Walter.
Mary Carr Walter, like all Chaplains, had to take care of the spiritual needs of his flock. In a letter to his mother, Private E. Kerby wrote of Walter, "The preacher was the chaplain of the 5th Battalion. The Rev. Captain Dexter, and the parade was held on the bivouac site of the 6th Battalion. In spite of the danger of bursting shrapnel, there was an attendance of about half of our brigade. The bivouac is on the side of a steep hill. fairly thickly covered with short scrub. The padre was standing on an empty biscuit box at the foot of the hill, and we were all grouped above and around him in the scrub. We had no choir or band, but the singing was fairly hearty. Every now and then a shell from the Turks would whiz away overhead, to burst over one of the surrounding hills or valleys. Luckily none burst near us.” Published: The Ballarat Star, Thursday 5, August 1915 [Page 2]
Mary Carr In the days before Gallipoli was evacuated on December 19-20, Walter walked around the cemeteries “just planting a few wattle seeds. There will be something Australian when we are all gone.” He took away from the peninsula a “Gallipoli cross” grave marker made of twigs. It now resides in the Australian War Memorial, along with Walter’s war diaries.
Mary Carr Walter became a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order for distinguished service in the field. Photo: MoD/MOD
Mary Carr Walter received a Mention in Dispatches. Image Attribution: Col André Kritzinger
In 1916, Walter was promoted to Chaplain 3rd Class.
Mary Carr Walter moved to the Western Front where Charles Bean, Australia’s official war historian, records, "with support from the Australian Comforts Fund, [he] established at the corner of Bécourt Wood a coffee stall which henceforth became a cherished institution on the edge of every Australian battlefield.” Walter was Australia's senior Church of England chaplain in France.
Mary Carr Walter was awarded the Military Cross for continuous service. Photo: MoD/MOD
Walter was again promoted, to Chaplain 2nd Class.
Mary Carr At the war's end, Walter embarked for England, where he helped with the demobilization.
Walter returned to Australia on the Orvieto, the same ship he'd left on, arriving in Melbourne on April 15.
Having tried life on a soldier-settler block in Kilsyth, Victoria, Walter returned to the ministry at Romsey in 1924. He moved to Lara in 1927 and West Footscray in 1940, retiring in 1947.
Mary Carr Walter published a book called Rope-Yarns, Marline-Spikes and Tar, which detailed his early life at sea.
Mary Carr Walter passed away at his home in East Malvern on the morning of his 77th birthday. He was survived by his wife, five sons and a daughter, and remained a beloved figure among ex-soldiers and renowned for his "lantern shows" of the countless photographs he'd taken during the war.