VINCENT, Walter William

Walter was born 1886 in Newport to Charles & Jane (nee MEADER) VINCENT of 34 Sea Street in Newport. In 1911 Walter was the Master of the Ketch Hetta running out of Southampton.

Walter served as a Rifleman with the 8th Bn. known as the Isle of Wight Rifles. 900 Rifles landed at Sulva Bay, Gallipoli, on 10th August 1915.

On the 12th August, together with other members of the 163rd Brigade, the Rifles were ordered to advance & occupy a ridge of hills in front of them, & in doing so, cut off the Turkish armies in the area of Anzac beach & cape Helles, in order to dominate the Dardanelles straights.  During the first attack, 8 officers over 300 men of the Rifles were reported killed or missing.

Walter, aged 29, was listed as Missing Presumed Killed in Action on the 12th of August 1915. His body was never found or identified & so Walter is commemorated by the Commission on the Helles Memorial to The Missing at Gallipoli in Turkey alongside 20,961 of his First World War comrades.

Walter is also remembered on the County & Newport Borough War Memorials.