Walter Kedzlie was a farmer from Halfway Bush, near Dunedin. He won a special prize for drawing from Wakari School at age seven, and again the next year at eight. Walter worked on the family farm on leaving school and enlisted in the army in early 1916. He was drafted to the New Zealand Field Artillery and enrolled as a driver.
At the end of May, 1916, Walter returned from training on embarkation leave and was formally farewelled at his old primary school, along with a fellow soldier, James Dixon (another casualty of 1918). Walter was presented with a wristwatch and a set of tobacco pipes. Mr James Torrance, chairman of the local school committee, in suitable terms made the presentations on behalf of residents. The ladies provided refreshments at the function, and the troopers expressed themselves as greatly pleased with the kindness shown them. -Otago Daily Times, 27/5/1916
At the end of August, 1917, Walter was admitted to a London hospital with tuberculosis of the lungs - described as "pulmonary phthisis."
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| Pleasant Valley Sanatorium, Hocken Library photo. |
Walter returned home to Dunedin at the beginning of January, 1918. He was sent to the Pleasant Valley Sanatorium with acute tuberculosis. He lived only a couple more months and died almost exactly two years after enlistment.
Southern Cemetery, Dunedin.
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