November 19, 2008
Local soldier's unmarked grave found
STOP PRESS
ABC 1 has included a segment on the RSL funeral service for CPL Thatcher, during Stateline which will be broadcast at 1930 hrs tonight.
The unmarked grave of a local returned serviceman will be honoured with an official RSL funeral service at the Yass Cemetery on Wednesday.
Members of the Queanbeyan RSL Sub Branch will join members of the Yass RSL Sub Branch to recognise Walter Albert Thatcher - a World War II soldier from Yass who served in the Second Force Australian Infantry Battalion and the Z Special Unit between 1939 and 1945.
Walter Albert Thatcher, affectionately known as Ned, was born in Yass on January 19 1907. He died at the Goulburn Training Centre on May 24, 1959 from a heart condition, believed to be linked to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Ned Thatcher was buried at the Yass Cemetery and his unmarked grave went largely unnoticed until relatives began searching for him some years ago.
When Julie Wheelhouse approached Richard Stone, ex-RAAF Logistics Officer and President of the RSL Queanbeyan Sub Branch, with service details of her grand-uncles time in the Australian Armed Forces, he was amazed.
I saw his service record and I was just amazed, Mr Stone said.
While the Ethos of the RSL is to leave no sailor, airman or soldier in an unmarked grave, this was not the only force compelling Mr Stone to help Ms Wheelhouse honour her grand-uncle.
“He must have been a very, very good soldier because he was promoted a number of times.
“To be part of the Z Special Unit he had to be a very special person,†Mr Stone said.
Secretary of the Queanbeyan RSL Sub Branch and ex-Lieutenant-Colonel, Darryl Patch, said Mr Thatcher served in Greece, Crete, New Guinea and the Middle East.
He was transferred to the Z Special Unit, a precursor to the British Special Air Service (SAS) and the Australian Special Air Services Regiment (ASASR).
The Z Special Unit was a joint Australian, British and New Zealand commando unit which saw action against the Empire of Japan during WWII. The Z Special Unit carried out 284 covert operations in the South West Pacific theatre, many of which still remain cloak-and-dagger today.
The Z Special Unit was a small organisation that served behind enemy lines. It did a number of operations, some are still classified as secret, Mr Patch said.
Ms Wheelhouse said the funeral service would be a very emotional and special time for her family. Many are travelling to Yass to attend.
The service and the day are both going to be very important and very emotional.
Ms Wheelhouse expressed her gratitude towards the Queanbeyan RSL Sub Branch for supporting her quest and OSKAR Memorials in Canberra for donating the granite headstone bearing the name of her grand-uncle.
They have done so much and I cannot thank them enough, Ms Wheelhouse said.
Members of the Yass RSL Sub Branch and members of the public who were acquainted with Mr Thatcher during his time in Yass are welcome to attend the RSL funeral service at the Yass Cemetery on Wednesday at 11am.
Courtesy Yass Tribune







