Walter Peeler - Later Life and Legacy

Later Life and Legacy

Peeler resumed his duties as custodian of the Shrine of Remembrance on his discharge, guiding visitors around the memorial. In the 1961 Queen's Birthday Honours, his "long and dedicated service" at the Shrine was recognised with the award of the British Empire Medal. He retired three years later at the age of 76, stating: "It's time I had a rest." In 1966, Peeler was interviewed for a newspaper article; when queried on his Victoria Cross exploit, he recalled:

My wartime experiences are nothing to make a splash about ... I'm just an ex-soldier who did his job. I never saw the faces of those I killed. They were just men in an enemy uniform. It was simply them or me. I don't think I was brave—not any more than the other Aussies who were with me. I simply had a job to do and I did it ... Only afterwards did I realise how lucky I'd been not to get killed myself. —Walter Peeler

On 23 May 1968, Peeler died at his home in South Caulfield, Victoria. Survived by his wife, Kathleen, and their four remaining children, he was buried in Brighton Cemetery. Kathleen died the following year. Peeler is commemorated in the Victorian Garden of Remembrance, and a soldiers' club in Casula, New South Wales, bears his name. His Victoria Cross and other medals are on display in the Hall of Valour at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.