Walter Embry emigrated from Leicester, England in 1913 and worked as a Hairdresser in Melbourne until the outbreak of WW1. He must have enlisted as soon as news of the war was made public, because his enlistment number was 369, although he didn't actually report to the enlistment office until January 1915. This may have been because he was waiting for his younger brother to have a birthday in January, but this is purely speculation, but the two of them, Walter and Bert are shown in the records by January 1915. By this time the 1st Battallion was full and both were placed in the 2nd Battallion AIF. After the war, both young men had news that their mother was not well, so they pooled their money and with enough for only one fare home, decided to pick straws to decide who got the ticket. Wally returned to Leicester in 1920 to deal with family matters and it was not until 1926 when he returned with a pregnant wife and young son (Ron) to start a new life in Victoria. Wally ran his own Hairdressing business in South Melbourne until the economic collapse of 1929, and as a returned soldier he was given help in finding a job. Wally, Alice, Ron and Jack moved to the Old Brown Coal Mine, and the Embry family continued to expand and subsequently settled into life in Yallourn.