Born near Castlemaine, Victoria, Peeler worked at various jobs in his home town and in the Melbourne area before enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force in February 1916.

Eight days after his Victoria Cross action, Peeler was severely wounded in his right arm and spent the next seven months recuperating in the United Kingdom.

When Dutch resistance collapsed in March, allied forces in Java signed a formal surrender with British, Australian and American troops becoming prisoners of war.

[1] After three-and-a-half years as prisoner of war, Peeler was freed in August 1945 and returned to Australia in October, resuming his duties at the Shrine of Remembrance.

He was the eighth child of William Peeler, a farmer and miner, and his English-born wife Mary Ellen (née Scott).

Posted as a private soldier to the machine gun section of the 3rd Pioneer Battalion, Peeler underwent his initial training in Victoria,[2][5] before departing from Melbourne headed for England aboard HMAT Wandilla on 6 June.

[7] During the three months Peeler's unit spent in England undergoing additional training, he was charged with being absent without leave for six hours on 3 July, and fined a day's pay.

[8] In mid-December, Peeler attended a week-long course at the Machine Gun School in Le Touquet,[7] and in early 1917, accompanied the battalion north in preparation for the upcoming Messines offensive.

Following an incident that occurred during a training session on 26 April, he was charged with "careless and negligent handling of a Lewis Gun whilst instructing" that led to "grievous bodily injury" to Private John Martin Fife.

The Australians rapidly crossed the first 100 metres (110 yd) before becoming pinned down by a party of nine German soldiers, who were situated in a shellhole and sniping at the advancing troops.

[2][12] Firing his machine gun from the hip, Peeler dashed forward across the exposed ground and shot the group of Germans, "clearing the way for the advance".

[2][13] The Australian force continued to press their assault, encountering pillboxes and machine gun positions as they pushed forward.

[13][14] Described as being "particularly prominent in the advance" by historian Charles Bean,[11] Peeler "almost single-handedly" destroyed four German posts in an hour,[13] accounting for more than 30 soldiers.

[2] On 12 October, eight days after Peeler's actions, the men of the 10th Brigade returned to the front line in an effort to exploit the success of the previous week.

Initially evacuated to the 11th Australian Field Ambulance casualty station, it was decided that his wound necessitated treatment in England so he embarked for the Northampton War Hospital on 15 October, arriving the following day.

For most conspicuous bravery when with a Lewis gun accompanying the first wave of the assault he encountered an enemy party sniping the advancing troops from a shell-hole.

[8] On 8 January 1918, Peeler was formally conferred with his Victoria Cross by King George V in an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

[7][8] On 7 April 1941, the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion embarked aboard HMT Queen Mary at Sydney, bound for the Middle East; Peeler's rank of staff sergeant was confirmed as substantive on the same day.

[20] On the night of 27 June, after a costly assault against the Vichy French at Merdjayoun earlier that day, Peeler led out a patrol to recover the wounded.

[18][21] Despite suffering heavy casualties in Syria, the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion served throughout the campaign, including participation in the decisive Battle of Damour in July.

[20] After the Vichy French defeat in Syria, the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion was relocated to Tripoli, Lebanon where it headquartered itself in an olive grove while carrying out training and garrison duties over the next four months.

Sailing far ahead of the 7th Division ships, the fast liner Orcades with 3400 men including the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion without its heavy equipment, reached Sumatra at midday of 15 February.

This ad hoc grouping, under the command of fellow Victoria Cross holder Brigadier Arthur Blackburn, was tasked with defending a series of airfields and supporting the Dutch.

However, rapid Japanese progress pushed the defending Dutch forces in the opposite direction, and Blackforce was assigned the defence of Buitenzorg and Leuwiliang.

With supplies running low and unable to contact the Australian Government, Brigadier Blackburn announced the surrender of Blackforce four days later.

At the time, he was one of three Australian Victoria Cross recipients of the First World War serving overseas, all of whom were "swept up in the Japanese advance";[8] Blackburn surrendered with Peeler at Java, while Walter Brown was caught up in the fall of Singapore, where he is believed to have been killed attempting to evade capture.

[7] Back in Australia, he learned that his son, Donald, by his second marriage, had been killed in action on the island of Bougainville on 31 December 1944, while serving with the 15th Battalion.

"[31] In 1966, Peeler was interviewed for a newspaper article; when queried on his Victoria Cross exploit, he recalled:[33] My wartime experiences are nothing to make a splash about ...