Walter was baptised on 26th February 1893 in Crediton. On his baptism record, Joseph is crossed out before Charles. Did the person writing the record of baptism make a mistake or did his parents change their mind over his middle name?
Walter was the second of four children born to Harry and Lucy (one daughter and three sons):
- Edith Ellen 1891 - 1971 (79)
- Walter Charles 1892 - 1965 (73)
- William John 1894 - ? (?)
- Frank 1896 - 19?? (?)
Walter's young mother Lucy was ill with pulmonary tuberculosis and passed away from the disease, aged 29, on 25th March 1897, in Kennerleigh, when Walter was four years old.
Before Lucy passed away, Harry seems to have begun an affair with Ellen Tonkin, whom he would soon marry. From this marriage, young Walter gained a step-mother and ten younger half siblings:
- Fred (born Tonkin, later Vernon) 1897 - 1915 (18)
- Mabel Ellen 1898 - 1994 (95)
- George 1900 - 1900 (0)
- George Henry 1901 - 1973 (71)
- Ernest Isaac 1904 - 1997 (93)
- Isaac Harry 1906 - 1964 (58)
- William Harwood 1908 - 1972 (64)
- Florence Emily 1911 - 1993 (82)
- Sidney 1913 - 2004 (91)
- Percy 1915 - 2002 (86)
As a young boy Walter first attended school in Thorverton.
On 2nd Oct 1899, when Walter was six, he began attending Stockleigh Pomeroy Church of England School in Stockleigh. His older sister Edith also attended the school. At the time, the family lived in East Combe.
Next Walter, Edith and their younger half brother, Fred, attended school in Cadbury. Walter, aged seven, began at the school on 12th March 1900. At the time, the family lived in West Bowley, Cadbury.
The 1901 Census shows the family back in Thorverton:
Walter then attended school in Upton Pyne.
Walter later attended Crediton Hayward School. He started at the school, aged eleven, on 10th October 1904.
On the school register, his character is listed as 'bad'. He left the school on 19th July 1905, when he was sent to a reformatory.
Why was his sent to a reformatory/industrial school? In the summer of 1905, aged twelve, Walter stole a silver watch and chain from a local farmer.
The case was reported in local newspapers...
From the Western Times on 25th August 1905:
From the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette on 25th August 1905:
After three years in an industrial school, Walter worked briefly as a farm labourer before joining the army as a private, aged seventeen. On 12th October 1910 (two days before his eighteenth birthday), Walter enlisted in the Royal Tank Corps. He had previously been in the 3rd Hussars (a special reserve Devonshire regiment).
Walter's enlistment papers give an accurate physical description of Walter as a very young man. He was just over 5'5'', weighed 9st 2lbs, and had a chest measurement of 35 1/2'' (with a 2'' expansion range). He had a fresh complexion, brown eyes and brown hair.
Soon after enlisting, Walter was transferred to the Irish C Depot on 15th October 1910, then the 11th Hussars on 25th January 1911, and then the 13th Hussars on 19th December 1912.
With the 13th Hussars (a cavalry regiment), Walter served in India from 19th December 1912 to 18th November 1914.
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| Walter (about 20) in India, c 1913 |
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| Wider View of Same Photograph |
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| Walter (in his 20s) in his army uniform, c 1910s |
The First World War had begun that July. From 19th November 1914 to 26th June 1916, Walter served with the 13th Hussars on the British Eastern Front in France. He then served on the Mesopotamian Front in Iraq from 27th June 1916 to 6th May 1919.
Whilst in Basra, Al Basrah, Iraq, Walter suffered from the effects of heat, and was in hospital because of such from 27th July 1916 to 8th August 1916. He was in hospital again because of diarrhoea from the 1st to the 26th November 1916.
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| Walter (in his 20s) in his army uniform, c 1910s |
On 4th June 1919, Walter was transferred to the 2nd Battalion.
Back in Devon, Walter (26) married Winifred Violet Edworthy (24) on 27th September 1919, in Totnes. Together they set up home at 2 Council Cottages, Cowley, near Exeter.
Walter was mobilised into the 13th Hussars on 11th April 1921, then finally transferred again to the 2nd Battalion on 6th June 1921. He was discharged on 11th October 1922.
Walter was a soldier for over a decade. He earned himself the 1914/1915 STAR, the British War Medal, and the Victory Medal. By family it is said the experience reformed him from troublesome farm lad to a good husband and father. He had gone from a 'bad' schoolboy to an 'exemplary' sergeant.
Walter's younger half brother, Fred, followed Walter into the army as a private. Sadly he passed away aged only eighteen on 30th September 1915 in France.
Back in civilian life, Walter and Winifred had three children (two daughters and one son):
- Winifred Peggy Doreen (known as Peggy) 1925 -
- Leslie 'Les' Walter 1927 -
- Christine 'Chris' May 1937 - 2012
As their family grew, they moved next door to 3 Council Cottages, which was larger.
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| Walter (32), Winifred (30) and baby Peggy at Peggy's christening in 1925 |
Family tells that Walter had wanted to name his daughters after women he had met in France, but was not allowed.
Peggy remembers her father, as a military man, being strict but fair. She remembers on cold nights, he would gently lay his large coat over his three sleeping children.
On Christmas Eve 1934, when Walter was forty-two, his father Harry passed away, aged sixty-five.
By the 1930s, Walter was a lorry driver for the railway. He would later become a signalman.
1939 Census:
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| His daughter Peggy's wedding in 1944 captures Walter and his family in the Second World War. Walter (51) is stood centre, Winifred (49) is sat second from right, bride Peggy (19) is sat third from right, Les (17) is stood furthest right, and Chris (7) is sat second from left. |
For Christmas 1949, Walter's daughter Chris was gifted an autograph book. On one page is a poem by Charles Spurgeon written out by Walter on 19th March 1950:
After her marriage to American George Wise, Walter's daughter Peggy would emigrate to America. In the 1960s, in their late sixties, Walter and Winifred travelled to Iowa, America to visit their eldest daughter and her growing family.
After her marriage to American George Wise, Walter's daughter Peggy would emigrate to America. In the 1960s, in their late sixties, Walter and Winifred travelled to Iowa, America to visit their eldest daughter and her growing family.
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| Walter and Winifred, with their American granddaughter Carol, in Iowa, in the early 1960s |
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| Walter, later in life, in his railway uniform |
Walter passed away, aged seventy-two, in 1965, in his home in Cowley, near Exeter.
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