Walter was born in Maghull, the son of a gardener at the Moss Side Convalescent Home. He was christened at St Andrew’s Church on August 23rd, 1891, by the Rev J. H. Hocter. After the death of his father, he and his mother Alice moved to Everton. He enlisted as a private with the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment and was killed in action in November 1917 during the Battle of Cambrai, France. He has no known grave and his name is engraved upon the Cambrai Memorial to the Missing.