Walter was born and raised in Crowle, an agricultural town in North Lincolnshire as one of eight children. His eldest brother Frederick was killed during the First World War on the Somme. He was described as being a religious farm worker before the war, who attended chapel daily. He had married Winifred Wressell on 3 Oct 1936 and their son Terrance was born in June 1939. Walter was working by this time as a labourer in one of the the three steelworks at Scunthorpe and had moved to live nearby. He joined the Army in June 1940, volunteering and joining as a Territorial, even though had he waited just a few months, he would have been exempt from call up as a 25 year old steel worker.
He would return from the war a changed man. He was a chain smoker and a heavy drinker and reckoned church was only to be attended three times in life, christening, marriage and funeral. He would never watch a war film as he felt they romanticised the fighting. He never applied for his medals, but would wear his parachute wings proudly on Remembrance Sunday.
| Unit or location | Role | Posted from | until |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Lincolnshire Scout Section | Scout Section Member | 1940 | 1942 |
| Operation Ringlet | SOE Agent | 1943 | 1943 |
| Operation Ringlet | SOE Agent | 1943 | 1943 |
| Massingham Mission | SOE Agent | 1943 | 1943 |
| Massingham Mission | SOE Agent | 1943 | 1943 |
Steelworks labourer
24 Jun 1940 Posted to Infantry Training Centre, Lincolnshire Regiment, Lincoln.
23 Oct 1940 Posted to HQ Auxiliary Units. This is his posting to the Scout section, most records record the posting to HQ in this way. The men often attended an initial training course at Coleshill House for Scout Section members.
11 Jan 1942 Promoted to Acting Corporal. This was followed by promotion to War Substantive Corporal 3 months later.
29 Aug 1942 Posted from Auxiliary Units to 143 Infantry Brigade. This posting is odd as there were no units from the Lincolnshire Regiment in this brigade. It may be a transcription error for 146 Brigade, which included the 4th Battalion of the Lincolns who had returned from Iceland in the middle of 1942. The family recall stories of his attending commando courses in Scotland and the 4th Battalion did train at Glenfeshie.
9 Nov 1942 Posted to No. 7 Infantry Training Centre, Lincoln, presumably as a member of the training staff.
25 Apr 1943 Posted to Special Training Schools Holding Unit No.1. He joins SOE at this point, possibly recruited by Captain Hamilton-Hill, his former Auxiliary Units Intelligence Officer. He is known to have attended a parachute course at RAF Ringway, almost certainly at this time, as part of his SOE training.
11 May 1943 Attached to London Assembly Centre. This was at Goodge Street Underground station and was the location where personnel were gathered prior to being sent overseas. He was posted away from here on on 16 May, presumably joining a convoy at this time.
27 May 1943 Posted to Military Establishment 20 ISSU 6. Another SOE codename, this was the Massingham Mission base in Algiers.
1 Jan 1944 Posted to Military Establishment 39, Middle East Forces. This was the Operation Ringlet base at Tunis. From here items were prepared for parachuting into occupied southern Europe. He was awarded the Italy Star, which indicates he travelled to occupied Italy. The family have a photo of him in Italy with a comrade dated 6 May 1944. Reportedly he was parachuted on operations a number of times and met up with partisans. He was allegedly present when Mussolini was arrested on 25 July 1943, though it may be that he saw him after this and before his rescue by German commandos on 12 Sep 1943. The partisans in Italy were constantly under threat from "rastrellamenti" conducted by the SS and Cossack troops. These operations involved numerous atrocities. Walter brought home a Cossack sword. Many years later it was taken to Sotheby's auction house and was found to be a French 17th Century officers sword. Perhaps this had already been an antique when captured from the French by the Cossacks in 1812.
29 Jan 1944 Appointed Paid Lance Sergeant.
25 Jan 1945 Posted to 4th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment Training Depot, relinquishing rank of Paid Lance Sergeant.
17 Feb 1945 Posted to 7th Battalion Training Depot, returning to the 4th on 22 Apr 1945.
13 Jun 1945 Posted to No.2 Civil Resettlement Unit. This was at Peover Hall, a country mansion in Cheshire that had served for a time as General Patton's HQ. It had been converted to a facility where those who had spent the war in uniform could start to readapt to civilian life. From 5pm they would change into civilian clothes and had no military tasks and the only parade was to receive pay. All the attendees were volunteers. A full course was four weeks, but Walter left after two, being posted to 6th Battalion The Lincolnshire Regiment for another year. During this time he served in Italy, Greece, Germany and Austria. He was discharged to the Army Reserve on 29 May 1946.
SOE Assignment, Donald Hamilton-Hill
Michael Pinder
Service Record (see WW2 talk forum)
Ancestry UK
1939 register