Walter Booton was born in Rock, Worcestershire, in the spring of 1882. He was one of four children born to Thomas Booton, of Cleobury Mortimer, and his wife Elizabeth (née Oliver). Walter’s father worked as an agricultural labourer, a profession which Walter also dedicated his life to upon reaching adulthood.
In 1908 Walter married Susan Amelia Wallis; a year later, on 18 August 1909, their son Cyril Thomas Booton was born. Then, in 1910, Susan passed away at the young age of 27.
After the death of his wife, Walter invited his sister-in-law Mary Louisa Wallis to live with him and little Cyril at their house in Far Forest, Rock. On 18 July 1911 Walter and Mary Louisa were married in Far Forest, but this second union produced no children.
After the war broke out, Walter joined 4th battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment as a private. On 21st March 1915 Walter’s Battalion sailed from Avonmouth on the SS River Clyde, bound for Gallipolli via Egypt. He landed at Cape Helles, in modern-day Turkey, on 25th April 1915.
On 6th August 1915, the day Walter Booton was killed, his battalion suffered heavy losses. During the first week of August there was heavy fighting in the area, and the 4th Battalion suffered heavy casualties totalling 15 Officers and 752 men. As the War Diary for that period was lost in the action, there is no complete list of all the casualties. The attack took place in the vicinity of Krithia Road, their principal objective being the enemy defences around Krithia Vineyard. For that very day the 4th Battalion history states: “All night the Headquarters personnel worked in “No Man’s Land,” bringing in wounded and searching for survivors. One subaltern crawled forward to within thirty yards of the enemy’s trench and located two of their machine-guns; but there was no sign that any of our men were still holding out in the enemy’s trench, or that any were still alive save the helpless wounded in the open. By dawn a large number of the wounded (about 300 men) had been brought in”.
Walter Booton’s name is inscribed in the Helles Memorial in Sedd el Bahr, Turkey.
Little is known about Walter’s family back at home. His second wife may have remarried years later, while his son Cyril died in Malvern in 1986.
Sources:
http://www.worcestershireregiment.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1922
http://www.1914-1918.net/worcester.htm
http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=168060
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