Walter was born in Hulme near Manchester. Lancashire. He enlisted in Liverpool 19 Feb 1881, and was Lance Corporal and then Colour Seargent in the RMLI. He fought in the `Egyptian War'. (In Sept 1882 there was a British military expedition to Egypt under Sir G. Wolseley; the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir (13th); Cairo occupied (14th).) While there, he and some others got cut off from their regiment in the desert, and their mouths and tongues were black through lack of water. They came across a pool and drank, but it was contaminated, and Walter contracted a 'wasting disease' and also went blind. He was invalided out of the Marines in 14 Feb 1902. Somehow in the midst of all this, he married in December 1882 while living in Stonehouse, Plymouth. In 1897 the family lived at 8 Dereham Tce, later readdressed 50 Cornwall Rd, Walmer, Deal, and the family has occupied the same house since this date. Walter played the auto-harp very well, and used to accompany his daughter Olive at Beach Missions on the sea front and elsewhere. He used to always ask Olive to read 'the daily portion' to him from the Bible.

Sources: Kathy and Olive EVANS; Mary GUY. RMLI certificate (Kathy)
Birth: marriage certificate. Marriage: certificate.