Valentine’s Day Death
Private Arthur Pelham Walker the son of the Reverend C L and Mrs Walker, of Colchester, England. Born in Fingringhoe, Essex, England on 29 October 1890. Sister Gladys L Walker of London, England, and brother Basil E C Walker of Alberni, BC.
Enlistment of Private Arthur Pelham Walker
Arthur enlisted 23 August 1915 in Vernon, BC with the 62nd Overseas Battalion. At this time, he stood 5’4″ tall with dark complexion, grey eyes, and brown hair.
Sergeant Basil Edward C Walker
Arthur’s brother Basil Edward C Walker A30593 had enlisted on 18 March 1915 with the 48th Overseas Battalion. Sergeant Basil Edward C Walker would serve with the 29th Battalion and the 3rd Pioneer Battalion. Mowbray, England
England
Pte Arthur Walker sailed from Canada per SS BALTIC on 20 March 1916.
Private Arthur Pelham Walker deficiency in kit, 23 May 1916 at West Sandling.
Pte Walker proceed on draft to 29th Battalion, 25 May 1916.
29th Battalion
29th Vancouver Battalion organized in October 1914 under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Seymour Tobin. Also known as “Tobin’s Tigers”. Tobin was a veteran of the R.N.W.M.P., and the South African War (Lord Strathcona’s Horse). The 29th mobilized at Vancouver, and recruited in Vancouver, and New Westminster.
Private Arthur Pelham Walker arrived at the Canadian Base Depot, 26 May 1916.
Pte Walker left for unit, 30 May 1916, and joined the 29th Battalion the next day.
Private Arthur Pelham Walker to Grenade Course, 20 July 1916.
to 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade as Guide, 6 April 1917.
Pte Walker granted 10 days leave from 16 April 1917.
Private Arthur Pelham Walker the only member of the 29th Battalion killed in action on 14 February 1918. Medals sent to his brother Basil E C Walker, at White Lodge, Melton, Mowbray, England.
Sucrerie Cemetery, Ablain-St. Nazaire
Ablain-St Nazaire is a village in the Department of the Pas-de-Calais, approximately 13 kilometres north of Arras.
The village and the neighbourhood of Ablain-St. Nazaire the scene of very severe fighting between the French and the Germans in May and June 1915. Sucrerie Cemetery named from a sugar factory, destroyed in the War and replaced by a farm. Begun in April 1917, next to a French Military Cemetery, now removed, of 1900 graves, and used until October 1918.
Called at one time Saskatchewan Cemetery, and, in accordance with the Canadian practice, numbered C.D. 43. The village later “adopted” by the Urban District of Teddington. Nearly 400, Great War casualties commemorated in this site. The cemetery covers an area (without the footpath leading to it) of 1,918 square metres and is enclosed by a low brick wall.
A very difficult CWGC cemetery to photograph – very few of the headstones have been refurbished. Private Arthur Pelham Walker’s headstone quite weathered. The cemetery however in a most scenic location.