Walter Whiten

Pte Walter Whiten Worksop Guardian 4 May 1917 Official intimation was received from the War Office on Friday by Mr and Mrs Benjamin Whiten of 20 Central Avenue, that their youngest son, Pte Walter Whiten of the Sherwood Rangers was missing, supposed drowned. Pte Whiten, who is one of three brothers, though only 19 years of age in June, has had an adventurous career. Employed at Manton he enlisted in the Sherwood Rangers in June 1915, though only seventeen years of age then. Following a training at Retford and other places, he was drafted to Egypt in November 1915 and from thence to Salonica. Here he had a bad attack of malaria fever and was sent to England, arriving here in November 1916 and he had a ten day “convalescent leave at home.” On joining up again he was sent to Ripon, and then to Aldershot where he was transferred to the Westminster Dragoons (London Yeomanry), and with this regiment, he was again sent to Egypt, via France. At Marselles however, he was again attacked by malaria and had to be left there. \He was in hospital there about a month and again embarked to cross the Mediterranean to Egypt, and it is assumed that his ship has been mined or torpedoed, the official intimation naming the date as April 15th. In a letter received by his mother on Easter Sunday, he said that he had embarked but both place and ship have been censored. He also says he will probably not be able to write for some days until he got a proper address. Pte Whiten was a big lad for his age and a typical Yeoman and very popular amongst his friends. He was born, we believe, on the Welbeck estate, where his father then was employed as a bricklayer. He now works for Mr C A Leverton. Mr and Mrs Whiten have two other sons serving, both in Salonica. Sergt E Whiten of the 1st Sherwood Rangers who has just been home on leave, and Pte Levi Whiten of the M.T. A.S.C. The official notification regarding Pte Walter Whiten is very indefinite and there are yet hopes that he may have been picked up, and as yet unidentified. Pte. Walter Whiten Worksop Guardian 31 August 1917 Official intimation has been received from the Cavalry Record Office, Canterbury, that Pte. Walter Whiten of the Sherwood Rangers, and son of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Whiten, of 20, Central Avenue, Worksop, must now be presumed to have gone down in the “Arcadian”, which was sunk in April whilst conveying troops across the Mediterranean from Marseilles to Egypt. We reported him missing in our issue in May 5th last, the official intimation naming the date as April 15th . Pte Whiten, before enlisting, was employed at Manton. He enlisted in the Sherwood Rangers in June, 1915, though only seventeen years of age then. Following training at Retford and other places, he was drafted to Egypt in November 1916 and from thence to Salonika. Here he had a bad attack of Malaria fever and was sent to England, arriving here in November, 1916, and he had a ten days ”convalescent leave at home.” On joining up again, he was sent to Ripon, and then to Aldershot, where he was transferred to the Westminster Dragoons (London Yeomanry) and with this Regiment he again was sent to Egypt via France. At Marseilles, however, he was again attacked by Malaria and had to be left there. He was in hospital there about a month and again embarked to cross the Mediterranean to Egypt, and on the voyage his ship, the “Arcadian,” was either mined or torpedoed. Mr. and Mrs. Whiten have two other sons serving, one Serge. E Whiten, who is also in the Sherwood Rangers, and now in Egypt, and another one, Pte. Levi Whiten, of the M. T., A. S. C. in Salonika.

Commemorated on the Chatby Memorial, Egypt. Research by Colin Dannatt