Walter Booth
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
Walter Booth was born in Worksop in 1891 to Thomas and Annie Booth. The couple had married in Worksop in 1881 and over their married lifetime had 13 children, all born in Worksop, all boys with the exception of 1 girl. They were, William, Thomas, Albert, Harry, Walter, Frank, James, Lottie, Leonard, Alec, Wilfred, Clifford and Harold. The family residence was 25 Clinton Street for many years and the father, Thomas and the sons were mostly employed in the local collieries. Walter was employed as a pit pony driver at age 20. Thomas Booth died in 1912 age 54. Walter married to Edith Kirkland in 1916 at Worksop and had a child, Irene in 1917. The Worksop Guardian’s obituary of Walter also reports on some of his brother’s contribution to the war.
Pte. Walter Booth Worksop Guardian 23 August 1918 News has been received by Mrs. Booth, 25, Clinton Street, Worksop, that her husband Pte. Walter Booth, Sherwood Foresters, died of wounds in France, on July 24th. The information was conveyed in a letter from Pte. J. Gladwin, Creswell Street, a chum of the deceased’s, who, writing to Mrs. Booth, say’s:- “I was with him at the time of his death. We were cooking together when Fritz started shelling, and dropped one about a yard from us. A piece of shrapnel hit Walter at the back of the neck and broke it. He was a fearless soldier, and respected by everyone in the company, and always had a cheery word and smile for all. He was respected by the officers; they came to me and told me how sorry they were … He was buried at Albert, and had a decent burial. He died without suffering, so I hope this will be a little consolation to you. All the boys in the Company send their deepest sympathy in your great loss, for I am sure he must have been a good husband at home to have won the admiration of everybody here.” Writing to Mrs. Booth, the Chaplain says “the Battalion was in support position at the time, and a shell, that failed to explode, struck your husband and instantly rendered him unconscious. Our doctor did all he possibly could to save him, but the poor fellow died within as hour of being hit,. He was a good man and most attentive to his duties. It was never any trouble to him to prepare meals at all sorts of odd hours. We buried him in a little cemetery, and have erected a cross over his grave. With deepest sympathy.” The deceased soldier, who leaves a widow and child, with whom every sympathy is felt, has brothers, Pte. A. Booth and Corpl. Leonard Booth, are in France, and two other brothers, Corpl. Tom Booth and Pte. Harry Booth, are at pre-sent in England, after service abroad. A brother in Law, Pte. James Haldon is in Mesopotamia. Mrs. Booth only re-ceived a letter from her husband on July 23rd, the day before he died. This is the third time he has been in France.
Walter was buried in the Abeele Areodrome Military Cemetery, Belgium Walter’s younger brother, Frank, was also killed in the war on the 16th April 1918. Research by Colin Dannatt
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