Menin Gate Memorial
Pauline Priano has submitted the following:-
Humphrey Walton, one of 8 known children was born at Edmondsley, County Durham in 1893, the 3rd born of 4 sons he had 3 elder and 1 younger sister. His parents John Walton and Jane, possibly Armour, were born at Plawsworth and Chester-le-Street, County Durham in 1859 and 1861 respectively. Married in about 1879, in 1881 they were living at Hexham Road, Whickham, near Gateshead, County Durham, John was employed as a coal miner, their daughter Ann was one-year-old and 12-year-old Margaret Collingwood their domestic servant. Ten years later they had moved to Edmondsley and had a further 4 children, William (9), Joseph (7), John (6) and Margaret E Walton (4), by 1901 their family was complete with the birth of Sarah Jane 1892, Humphrey, Osythe 1895 and Thomas 1899. William (19) joined his father at the colliery below ground as a driver, John was now a deputy overman.
When war was declared in 1914 the Walton family was living at Cornsay Colliery, Humphrey enlisted at Durham and was assigned firstly as Private 4053 Durham Light, transferred to the 5th Battalion Alexandra Princess of Wales’s Own Yorkshire Regiment then to the 2nd Battalion as Private 260124. Unfortunately, his military record no longer exists, one of the 70% destroyed during the blitz of WW2, it is therefore impossible to know his exact movements, however, both regiments participated during the Battles of the Somme July 1st-November 16th 1916 before transferring to the Arras sector in spring 1917 and later that same year to Belgium where they participated during the 3rd Battle of Ypres, better known as the Battle of Passchendaele, July-November 1917.
Private 260124 Humphrey Walton Yorkshire Regiment was killed in action, July 31st 1917. His sacrifice is recorded as one of the 54,613 names inscribed on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium, commemorating servicemen from Britain and the Commonwealth killed in action on the Ypres salient before August 16th 1917 who have no known grave or whose graves have never been found. He was 23 years of age and single.
His father John received all monies due to him and his awards of the British War Medal and Victory Medal sent to him at 93, South Terrace, Cornsay Colliery.
In God’s safe keeping. Rest In Peace.
Humphrey Walton is remembered at Cornsay on C116.01 and at Quebec on Q2.06
