On Walter’s Death Certificate, his birth date is listed as December 29, 1894, but on his military documentation it is listed as December 30, 1896 (although very unclear). In 1915, when he is enlisted, he is listed as being 19 years and 11 months old.
I can’t find a birth certificate for Walter. On his cross at the Hamilton cemetery, his name is marked as R. Walter. His age at passing, in 1925, on the same marker, is thirty and that would make his year of birth, 1895…so, there are some inconsistencies here.
Walter appears, first, on the 1901 Hamilton census, with his family and his birth date is listed as December 30, 1895.
With his family…
Haddow Family Grouping
6 year old Walter Haddow 1901 Census, Hamilton
We find him with an 1894 birth date on the 1911 Hamilton census.
Walter’s brother, George, has already enlisted by this time on September 20, 1915. As my readers follow the Hamilton, Spectator’s publications, they can see the connection between this huge drive to enlist the young men of Hamilton at the time.
George’s regimental number is 302338 and Walter is 305132, meaning that George would have been included in the 40th Battery, while Walter would not have. Again, Ken Scheffler, sheds some light on this organization.
The blessing in all of this is the fact that both Walter (Gunner) and George (Stationary Engineer) return from war, although Walter passes at a very early age, unmarried and living with his father, on Murray Street. Mary High, Walter’s mother, passes in 1919 and he follows in 1925.
On the 1921 census in Hamilton, we find that the Moors family has moved in with John Haddow, now widowed, at 227 Murray Street. He is listed as a labourer.
He is described as having a heart problem on his death certificate and is buried with his mother, father and brother in Hamilton Cemetery…at least this is where his military memorial stands, while he is listed as being buried in Holy Sepulchre.
May my ancestors rest in peace and may perpetual light shine upon them. Please contact me if you have any information that you might share.