Parker, Walter De Preston

BORN HULL 1894. SON OF AMUNDUS FRANCIS CHARLES & HENRIETTA PARKER, OF HESSLE. HIS NAME IS RECORDED ON THE HESSLE ROLL OF HONOUR, ALL SAINTS PARISH CHURCH. LISTED AS KILLED ON CLOWES CHAPEL ROLL OF HONOUR, JARRATT STREET – (HDM 10/11/1916).
Hull Pals Memorial Post. PRIVATE WALTER de PRESTON PARKER 11/1200. Born in April 1894, Walter was the fifth of eight children to Amundus and Henrietta Parker of The Weir, Hessle. He was a Plumber before the war having followed his father into the trade, but swapped his wrench for a rifle, having queued at Hull City Hall to join the fledgling 11th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment, ‘The Tradesmen’, Hull Pals. Having served in Egypt over Christmas 1915, he arrived on the Western Front in March 1916. Seriously wounded during the daily tit-for-tat of life in the trenches, Walter was evacuated from the front line, but died of wounds on 2nd June 1916. He is buried at Bertrancourt Military Cemetery; a young man of 22. After their spell in the desert sands, the harsh realities of the war were beginning to sink in, as Private Graystone noted on passing Sucrerie Cemetery one morning that June:
“There were dozens more white crosses erected, and several parties of pioneers were still opening new graves. Nearby lay the bodies of several young lads awaiting interment.”


First name:
WALTER DE PRESTON
Military Number:
11/1200
Rank:
Private
Date Died
02/06/1916
Place died:
Bertrancourt Military Cemetery, Somme, France
Age:
22
The Weir, Hessle, HULL, EAST YORKSHIRE, UK