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‘Walter’s War’

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Eileen Linder on behalf of Bobby Kane and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

This is a story about my uncle Walter who served in the Royal Navy during the war as a gunner.

My late uncle Walter was one of 5 brothers and 2 sisters who lived at 26 Ashdale street (off Bloomfield Avenue), Newtownards Road, Belfast. In 1943 my uncle Walter joined the navy by lying about his age. He was only 15 and could not swim. He was able to trick the instructors by going into the showers with one of his mates then came out soaking wet as if they had just done the swimming. He was writing home to his then girlfriend Mary (Minnie), they married when Walter came home on leave. When Walter had to go back to the navy my aunt Minnie moved into Walter’s mothers house in Ashdale street. The house had only two bedrooms and a living room and scullery. How they all managed to live in that small house amazes me. My aunt Sadie’s husband was in the army so the 3 girls slept in one bed. The other 4 brothers and my grannie and granda were also housed there.

On the 1-2 November 1944 uncle Walter was serving aboard HMS Avon Vale when they were engaged by 3 German destroyers, 2 were sunk and my uncle Walter and his gunnery mate were recommended for a medal. Only one medal was sent with a mention in dispatches — the Captain was embarrassed, but Walter and his mate tossed a coin. Walter got the ‘mention in despatches’ .

When the award was supposed to be mentioned in the Belfast Telegraph, there was a mistake and they wrote that Uncle Walter had been killed in action. You can imagine the uproar when the Telegraph came out, although the immediate family knew it was a mistake but all other family and friends did not and made their way to Ashdale Street to offer their sympathy. Remember there were no phone or anything like that in those days.

My uncle Walter died of cancer in 1983, but his award of ‘mention in despatches’ was framed and hung up on my grannies wall beside a photo of my great granda Baker who was killed during the First World War . I can remember seeing those certificates and photos when I visited my Grannies every other Saturday before I went to the Oval to see Glentoran. When my Grannie died I assumed the award was given to my aunt Minnie who lives in Ballybeen and I have lived in Scotland for the past 30 years and had not seen my aunt Minnie for around 20 years. She and Walter had 2 children, young Walter and Suisan. By chance I met my Aunt Minnie when I was home last June in my Uncle James’ house and happened to ask her about the award, she couldn’t remember where it went to and could not remember it hanging in my Grannies and not one of my other Uncles or late father could remember it. I began to think maybe I imagined it, but aunt Minnie gave me uncle Walter’s service number, she knew it instantly without looking out his old papers. When I got home to Scotland, I wrote to the Navy Home Command and sent off photocopies of Uncle Walter’s papers. The Navy were very helpful and sent me a copy of the ‘mention in despatches’ along with a small medal of a maple leaf and gold leaves which I forwarded to Aunt Minnie and she was delighted.

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