Medals from the Collection of Peter Duckers

Seven: Brigadier-General W. C. Walton, C.B., C.M.G., who raised the 8th Berkshires and commanded the battalion on the 1st day of the battle of Loos; he afterwards commanded the Aden Field Force and was Hon. Colonel of the 1/6th Rajputs

India General Service 1854-95, 1 clasp, Burma 1885-7 (Lieutt. W. C. Walton 2d Bn. R. Sco. Fus.); 1914-15 Star (Col. W. C. Walton. I.A.); British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaf (Brig. Gen. W. C. Walton.); India General Service 1908-35, 1 clasp, Waziristan 1919-21 (Brig-Genl. W. C. Walton, I.A.); Delhi Durbar 1911; Jubilee 1935, mounted as worn, good very fine (7) £700-£900

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Medals from the Collection of Peter Duckers.

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C.B. London Gazette 17 October 1917.

C.M.G. London Gazette 3 June 1916.

M.I.D. London Gazette 15 June 1916 (France); 4 July 1916 (Aden); 31 October 1917 (Aden); 10 May 1921 (Waziristan 1919).

William Crawford Walton was born on 6 November 1864, the son of H. I. Walton of the Indian Telegraph Department. Educated at Tonbridge School and Sandhurst, he was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant into the 2nd Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers, on 6 February 1884. He served in the Burma operations of 1885-86, with the 2nd Royal Scots, and transferred to the Indian Army as Lieutenant on 15 June 1886 in the Bombay Infantry. He transferred from the 13th Bombay Infantry to the 104th Rifles (later 6th Rajputs) in 1891 and was Adjutant until 1895. He was appointed A.D.C. to the Governor of Bombay in 1895, and commanded H.E. The Viceroy’s Guard, 1900. Promoted to Major in 1902, he served with A.H.Q. Intelligence Branch, 1903-08, and was Commandant 104th Rifles, 1908-14. He commanded the regiment in the operations in the Persian Gulf in 1911, against gun-runners in Mekran (mentioned in despatches).

Promoted to Colonel in March 1913, Walton raised the 8th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, in September 1914 and commanded the battalion in France from 8 August 1915 (despatches; C.M.G.). On 25 September 1915, the 8th Berkshires went into action for the first time at the battle of Loos. The battalion’s actions in that battle have been well-documented but a fair summary is given in a letter that Colonel Walton wrote to his wife on 28 September:

‘Thank God I have been spared without a scratch after taking part in the greatest fight in history. Since Saturday 25th at 5.30 A.M. I have been in the firing line - at the very forefront and am of course dog tired as they ought to have relieved us earlier, but I was quite happy in my Regiment which did grandly and earned high praise - The losses very severe - I took in 20 officers + about 900 men + the remaining effective strength when I left them at 9 A.M. today was myself + 2 other officers + 200 men - All the rest were killed, wounded or missing - I hope many may still turn up.’

On the same day came the following entry in the Battalion War Diary:

‘The Commanding Officer - Col. W. C. Walton - having received his orders left the trench to proceed to Aden on duty, where he was to take over the command of a Mobile Force. It was not without tears in his eyes that he said goodbye to his Officers and one could see that it hurt him greatly to leave his Battalion especially under such conditions and at such a time.’

Colonel Walton had finally been reclaimed by the India Office, after wrangling that had lasted some weeks, to take up an appointment as Brigade Commander and Command of a Moveable Column in Aden, where he served for two years from 15 November 1915, and was present in many actions in the Aden Hinterland (despatches twice; C.B.). On his return to India from Aden, one of Walton’s first appointments was as first commanding officer of the newly-raised 2nd Battalion of the 129th Baluchis in January 1918. He commanded the Jubbulpore Brigade, April to June 1919, and in the Waziristan operations of 1919 he commanded the 68th and 47th Brigades (despatches). He was Inspector of Infantry, Southern India, June 1918 to April 1919, and resumed this appointment upon his return from Waziristan in December 1919. He retired as Colonel, temporary Brigadier-General on 1 April 1920, and was granted honorary rank as Brigadier-General. Walton was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 1/6th Rajputs in 1927. He died in Weybridge on 9 May 1937.