Name

Walter Sterling

Description

Family Photograph of Walter Sterling.

Life Story

Name: Walter Ambrose Sterling.

Service Number: 310462.

Rank: Private 2nd Class.

Battalion:

Regiment: Royal Air Force.

Born: 8th March 1904, Shankill, County Antrim, Belfast.

Died: 5th November 1918, England.

Lived: 68 Newport Street, Belfast

.

Walter Ambrose Sterling, son of Wesley Margaret Sterling, nee Blair, lived at 64 Newport Street, Belfast

.

Walter's family lived at 35 Beresford Street, Shankill Road, Belfast when he was born on the 8th of March 1904. His brothers and sisters were born as follows: James Blair, born 19th February 1893, Henry, born 20th October 1894, Died, 1895, Evangeline, born 29th November 1896, Wesley Morton, born 29th November 1898, Henry, born 24th December 1900, Margaret Jane, born 6th January 1906, Isabel Irene, born 15th April 1908, Sydney Smith, born 15 August 1910, Eleanor Edith, born 7th April 1912, Gertrude Millicent Rush, 11th April 1916

.

The 1901 Ireland Census has Walters family living at 108 Crimea Street, Shankill Road, Belfast. His mother, 29 years, his father, 34 years, occupation General Labourer, three brothers, James Blair, 8 years, Wesley, 2 years, Henry, under 1 year, and sister Evangeline, 4 years, An aunt Jeannie Blair, Flax Yarn Reeler In Mill, is also registered as a boarder within the house

.

The 1911 Ireland Census has Walter living at 2 Loftus Street, Shankill Road, Belfast with his mother, father, occupation, Hand Driller in Shipyard, 4 brothers, James Blair, 17 years, App Engineer, Wesley Morton, 12 years, Henry, 10 years, Sidney Smith, under 1 year, and his three sisters, Evangeline, 14 years, Margaret Jane, 5 years, Isobel Irene, 2 years

.

Walter Ambrose Sterling was a Private 2nd Class within the Royal Air Force when he took ill while in Blandford Camp, Dorset, England and died shortly after from Flu aged 14 years and 7 months

.

A sad fact to Walters Death is that his younger brother, Sidney Smith (Little Sid), aged 8 years, died 21 days after Walter and was also buried within the same grave

.

Family and Local Community Information

.

Family members say that Walter Sterling from birth was a big child and as he grew his height belied his age, they still remember and recount the stories passed down throughout the generations, things like his size and weight at birth, the size of his feet as he grew and how he began shaving at 12 years of age. These were of course all indicators towards as to why a recruitment officer would be willing to have him within their ranks at 13 years of age, his age when he first tried to enlist.

That is until his mother Margaret got wind and marched him back around to the recruitment office with the required proof of his real age and had him swiftly un-enlisted. It is said he tried once again locally and once again was caught and denied, however whatever the case, the following facts prove that he was not willing to take no for an answer and set about making his plans. He found himself a job as a messenger boy for a local business man and began to save some of his pay. This he did until he could finally afford his train fare to Dublin. Having run away, and on his arrival, he walked straight to a recruitment office and signed up for the Royal Air Force, which formed on the 1st April 1918.

Little is known, as little remains of the documentation of these days, about the period of time there after up to his death. However what is known is this.

Walter was 14 Years and 7 Months at the time of his death, a child in the eyes of those today. He had no doubt witnessed the damage that the war had brought to his neighbours, the pain, grief and heartbreak it had brought to families like his within the streets he grew up in, and surely must have grasped all possible outcomes. He had tried on a few occasions to enlist and finally did, and therein lies the story, the story about a brave boy who was prepared to fight and ultimately die in a man's war

.

One of the most surprising yet rewarding strands to Walters story was finding out that he had a younger sister, Millicent ( Millie) who was 97 years of age when we spoke, and who had been born after the 1911 census, the last census, so we therefore didn't know of her existence

.

In the hope of gaining more information about Walter S.A.S.H members would ask people they met locally if they knew of anyone by the name of Sterling, then one day we were told that there may be a local relative and so went in search a man called Wesley Sterling who got off a bus each day in North Belfast. Our researcher then went to the street Wesley would head towards on leaving the bus and knocked on the doors of the houses. After some time a man opened a door along the street and our researcher explained who he was and why he was knocking his door. The man then answered that he was in fact Wesley and that he indeed had an uncle called Water Sterling that had died in 1918 and was buried in the Shankill Graveyard. Wesley then offered our member inside and agreed to help in any way he could. Wesley explained that he had been called after Walters brother and said that he had heard the stories about Walter himself growing up. Wesley then lifted his phone and rang his aunt, who, as we have explained, we didn't know existed. He simply said aunt Millie could you talk to this young man as he wants to know about Walter. After getting over the shock of realising Walters sister was still alive, and having spoken to her, we then received an invite to meet her in her Newtownards, County Down home

.

The two SASH Members, John Dougan and Jacqueline Nicholson, on arrival were met by her son Tom, who brought them in and introduced them to his wife, two kids and then his mother Millicent.

Millicent was a beautiful, dignified lady who's looks belied her age and who's mind was as sharp as a tack. Our members had the pleasure of spending over 2 hours in her company listening to amazing stories that brought what we thought to be history into the room we now sat.

Millicent told us that her mother having received a telegram to say Walter was seriously ill set off with her brother James to see to him. However she said that on their arrival to the camp they were notified that Walter had in fact died a short time earlier. They were then directed to a tent and on entering Millicent's mother seen Walter lying on a small bed. Her mother explained to them that the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up and that as she got down on to her knees and she put her arms around him to gave him a kiss that she felt the heat of his body, she remembered that his face was still flushed and not waxy or white. She then asked her son James if he was actually dead, to which James replied yes mother he's dead. Her mother told them that it was as if Walter was simply sleeping. She then demanded that arrangements be made to have her son brought home. Walters body was then brought back and buried within the Shankill Graveyard. Millicent says that an officer brought a wreath or bouquet of flowers called Snow In Summer and that her mother had taken some and replanted it around the grave and at home. She said that this flower grew and spread all over the place.

Millicent also sadly recounted that her mother was given Walters shirt and that she would never pull the sleeves of it down, and that she would say, no, my Walter rolled them up, so she left them as they were.

She then finished off a great day by telling us that she had a photo of Walter and that it was alright for us to scan it. We had been looking, hoping, for a photo of Walter for years so this really was a very special moment. The photo is now uploaded within this profile. Millicent had wrote on the back of his photo: Walter Ambrose Sterling, my beloved brother, died 6th November 1918 aged 14 years in Blandford Camp England. Out of this world of darkness. Into a haven of light

.

C.W.G.C Headstone Mistake

.

In 2013 S.A.S.H had the pleasure of righting a terrible wrong when the Commonwealth War Graves Commission took down Walters C.W.G.C headstone in the belief that its inscription was wrong. The C.W.G.C had initiated a project that would see any damaged headstones repaired or replaced for the Centenary of the Great War. On checking Walters they believed that a mistake had been made due his 14 years of age inscription. They then removed Walters original headstone and installed a new one with aged 18 years now on it. Within weeks though a member of S.A.S.H noticed that the headstone had been changed and S.A.S.H immediately contacted the C.W.G.C. Having made contact with Anthony Rose we were told that we needed to gather as much information concerning Walter as we could and pass it through to him. He and other C.W.G.C staff would then assess the situation and rectify it if we proved without a doubt that he was in fact 14 years of age at death. Given that S.A.S.H had already compiled a great deal about Walter we were able to send what was needed to convince them. The C.W.G.C accepted everything we had compiled on Walter and set in motion the process of having a new headstone erected. Within weeks Walter had a new headstone erected with the original inscription on it.

The C.W.G.C had no reason not to believe the lie that Walter gave the recruitment officers about his age on enlistment, and that must have been on his documentation back then, but this shows just how complicated things can be, it helps show us that things can go wrong and that if they do, that social history can change. If Walters headstone had been left unchallenged eventually the true story of 310462 Pte 2nd Class Walter Ambrose Sterling would have been lost to history. So if at any time you believe that an innocent mistake has been made, reach out, contact the source and put your case forward

.

Walters story has been used by local historians Albert Haslett and Bobby Foster as part of a Shankill Grave Yard Tour for a number of years, with his image appearing on a number of public art pieces initiated by S.A.S.H also. However more importantly, his story has been used by local Community Group, Shankill Alternatives as a way of trying to engage with the younger members of our community too, with Alternatives showing teenagers of today how teenagers of 100 years ago lived, doing so in the hope of both educating some while hopefully opening the eyes of others to their position, actions and roll they play within their own community.

.

S.A.S.H would like to thank Ellie, Gill, Wesley, Morton, Paula, Noel, Billy, Linda, Tom, Lauren etc for their input, it was a pleasure to meet you all along the way

.

S.A.S.H would also like to dedicate this Profile and Write-Up to Walters sister, Millicent (Milie) Hamilton, Nee Sterling, born 11th of April 1916, who sadly passed away on November 21st, 2017, in her 102 year. God Bless.

.

Walters Soldiers Effects were left to his father Wesley

.

He is Remembered at Shankill Graveyard, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

To Remember Is To Honour

.