Walter Pike was born in 1887 and was the second child of Charles and Margaret Pike of Neath.

The censuses provide much information about his family. In 1891, the family was living at 14 Kings Street, Neath and his father, Charles, was listed as a Railway Carpenter from Rose Ash, Devon and his mother, Margaret, was from Workington, Cumberland. It appears the family had recently moved to Wales, as Walter's elder brother, William, was born in Cumberland.

In 1901, Charles had changed jobs and was working as a Coal Merchant on his ‘Own Account’. By that time, the family were living at 47 Mary Street and there were 5 children.

By 1911, the family were at 39 Pendrill St, Neath and the census lists 7 children of which 2 had died. Charles was now working again as carpenter in Chemical Factory and Walter (aged 23) was a Steelworker in a Steel Sheet Works.

Along with his fellow territorials, Walter was mobilised in August 1914 and would have left his job, family and friends.

In the summer of 1915, before the Brigade moved overseas, Walter got married. According to his grandson: The information that I had from his daughter (my mother) was that he was granted four days leave to get married to Claudia Thomas my grandmother on the 8th of July 1915. She did not see him again until after the war in 1919 when he was demobbed.

The next surviving record of Walter and his family was the 1921 census when he was living at 25 Mansel St, Briton Ferry with his in-laws and a young son.

Walter died at the age of just 41. His grandson wrote: He died in Swansea Hospital on 27 December 1928 after a car hit him on the main road between Neath and Briton Ferry. He left his wife and two children, Thomas age 8 and my mother age 6 who sadly passed away four years ago aged 96.

The Neath Guardian (4 January 1929) wrote: The funeral of Mr Walter Pike, Farm Road, Briton Ferry, who died at Swansea Hospital as a result of an accident near the Grandison Hotel, took place on Monday last at Ynysmaerdy Cemetery..... The funeral was a military one, and was under the direction of Mr. King, of the British Legion. The coffin was carried on a gun carriage, and the Last Post and Reveille were sounded.

Walter Pike enlisted in the 1st Welsh (Howitzer) Brigade in 1908 and was given the service number 253. Unfortunately, very few official records have survived relating to Walter’s service.

However, a number of papers and photographs have been passed down to his grandson, and by linking these, the surviving official records and the Brigade History, it is possible to piece together much of his service.

Given his service number, Walter joined the Brigade somewhere between April and July 1908. This would have made Walter one of the first wave of recruits into the Brigade at its’ time of formation, prior to the first summer camp in July 1908 (attended by 400 men).

Given that Walter was 20 at the time he joined up, it is also possible that he transferred from the old Glamorgan RGA volunteers.

Walter and his family lived in Neath, the home of the Left Section (2 guns) of the 2nd Glamorgan Battery. It is likely that he was a member of this unit right through to the start of the War.

Along with the rest of the Brigade, Walter was mobilized at the start of the war, initially travelling to Shrewsbury in late August 1914.

Amongst his surviving documents is a postcard he sent to his mother from his billet at the Dolphin Hotel in Shrewsbury. The postcard appears to be a picture of the 2nd Glamorgan Battery football team, and his message included: We are having a hard time of it here you will excuse for not writing .. as I have had my thumb out of place but it is coming all right now. I hope you are not worrying about me as I am in the pink, we have got to buy a lot of food here. Tell Claudia and all friends that I am all right. I will not shift from here for a long time…. your loving son Walt..

The Brigade left Shrewsbury at the end Aug/Start Sep 1914 and travelled to Northampton where they trained until December 1914. Just before Christmas, they moved to Cambridge where they remained until May 1915 when they moved to Bedford.

Walter’s Medal Index Card confirms that he, along with the rest of the Brigade, travelled from Southampton to Le Havre on 22 November 1915. From there they moved to the Somme area, where they underwent further training, including a period in the front-line South-East of Albert (an area that marked the southern edge of the Somme battlefield just 6 months later).

Just before Christmas 1915, the Brigade withdrew from the front-line and in January 1916, received orders to rejoin the rest of the 53rd Welsh Division in Egypt.

According to his grandson, Walter was discharged in Alexandria on 15 May 1919, so it is reasonable to assume that he travelled with the Brigade to Egypt in February 1916.

Given that he was also given a new service number in 1917 from a batch of numbers associated with the Brigade, it is likely that he remained with the Brigade throughout the Egypt campaign, being involved in Suez Canal Defences (1916), the 3 Battles of Gaza and march into Jerusalem (1917) and the subsequent push through the Judean Hills until the defeat of the Turkish Armies (1918).

Amongst the papers that have survived within Walters family is a Certificate dated Alexandria 15-5-19, stating Before your departure from the Egyptian Expeditionary Force and your re-entry into civil life, I wish to thank you for the valuable services you have rendered to the Army and the Nation. Signed Brigadier General Boyle, Commanding Alexandria District.

Following his return to Wales, 725026, Bombadier Walter Pike was discharged from the Army. He was subsequently awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal and Territorial Force Efficiency Medal.