Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Leeds (Lawns Wood) Cemetery | Screen Wall. U. 51. | |
| 2. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 4B GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | Volunteer Officers' Decoration | ||
Early Life :
First appears on the 1851 census, the son of Dr. Thomas Giordani and Elizabeth Wright and living at 5 South Parade, in the All Saints district of the town of Wakefield. His father seems an important man, him being declared a Medical Doctor and Lieutenant with the Royal College of Physicians. His status is betrayed by the size of his household, which at the time of this early Victorian census was 14 which, aside from the 7 children included 5 servants including a Cook, Nurse Maid, House Maid, Waiting Maid and a Groom.The servants continue to feature on the 1861 census where it shows the family have moved to South Westgate, living in a house called "Westgate", and the majority of the family either studying at school or following in the footsteps of father. Westgate forms the centre of Wakefield town.
By 1871 Walter is still living with the family at Westgate, but has not taken up his father's trade, but has become a clerk in a bank. He is now aged 22. During this time and still continuing his bank career, he branched out and became a volunteer with the local militia but has moved as a boarder by 1881 to 76 Freehold Street, Sulcoates, Kingston-upon-Hull.
He is still in Kingston-upon-Hull in 1891, now aged 42 and living with the Fosters, Wine Merchants at their 21 Pack Street address. The long chain of census data is broken in 1901, but he appears again in 1911, still recorded as a Bank Manager, showing as head of household (18 rooms) at Castle Lodge, Sandal in Wakefield. He was apparently living alone, unmarried with 2 servants of his own.
Family :
His brothers and sisters include Phoebe (b.1838), Thomas Henry (b.1840), Lucy (b.1842), Charles James (b.1843), Mary E.A. (b.1847) and younger siblings, Arthur (b.1850), Frederick (b.1852), William E. (b.1854) Edith (b.1854) and Edward O. (b.1859)Education & Career :
1871 Bank Clerk.
1881 Captain Army Reserve 5th West Riding Of Yorkshire Rifle Volunteers & Bank Sub Manager
1903 Bank Manager Wakefield and Barnsley Bank, later United Counties.
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 4th Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry |
1/4th Battalion August 1914 : in Wakefield. Part of 3rd West Riding Brigade, West Riding Division. Moved on mobilisation to Doncaster and in November 1914 to Gainsborough. Moved on to York in February 1915. 12 April 1915 : landed at Boulogne. 15 May 1915 : formation became 148th Brigade, 49th (West Riding) Division. |
| Action : Natural Causes |
Natural causes is attributed those deaths due to causes that were not directly associated with the war. Included in this are wartime deaths resulting from, for example, theSpanish Influenza pandemic and its associated pneumonia problems and other attributions such as age and exhaustion. It also groups those who through Post Traumatic Stress committed suicide as a result of their experiences.
Detail :
The account as described in the Yorkshire Post does not betray any active involvement in France and mentions that in Easter 1915 he had become ill and remained in the Becketts Park Hospital until his death in November 1915.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Lodge of Unanimity No. 154 E.C. | Yorkshire (West Riding) |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
4th May 1903 | 8th June 1903 | 5th October 1903 |
Past Master
Discrepancies (Require checks, clarity or further research) :
He was awarded the Volunteer Decoration (VD) for 20 years service as an Officer, retiring as an Honorary Colonel.
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley