Walter William Mayo was born in 1894 in Sedgley, Staffordshire. His parents were Isaac Mayo, a Wednesfield-born key maker, and Rebecca Mayo (née Brown).

Walter was the youngest of four children, having two brothers and a sister. Both of his brothers were born in Dudley; Charles in 1885 and Albert in 1887. Walter’s sister Mary was born in Cradley Heath in 1888. Isaac and Rebecca had had a second daughter named Sarah Jane who was born in the first quarter of 1891, but tragically, she passed away in the third quarter of that same year.

Tragedy struck the family again in 1895, when Walter’s mother, Rebecca, passed away, when Walter was barely a year-old himself. 

Six years later, in the 1901 census, it’s confirmed that the family lived at number 17, Gospel End in Sedgley. At this time, with Walter still at school, both of his brothers had followed their father into key making, but this was to prove a temporary arrangement.

By 1902, Charles, who’d been playing golf since the age of eight, had been appointed as an assistant professional at Broadway Golf Club, moving on to Bridgenorth Golf Club three years later. Having held that post for twelve months, he then became the first professional at Chipstead Golf Club in Surrey.

Walter’s other brother, Albert, had also caught the ‘golf-bug’ and he too took up the game professionally.

In 1906, Walter’s father Isaac married a lady named Harriet Ansell. The wedding took place in Shifnal, Shropshire.

With Charles and Albert both away, plying their trade as professional golfers, Isaac and Harriet Mayo moved to Kidderminster, taking Walter with them; they set-up home at number 5, Orchard Street, from where Isaac continued his key repair business.

Five years after gaining a stepmother, Walter’s eldest brother Charles, went on to win the 1911 Belgian Open which was held at the Royal Golf Club of Belgium. Charles eventually went on to represent England five times in matches against Scotland.

With both of his elder brothers playing golf professionally, it was almost inevitable that at some stage, Walter would follow in their footsteps and that he too, would turn pro.

In 1911, at the age seventeen, Walter left home to work as Charles's assistant at Burhill Golf Club in Surrey, a position he held until 1914. Whilst undertaking this work, Walter was living with brother Charles and his wife Rosetta at number 30 Queens Road in Hersham. He would have undoubtedly enjoyed being ‘uncle Walter’ to Charles and Harriet’s young daughter, his niece, Ivy Alice.

Midway through Walter’s time in Hersham, he spent the summer of 1912 as assistant professional at the Baden-Baden Golf Club in Germany.

During his time in Baden-Baden, on the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range, Walter played in the 1912 ‘German Open’, an event in which his brother Charles also played, setting a new course record in the process (and automatically claiming the family bragging rights).

The year after, Walter played in the southern section qualifiers for the 1913 ‘News of the World Matchplay’ back home in Burhill, finishing 11 strokes off the qualifying cut.

Walter later played in the southern section qualifiers for the 1914 ‘Sphere and Tatler Foursomes Tournament’ at Old Fold Manor, where he finished 5th and qualified comfortably. In this competition Walter finished a stroke ahead of his big brother Charles (and won back the family bragging rights!). At this competition Walter won £2 2s for his second round score of 74, the best by an assistant professional. The best score of the day by a full professional was just one shot better. In the finals he was paired with Reginald Gray but unfortunately, they lost in the first round.

Whilst the results of the 1914 ‘Sphere and Tatler Foursomes Tournament’ undoubtedly featured in the sport’s pages of some of the national newspapers, their front pages were all focussed on the prospects of war. Europe was on the brink of a major conflict and ‘shooting par’ would soon be a distant memory for Walter; his focus would soon be on shooting something that was far more ominous…

Walter’s attestation papers don’t appear to have survived the Blitz, when a fire caused by a German incendiary bomb hit the Army Records Centre in London. The fire destroyed roughly 60% of the 6.5 million files that were held therein.

However, from the service number issued to Walter (S/4427), it’s almost certain that he enlisted on or around the 11th or 12th of September 1914 (the service numbers either side of his, were issued to soldiers who enlisted on or around these dates).

Luckily, the movements and actions of Walter’s assigned battalion - the 13th (Service) Battalion, Rifle Brigade, or ‘13RB’ - are well documented, so a relatively accurate picture of his life with the colours can be attained.

First Muster:

Walter’s 13RB was formed as part of Kitchener’s third army at the Rifle Brigade's regimental depot at Peninsula Barracks in Winchester, on the 31st of October 1914.

After initial training at the Winchester Barracks, the battalion went by rail to the 21st Division's tented camp at Halton Park, near Wendover in Buckinghamshire.

In November the battalion moved out of tents into huts, and then on the 28th of November went into billets in nearby High Wycombe.

At last, on the 9th of April 1915, Walter’s battalion left for Salisbury Plain with orders to join the new 37th Division.

Kit Issue, Training and Embarkation:

Walter’s battalion went into a tented camp on Windmill Hill near Ludgershall, where the riflemen finally received their rifles and khaki uniforms in place of the temporary navy blue that they’d been wearing.

By the time the division assembled, all of its units had been training for some months, and it soon began final battle training.

In July orders arrived for Walter’s division to move to France and join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front.

Walter and his 13RB pals embarked on the paddle steamer Mona's Queen at Southampton docks on the 29th of July and landed at Le Havre the following day. By the 2nd of August the division had completed its concentration by rail around Tilques, near Saint-Omer. It then began marching towards the rear areas of the front; Walter went into billets at Saint-Sylvestre-Cappel.

Walter’s first months in France were relatively trouble-free. Although time was spent in frontline trenches, the sector that Walter was in was fairly quiet. His brigade provided working parties on a regular basis before taking over a section of the Somme front from the French, where a number of casualties were suffered.

On the 10th of September, Walter’s 13RB was relieved by the 13th King’s Royal Rifle Corps after having completed its first spell in the front line.

When not in the front line, Walter’s battalion continued to provide working parties. This involved a detail of riflemen being assigned to manual labour, usually at night, to maintain, repair, and extend trench systems, wiring, and defensive positions near the front line. These essential but risky tasks included digging trenches, filling sandbags, and building dugouts to avoid enemy fire; not only was Walter having to work hard in awful conditions, but he was also in constant danger from enemy snipers and shellfire.

On the evening of the 24th of September, Walter’s brigade was put on stand-by, in full fighting order, to potentially take part in the Battle of Loos. However, they weren’t deployed and a few days later Walter and his fellow riflemen were stood down, returning to their previous positions.

Walter’s battalion then settled into a routine of six days in the line, six in reserve and twelve at rest (predictably, often being tasked to provide working parties). When in the from line, Walter’s battalion occasionally mounted trench raids, so there was a trickle of casualties.

This routine continued until the end of January 1916 and for a lot of this period, the cause of Walter’s biggest woes would have been the weather; the trenches were regularly flooding and in the winter months especially, mud was the riflemen’s worst enemy.

In February 1916, Walter’s brigade went back into the line, taking over from the French in trenches around Le Gastineau, a few miles north of the Gommecourt Salient. Walter’s time here revolved around a rota of six days in the front line and six days out of it, sharing the burden with the 13th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers; each going into billets at Bienvillers when not in the line. It was a quiet sector, apart from occasional artillery bombardments and raids, though the uneven nature of the ground meant that snipers could find good vantage points on the higher ground. But by now, Walter would have mastered the art of walking with a stoop when treading the duckboards, thus denying the snipers a target.

On the 12th of February, Walter’s brigade took over more of the line from the French, with his 13RB moving a few miles to Bailleulval, relieving the French 5th Dragoons in positions opposite Avinger Wood.

On the 19th of March, Walter and his fellow riflemen were directed to Auxi-le-Château, where they were attached to Third Army School of Instruction as a demonstration battalion until the end of April. They then returned to Bailleulval, in response to enemy activity in the area having increased.

By this time, Walter and his 13RB pals had been in France almost a year, but as yet, had not participated in any major action. However, the BEF was now preparing for that summer's 'Big Push' and the Battle of the Somme would be Walter’s introduction to warfare on a different level to anything previously witnessed, either by himself, or anyone else… 

The artillery bombardment began on the 23rd of June and the 37th Division was moved to the Albert area, with Walter and his fellow 13RB riflemen arriving by bus.

The opening day of the Battle of the Somme was a disaster for the British; the combined casualty count reached 57,470 in a single day - 19,240 of which were fatalities. In addition, The French Sixth Army suffered 1,590 casualties and it’s estimated that the German 2nd Army suffered between 10,000 and 12,000 casualties.

Walter’s battalion wasn’t involved in that terrible opening day - but they were deployed to the frontline on July the 6th as a temporary, partial replacement for a decimated brigade that had been.

The trenches allocated to 13RB were exposed and badly battered by shellfire, and for two days, the battalion suffered a steady toll of casualties.

Disaster at Ovillers:

On the 10th of July, Walter’s 13RB was designated for an attack on the Ovillers–Contalmaison line, and at 20:15 hours the battalion received orders to advance towards Pozières.

Walter and his fellow riflemen went 'over the top' at 20:45 hours and were met by a storm of shrapnel shells and machine gun bullets, much of the fire coming from German-held Ovillers.

Despite having taken terrible losses, the leading companies got into the third line of enemy trenches, but as the commanding officer of two intended support companies moved forward, he received a message that the attack had been cancelled, so he pulled his men back. This left Walter’s 13RB undermanned and totally exposed.

Walter’s commanding officer had no option other than to order his men to withdraw back to their starting trench, through a blizzard of enemy fire. 

Several days later, when the final stragglers had somehow managed to make it back to their start line, a rollcall was taken. It emerged that 13RB had lost 20 officers and 380 other ranks, of whom 84 were dead. The commanding officer and his adjutant were both wounded, the second-in-command was missing and three out of the four company commanders were killed (with the fourth being wounded). In addition, the medical officer was dead and the Regimental Sergeant Major severely wounded.

Whole platoons of the 13RB had been wiped out.

Although wounded, the 13RB Commanding Officer, Lt-Col Pretor-Pinney, remained with his men until the last of the survivors had come in. The battalion had been reduced to just 4 officers and around 400 other ranks.

Walter, and what was left of his battalion, were relieved the next morning by two companies of the 10th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers.

A New Broom, Reinforcements and More Losses:

On the 17th of July, Lt-Col Denys Prideaux-Brune, a regular Rifle Brigade officer, arrived to take over command of Walter’s 13RB and begin the task of rebuilding the battalion. Two large drafts of reinforcements arrived, but the battalion was still vastly understrength when it went back into the trenches on the 30th of July, firstly in the support line, then moving up to a position just south of Mametz Wood.

It was here, on the night of the 6th of August, that Walter’s battalion was heavily shelled, losing 21 killed and 23 wounded; most of the losses were original members of the battalion; Walter would have known them well, they would have been his pals.

On the 18th of August, Walter’s 13RB entrained for Calonne-sur-la-Lys, where they alternated between training and holding the line amongst the local coal tips until the autumn. Throughout this period, they alternated with the 13th Battalion Royal Fusiliers in manning the frontline and providing working parties when not in the line.

On the 17th of October, Walter’s battalion marched back to the Somme, arriving at Puchevillers near Albert on the 22nd. The planned training programme for Puchevillers and Hem-Hardinval was decimated by the foul weather and the inability to move between sites due to the muddy roads.

On the 13th of November, Walter’s brigade moved up to the line between Varennes and Hédauville, coming under the command of 63rd (Royal Naval) Division in preparation for the Battle of the Ancre.

Walter’s 13RB was ordered forward, and at 15:15 hours they advanced through Hamel to reach their agreed muster point by midnight. A hostile barrage on the way had caused two officers and around forty other ranks to become casualties.

Next morning at 06:15 hours, Walter’s 13RB (in tandem with the 13th Battalion Royal Fusiliers) pushed-on behind a creeping barrage towards Beaucourt and their objective, the aptly named 'Muck Trench' (so called because of its muddy condition).

The creeping barrage was inaccurate, and the attack was held up for about an hour by machine gun fire, but with a renewed barrage, Walter’s battalion managed to gain a foothold in the German defences, some 300 yards north-east of 'Railway Alley', capturing a number of prisoners.

The left flank of Walter’s battalion was now exposed and snipers were causing problems, but the battalion’s bombers still managed to work their way up Beaucourt Trench towards 'Leave Avenue'. Walter’s battalion finally consolidated the position, and then next morning ‘D’ Company pushed on into Muck Trench – objective reached, job done.

13RB was relieved on the 15th of November and went back to bivouac at Englebelmer. Its losses were again very heavy, totalling 324, of which 93 were killed, and included nearly all of the battalion HQ runners and aid post staff. It was relieved by the 10th Royal Fusiliers that night.

Tragically however, Walter wasn’t there to welcome the relieving Fusiliers, nor did he make it to the safety of Englebelmer.

At some point - either in the battalion’s move up the line or during the advance towards Beaucourt and the subsequent bombing raids - he’d been badly wounded and taken back to a Field Ambulance for triage, before being moved further back to the 49th Casualty Clearing Station (49th CCS) for treatment.

At the time Walter was wounded, the 49th CCS was based near Contay (around twelve miles west of Beaucourt), having moved there from Gézaincourt three months previously.

49th CCS was part of the casualty evacuation chain; positioned further back from the front line than the Aid Posts and Field Ambulances, It was manned by troops of the Royal Army Medical Corps, with attached Royal Engineers and men of the Army Service Corps.

The job of the CCS was to treat a man sufficiently for his return to duty or, in most cases, to enable him to be evacuated to a Base Hospital. It was generally, not a place for a long-term stay.

Tragically, whilst at the 49th CCS, Walter succumbed to the wounds he’d received on his final advance on the Somme; he passed away in the Casualty Clearing Station on November the 15th 1916, aged just twenty-one.

On the 9th of December1916, the Kidderminster Shuttle shared the news of Walter’s passing with its readers. The short report, headed "FALLEN IN BATTLE," confirmed that:

"The death of Rifleman W.W. Mayo, son of Mr. J. Mayo, locksmith, of 5, Orchard-street, took place in the Casualty Clearing Centre in France on November 15th, following wounds received in the battle of the Somme. Rifleman Mayo was assistant to his brother, the famous professional golf champion, now at Walton on Thames. Since his fourteenth year he had been regularly employed by him and was a great favourite on the links with all whom he came in contact. He was a bright, intelligent lad, and regularly attended the Primitive Methodist Church, George Street, until his removal from Kidderminster."

Today, Walter rests peacefully in the tranquil Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in Contay, a village which sits on the main road between Amiens and Arras. The personal epitaph on his headstone, chosen by his father, Isaac, reads:

“THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD”

The site for this cemetery was chosen in August 1916, specifically for burials from the 49th Casualty Clearing Station – the CCS where Walter passed.

From September 1916, the cemetery was also used by the recently arrived 9th Casualty Clearing Station. All the burials in Plots I to IV and the majority of those in Plots VII and VIII (the plot numbers V and VI were not used) cover the period August 1916 to March 1917; the period within which Walter died. Most of those resting in these plots were patients from either the 49th CCS or the 9th CCS.

In total, Contay British Cemetery contains 1,133 First World War burials, eight of whom were 13RB lads, pals of Walter. Three of these riflemen were twenty-one years old, just like Walter; one of the fallen riflemen was just nineteen.

Back in Blighty, Walter is commemorated on the Hersham St. Peter’s War Memorial and the Hersham St. Mary’s Memorial Calvary. These memorials relate to the time he spent living in the area whilst working for his brother Charles at Burhill Golf Club.

Walter is also commemorated on the Kidderminster War Memorial, which is situated to the front of St. Mary and All Saint’s Church, on the town’s inner ring-road.

Below the names of the fallen on this memorial, the following epitaph is inscribed:

“THESE DIED THE NOBLEST DEATH A MAN MAY DIE ~ FIGHTING FOR GOOD AND RIGHT AND LIBERTY ~ AND SUCH A DEATH IS IMMORTALITY”

Rest In Peace Walter William Mayo ~ Your bravery will never be forgotten ~ Your sacrifice at such a                                                             young age, will be remembered For Evermore

Acknowledgements: This story could not have been told were it not for the wonderful team at the Kidderminster Museum of Carpet; most especially Geoff, Jill, Jean and Tom. Very many thanks to you all. www.museumofcarpet.org.uk

For details of Walter’s service records and actions, I’m indebted to the wonderful members of the Great War Forum, particularly in this instance: the guru ‘kenf48’, the massively knowledgeable ‘stiletto_33853’, the ever reliable and all-knowing ‘Matlock1418’ and the brilliant ‘MBrockway’. Thanks so very much guys, I can’t thank you enough for your help and guidance (not to mention patience!).