Also Served: Walter Hunt Longton - Walter Hunt LONGTON
“Inglewood”, Derby Street, Prescot Private 2385, 1/1st Bn., Worcestershire Yeomanry 
Later Flight Commander, Royal Flying Corps/Royal Air Force
Born on 10th September 1892 at Whiston Hall Farm, Walter Hunt Longton was the eldest of 5 children to William and Mary Longton. William was a Farmer, and the 1901 census showed the family living at Whiston Hall Farm, but by the 1911 census they had moved to 22, West Street, Prescot. William was now shown as a 'Motor Carrier', and Walter, now aged 18, was an Apprentice Engineer at the Wire Works.
Walter's name was published in the Prescot Reporter list of men serving with the colours in May 1915. This showed him serving with 'QOWH' - the Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars, another name for the Worcestershire Yeomanry.
His date of enlistment is not known, but on 11th April 1915, the Battalion sailed from Avonmouth, bound for Egypt and ultimately Gallipoli. Walter's medal Index Card confirms his arrival in Egypt with the Battalion on 24th April. They landed at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli, in August 1915 and were in action at the attack on Chocolate Hill just three days later.
The battalion finally withdraw from the peninsula in December 1915, returning first to Egypt and then to England.
On 31st March 1916, he passed his Flying Certificate at Hendon, and then in May, the London Gazette confirmed his commission as Second Lieutenant with the Royal Flying Corps
Details of Walter's Flying Certificate
The London Gazette entry for his Commission
Full details of Walter's DFC and Bar citations, as well as details of his 11 kills, can be found on Flight Global's website
http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/longton.php
He married Lily Miller in London in the Autumn of 1918 and shortly afterwards was promoted to Flight Commander.
The announcement of Walter's promotion (with incorrect name!) in the Liverpool Echo, 22nd October 1918
Walter was entitled to the 1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal in addition to his Air Force Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar.
He has a Wikipedia entry with details of his wartime and post-war career, which is also well documented in the online archives of 'Flight Global' magazine. This can be accessed by visiting www.flightglobal.com and searching the archive for his name.
Walter was killed in a flying accident in Bournemouth on 6th June 1927, aged 34. He was buried in Upavon Cemetery. The image below, courtesy of John Yates, shows his grave.
A memorial plaque to Walter is mounted in St Mary's Church, Upavon in Wiltshire and he has a page on the Merseyside at War website
I am not aware of any memorials in Prescot which bear his name
One of Walter's siblings was Hilda Mary Longton, two years his junior. I am indebted to Kit Syder, grand-daughter of Hilda, for sharing this picture (below) which shows Hilda standing on the right outside the BI factory on Warrington Road, Prescot, with an unnamed colleague, collecting for the French Relief Fund, a very popular charity of the time which supported French refugees from the war
Ref. No.: A1174
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