Cledwyn Griffiths Walker was the son of Samuel Walker [born 1860] and Ellen Walker [born 1865]. He was born on the 26th of October 1899, the youngest son of 9 children at Ashover Village near Chesterfield. His siblings were Arthur Walker [born 1892], Walter Walker [born 1894], Leonard Walker [born 1896], Allwood Walker [born 1898], Linda Walker [born 1902] and Edith Walker [born 1904]. Cledwyn’s father Samuel worked as a self-employed stone mason, his brothers Arthur and Walter were employed as spare labourers, his brother Leonard was a Gardener and Allwood was a Farm Labourer.

The family household was also home to Mary Jane Bunting, who was Ellen’s sister and who was dependant on the family as she was both deaf and mute. Mary Jane was classed as reliant on the parish, however she had been employed as a Charwoman when younger. Whilst the rest of the family were all born in Ashover, Ellen and her sister Mary Jane had been born in Sheffield but her family had moved to Ashover when she was young. Ellen was the daughter of James Bunting [born 1826] who was a General Labourer from Matlock and Phoebe Bunting [born 1828] who died sometime before 1891. Prior to her marriage to Samuel Walker Ellen worked as a domestic servant, also just before her marriage there was a young child living in her Father’s house named Annie Bunting, however it is not clear who her parents were.

Samuel Walker, Cledwyn’s father, was the youngest son of Harriott Walker née Willcockson [born 1821], a widower and housekeeper with eight children. Samuel’s siblings were William Walker [born 1842] who worked as a lead miner, Alwood Walker [born 1844] also a lead miner, Griffin Walker [born 1846] who was also a lead miner, Walter Walker [born 1851], Harriott Walker [born 1854], Ann Walker [born 1856] and Thomas Walker [born 1858]. Samuel never knew his Father William Walker [born 1809] who was a farmer of 43 acres. William died around 1860. Harriott and Samuel also had a daughter named Edah and a son named Richard Edwin Walker Goodall [named after William’s mother Mary Goodall] who both died before Samuel was born.

The Walker family can be traced back through several generations living in Ashover, as far back as a William Walker [born 1610] and Mary Alwood [born 1612] who married in 1632. The name Allwood was used continually throughout the family tree. It is a mystery as to why Cledwyn was given a Welsh name, given the family had been in Derbyshire for generations. There are property documents between the Walker family, the Willcocksons, Allwoods and the Hopkinsons, all of whom married into the family at various points, going back to the 1500’s in Derbyshire Archives.

Prior to the war Cledwyn was employed as a Quarryman.

Cledwyn served upon two ships over the course of the First World War. The first was the Victory II, as a Stoker 2nd Class, from 1917. Cledwyn then went onto serve on the HMS Leviathan [pictured below] as a Stoker 1st Class. The Leviathan was a Drake Class armoured cruiser which had a crew of 900. Cledwyn’s naval record was logged as satisfactory throughout.  

Cledwyn left the Royal Navy after 1918 and was awarded a war gratuity, a lump sum of money, which would have helped him set up his life back home after the war. War gratuities were an initiative formalised in 1918 to pay soldiers and naval servicemen who had served overseas for more than 6 months by the end of the war.

Cledwyn was 5ft 8in, with brown hair and eyes. He sustained some injuries during battle.

After the war Cledwyn married a woman named Bertha Travis in December 1933. He died aged 59, in 1959, in Derby.