Walter, or Jock as he was known to his friends, was born on 7th April 1917 in the hamlet of Marykirk near Laurencekirk in Kincardenshire, Scotland and was one of ten children. His father was a farm manager until the owner of the farm died, and then his parents bought a croft with a small holding. The family was self sufficient from farming and providing their own meat, dairy products and vegetables. In fact, the only product they needed to buy was bread.

When Jock left school he started work in a grocery store in Laurencekirk until the owners moved on. In the 1930's there was high unemployment in Scotland so Jock decided to find his fortune in England to where several of his friends had already moved. He found a job as a trainee barman and later the owners offered him a job as a waiter in their restaurant which he enjoyed.

With his experience as a waiter Jock decided to try for a job at a hotel in Jersey, and eventually obtained a post at the Lamotte Hotel. He thoroughly enjoyed his time there but following the death of the owner he decided to return to Scotland. However, unemployment was still rife in Scotland so he returned to England.

Once back in England he found work with the NAAFI and was sent to the Tank Corp in Dorset. After completing his training he was posted to Didcot where he met his future wife Violet Alder who worked at the depot as a clerk.

In 1939 Jock joined the Army and went to Reading for training and on to Southampton for further training as a motor mechanic. When war broke out he was posted to Northern Ireland and while there obtained a 24 hour pass to return to Didcot and marry Violet.

After the war Jock returned to Didcot and used his mechanical engineering skills to obtain a post with Job's Dairy as a mechanic. He was eventually promoted to Transport Manager and remained with the company through all it's changes from Job's to Express dairies to Diageo until his retirement.

Jock's main interests were his garden, bowls and lots and lots of holidays. Jock and Violet were married for 66 years until Violet's death in 2006 at the age of 92. They had one very much loved daughter and son-in-law and two grandchildren.

Jock was a gentle man and well liked by all who met him and will be remembered affectionately.

With thanks to Sandra Stunell (Jock's daughter) for providing this tribute.