POWELL Walter James

There is no record of this casualty on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database.

Walter Powell was born 28th May 1897, the son of John and Louisa Joyce Powell of Bewdley, Worcestershire.  He entered Old Swinford Hospital on 19th June 1906 and left the school on 22nd May 1912 when he was apprenticed to Demming & Co, house painters of Kidderminster.

In 1914 whilst serving in France Walter Powell suffered chest pain and breathlessness.  This was attributed to the rheumatic fever he had suffered in 1913, aggravated by active service.  He was medically discharged from the Worcestershire Regiment in 1915 and the Army Service Corps in 1916.  In June 1917 he was operated on for appendicitis.  Two months later on 7th August 1916 he enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) at Birmingham.  He then developed pneumonia and on 1st September 1917 tuberculosis was diagnosed.  He was medically discharged from the RFC on 6th October 1917.  On 4th December 1917 he was admitted to Hill Top Isolation Hospital, Bromsgrove; he was discharged on 29th December 1917 and died on 22nd July 1918.

Source for additional information: Old Foleyans Remembered Casualties of WW1 published by the Old Foleyans Association, October 1998.