Walter was one of many COs from Haringey who had German ancestry. His father had travelled to Britain from Brunswick and married a local woman, settling down to raise a large family. Walter was convinced that the First World War was a great injustice, and stated that he did “not believe that there is any cause whatsoever worthy of the life of one man”. After Walter was sent to prison for refusing military orders, he learned that his father had been deported to Germany. He wrote many letters from prison that show him slowly becoming more and more opposed to the military and civil system and ever more determined to resist war. Throughout his time in prison he believed that war used ordinary people as “pawns to satisfy the greed and covetousness of the capitalist”.
See teaching resources based on Walter's story