ABLE Seaman John Walker RNVR is buried in Abbotshall Churchyard in Kirkcaldy. He passed away from pneumonia following influenza in Ramsgate on November 12, 1918, at the age of thirty-one. His grave is distinguished by an official CWGC headstone.
John was born on May 5th, 1887, in Kirkcaldy to linoleum printer John Sr. and Margaret (nee Drummond). He was their first child. By 1891, the Walkers lived at 26 Stewart Place. By this time, the family had grown with the births of Isabella and Andrew. Ten years later, the family still resided at the same address. Thirteen-year-old John had left school and was employed as a linsburn worker. By 1911, John still lived with his family at 81 Victoria Road, Kirkcaldy, and worked in the power room of a local jute mill.
Tragically, John Sr. passed away from heart disease on February 4th, 1914, at the age of fifty-four. John Jr. registered his death. Before joining the Royal Navy in November 1915, John changed jobs again and worked as a tenter at St. Mary’s canvas factory. While in the Navy, he served on HMS Ceto. In 1917, he sustained wounds in France and was transferred from the Royal Naval Division to the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve after recovering. He was stationed at Ramsgate, where he contracted Spanish influenza. His death was acknowledged by the Fife Free Press on Saturday, November 16th, 1918.
On Saturday November 16th 1918 the Fife Free Press acknowledged his death.
Sources: Ancestry, British Newspaper Archive, CWGC, ScotlandsPeople
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