Philip was born in Bedford in on the 22nd October 1916 in Bedford. He was the eldest son of Charles Philip Walton and Evelyn Rachel Eliza Sarah Walton (née Lewis). He had two younger siblings, Ellen and Charles. The family lived at 82, Ampthill Road, Bedford. Their father was a Butcher by trade. They employed one servant. Sadly, Philips father died in 1922.
Philip was educated at Bedford Modern School where he was Head Boy in 1935-1936. He went on to study at Christ's College Cambridge where in 1939 he was a member of the Officer Training Corps and he graduated with a B.A.
He joined the Army in 1939 and saw action in Norway. On the 28th March1942 he took part in Operation Chariot. This was a British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Normandie dry dock at St. Nazaire in German occupied France. The operation was undertaken by the Royal Navy and British Commandos. St Nazaire was targeted because the loss of its dry dock would force any large German warship in need of repairs, such as the battleship Tirpitz, sister ship of Bismarck to return to home waters by running the gauntlet of the Home Fleet of the Royal Navy and other British forces, via the English Channel or the North Sea.
The obsolete destroyer HMS Campbeltown accompanied by 18 smaller craft, crossed the English Channel to the Atlantic coast of France and was rammed into the Normandie dry dock south gate. The ship had been packed with delayed-action explosives which were well hidden. They detonated later that day, putting the dock out of service until 1948.
Philip was the Section Officer of Demolition Team 1C who embarked on Motor Launch 457. She was the only Motor Launch to land successfully on the Old Mole. The Launch carried a total of 15 Commandos who were split into three teams, Philip's Demolition party, his protection team led by 2nd Lt Bill 'Tiger' Watson and a Demolition Control party led by Captain Bill Pritchard RE. The Launch's Captain, a Lt. Collier undertook to wait for the parties to return and in doing so held position under heavy fire with the inevitable consequence that the Launch was struck again and again and eventually destroyed.
After the raid Philip's mother was told that he was 'missing'. Confirmation came eventually that he had been killed in action.
Philip was buried in Escoublac-la-Baule War Cemetery. He is commemorated on the WW2 Memorial at Bedford Modern School and on the Special Forces Roll of Honour.
(Sources: CWGC, Ancestry, Find My Past, Commando Veterans Archive, Special Forces ROH, St. Nazaire Society, Newspaper Archives)
(Bio: Woose)
