Walter Dennis Waller

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Walter Dennis Waller

Walter Dennis Waller was the final airman to be buried at Bethel Welsh Congregational Chapel during the Second World War.

Family Background

Walter was the son of Elizabeth Virtue Waller (née Mainwaring) and the late William Henry Waller. He was born on 5^th November 1921, too late to appear in the 1921 Census, which had been taken that June.

William Henry Waller and Elizabeth Virtue Mainwaring
marriage certificate
St. Thomas parish church

1911 Census

His parents married on 25^th September 1920, at St. Thomas Parish Church, Swansea. Elizabeth, born in 1895, was the daughter of William Thomas and Mary Mainwaring. The 1911 Census records her aged 15, living at 24 Inkerman Street, St. Thomas, with her parents and siblings, and employed as a dressmaker.

1911 Census

William Henry Waller, meanwhile, was recorded in the 1911 Census at 50 Midland Terrace, St. Thomas, living with his widowed mother Charlotte and younger sisters. At 17, he was a junior clerk.

1921 Census

South Wales Daily Post

By the 1921 Census, William and Elizabeth were living at Inkerman Street with Elizabeth’s parents. William, 27, was employed as Chief Clerk for the Swansea & District Cooperative Society. He died in 1937, after a long illness, having worked with the Cooperative for 25 years. He was buried at Bethel.

Early Life

1939 Register

The first surviving official record of Walter himself comes from the 1939 Register, which shows him living with his widowed mother at 127 Glanmor Road, Sketty. At this time, Walter was working as an optician’s dispenser, employed by Dixey Opticians, Uplands. He had been educated at Craig-y-nos School.

Military Service

Walter enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1941. By 1945, he was serving as a Flying Officer with 1658 Heavy Conversion Unit, based at RAF Riccall, North Yorkshire.

Death and Burial

Halifax III

On the night of 4^th–5^th March 1945, Walter was part of the crew of a Halifax III (LL554) on a night cross-country training flight. After completing their exercise, the aircraft attempted to land at RAF Riccall but overshot the runway. The pilot tried to climb and circle again but lost control during a turn, and the aircraft crashed near Skipwith, just east of Selby.

Of the crew, four men were killed and three survived with injuries:

• Flight Lieutenant Francis Chamberlain Neville – Pilot, injured
• Sergeant Dennis Raphael Goodman – Flight Engineer, injured
• Flight Officer Victor Ernest Phillips – Bomb Aimer, injured
• Flight Officer Joseph Hooper (34) – Navigator, killed, buried at Selby Cemetery
• Sergeant William George Mowbrey (22) – Wireless Operator/Air Gunner, killed, buried at Upperby Cemetery, Carlisle
• Flight Officer Edward Henry Ewin (23) – Air Gunner, killed, buried at Selby Cemetery
• Flight Officer Walter Dennis Waller (23) – Air Gunner, killed

Herald of Wales

Walter Dennis Waller
Bethel Welsh Congregational Chapelyard
credit - findagrave

Walter’s body was returned home to Swansea, and he was buried at Bethel Welsh Congregational Chapel. The Herald of Wales reported his funeral.

Legacy

Walter’s life was cut short at just 23, having only recently begun his career and service. His grave at Bethel stands as the final wartime airman’s burial in the chapel’s ground, linking Swansea to the nationwide losses of Bomber Command in the final months of the war. His name, alongside those of his comrades, is a reminder of the risks faced not only in combat but also in the dangerous training required to prepare crews for war.