Walter Kenneth Gilbert

Sapper Walter Kenneth Gilbert – Royal Engineers, 4 Bomb Disposal Company

Early Life

Walter Kenneth Gilbert was born in 1923, the son of Thomas Walter Gilbert and Mabel Elizabeth Joslin, who had married in late 1921.

1939 Register

The 1939 Register records the Gilbert family living at 7 St. Leger Crescent. At that time, Walter, then a teenager, was employed as an apprentice electrician at the dry dock.

Military Service

Walter enlisted with the Royal Engineers, serving in the 4 Bomb Disposal Company. His duties placed him in one of the most hazardous branches of military service, tasked with neutralising unexploded ordnance in the years immediately following the war.

Death

Herald of Wales

On 31^st July 1946, Sapper Gilbert tragically lost his life because of a terrible accident. The Herald of Wales reported on the inquest into his death, which brought the circumstances to public attention.

Burial

Following his death, Walter’s body was brought home from Norfolk for burial at Danygraig Cemetery, Swansea.

Legacy

Though his life was cut short at only 23 years of age, Walter Kenneth Gilbert’s service with the Royal Engineers stands as a reminder of the dangers faced by bomb disposal personnel even after the war had ended. His sacrifice highlights the risks endured by those who worked to make communities safe from the remnants of conflict. Buried at Danygraig Cemetery, his memory lives on as part of Swansea’s wartime legacy and among the many young men who gave their lives in the service of others.