Walter Pearl Knapp was born in 1876. He was the son of William M. Knapp and Rose B. Knapp. He was married to Mary Etta Pinnell Ladd. After leaving school, he began working at the Register office, where he learned the printing trade that he continued to follow throughout his life. His work in printing took him to various cities across the country, and before going to England, he was employed as the head of the printing department at a boys’ school in Rhode Island. He served in the 55th Trench Mortar Battery, Royal Field Artillery, as a Gunner during World War I.

Gunner Knapp died on January 1, 1917. He did not tell his mother he had joined the British Army. The cablegram reporting his death was her first knowledge of his enlistment. He is now buried in the Vlamertinghe Military Cemetery, Vlamertinghe, Arrondissement Ieper, West Flanders, Belgium.

Source of information: canadiangreatwarproject.com, www.findagrave.com