| Notes |
- Born 15 November 1912, he was always called Bill by his immediate family because of the strong resemblance to his older cousin William Gaston Walkley.
He was the only son of Henry and Elizabeth Walkley and received his education at Levin School and Nelson College respectively.
Upon leaving College with University Entrance, and in the depression years of the early thirties, a clerical position was obtained in Wellington which he held until the mobilisation of the Territorial Forces at the outbreak of hostilities in 1939. When subsequently transferred to 3rd N.Z. Division he saw active service in the Soloman Islands Campaign with the rank of W.O. I.
When he returned to civilian life he trained in the cabinet- making and joinery trade, an opportunity which was unavailable pre-war. He eventually established a furniture manufacturing business in Levin in partnership with Ernie Norton. The first workshop for Walkley and Norton was in a garage at the family home, "Mylor", but later moved to larger premises in Princess Street as the business expanded. He worked in the furniture making business until his retirement.
In 1941 he was married to Edith Clifton Harley of Nelson, only child of William Carrol Harley, a Nelson solicitor and later a magistrate. They had two sons.
Edith Clifton died in Levin on the 7th May 1993.
After the death of Edith , Bill kept the company of widow Betty Burge and they shared a house together until his death in 2005 at the age of 92.
Betty and her husband Dick had owned the Walkley family home, "Mylor", for a number of years after Dick?s death. Their mutual interest in the old home led to their companionship.
Their older son, Carrol Stewart, lives and teaches in Palmerston North after graduating MSc. and training as a secondary teacher. In 1970 he married Julie Lorraine Henson, also a teacher. They have two sons. Benjamin James and Timon Andrew.
Benjamin James lives in Auckland, and after graduating with a B.Tech., works in the field of packaging design for a drink manufacturing company.
Timon Andrew lives in Wellington and works in the computer industry.
Richard Henry N.Z.C.S. lives in Auckland and works for Biolab Scientific as a technical consultant. In 1973 he married Robin McCardle and they had two daughters.
The elder, Nicola Jane married Glenn Jefferies and they have a son, Leo.
The younger daughter, Heidi Marie, works as a lawyer married John Young and has a son, Harvey.
|
1912 - 2005 (92 years)