Joseph Walden

Police Constable 489, Toronto Police Force | Lance Corporal, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry

Joseph Walden was born on the 2nd of November 1890, in the village of Kingsbury Episcopi, Somerset, England. As a young man he had served in the British Army’s Somersetshire Light Infantry, before emigrating to Canada. He settled in Toronto, and in October 1912, was sworn in as Police Constable No. 489 in the Toronto Police Force. The single young man lived at 833 Lansdowne Avenue, and walked the beat out of No. 9 Police Station, in the Keele St and Dundas St W area.

At the outbreak of war, Constable Walden enlisted with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry on August 28th 1914, in Ottawa, and sailed to England on the SS Royal George with the first Canadian contingent. He proceeded to France in December 1914, moving to the front lines. On April 23rd 1915, during the Second Battle of Ypres, Walden was wounded as his unit was heavily shelled behind the lines and in trenches at Polygon Wood. On Sunday, April 25th 1915, Walden died of his wounds and was buried. The ground in which Walden was buried was later captured by the enemy, and in the following battles for the area, his grave would be destroyed.

With no known grave, Constable Joseph Walden is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial in Belgium.

Research Sources:

  • H. Grasett – Annual Report of the Chief Constable of the City of Toronto for the Year 1914, Page 58. Toronto: The Carswell Co Ltd City Printers, 1915.
  • Library and Archives Canada. Service File of No. 214  Joseph Walden.
  • Library and Archives Canada. War Diaries  of the First World War – Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, 1914/11/04 – 1915/10/31.
  • Library and Archives Canada. War Graves Registry – Commonwealth War Graves, No. 214 Joseph Walden.
  • Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Casualty Details for No. 214 Joseph Walden.
  • The Toronto Daily Star (1915, May 5th), Page 2. “Former Policeman Killed” .
  • The Toronto Evening Telegram (1918, March 15th). “West Toronto Police Honor Roll”.
  • National Memorial Album of Canadian Heroes, Page 105. Toronto: National Progress Publishing Co., 1919. (Photo)