Walter was born in Chorley, an old parish within Alderley Edge, Cheshire in February 1879, the son of George and Ellen Maud, nee Saxon, born in Northwich, Cheshire. George was an East Indian Merchant.
In 1901 Walter worked for his Father as an East Indian Merchant Clerk.
In 1911 George was living in Trafford Road, Alderley Edge, with his two single daughters, Helen Georgie and Hester Marion, plus one General Servant.
George's business was at Princes Street, in Manchester, and on his death, in 1913, he left the option of buying his business to son Arthur, for £1000. The remainder of his estate was to be divided between his children.
Arthur Rushton Bickham, born in 1886, and the youngest of the family, is commemorated on the WW1 Memorial in Alderley Edge. He was a Captain in the Royal Garrison Artillery and died in 1919.
There is no record of Walter ever marrying. Walter is mentioned in the London Gazette as being promoted from private in the Cheshire Yeomanry to 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery 1st East Lancashire Brigade, dated 20th May 1915. He was promoted from 2nd Lieutenant to temporary Captain on 4th October 1915.
Walter is shown on the Medal Roll Index on 29th August 1919 as being a Captain in the Royal Field Artillery Territorial Force. The 1st East Lancashire regiment were on the western front between 1914 to 1918. They were serving on the 2nd battle of Ypres and in 1916 moved south and were in action during the battle of the Somme. Then in 1917 they were in Arras, fighting German troops near the town of Arras.
After the war on the 1st November 1919 he travelled to Bombay India as a Merchant where he lived for a couple of years, he was probably working for the East India company which was a British Company set up for the exploitation of trade with East and South east Asia and India.
He arrived back in Plymouth on 7th December 1921 from Karachi Pakistan. His permanent address in England at this time was 40 Dickenson Street Manchester.
When Walter died on 18th February 1922 in Worthing of a malignant growth of the liver and secondary growth in the lung he had two properties, one in Worthing at 100 Marine Parade as well as 40 Dickenson Street Manchester. Present at the death was his Sister Hester.
He left an estate of £5395 12s 2d (approx £157,000 in 2020) which was left to his Sister Maud Bickham
Like Walter, Winifred didn't marry in 1911 and 1912 she was Matron of the Essex County Hospital in Colchester, having trained at St Bartholomew's Hospital. She was a Matron, in
the Territorial Force Nursing Service, during WW1, for which she received the War and Victory medals. She died in 1964, in Wiltshire.