Story:
Walter William Henry Cubbit Hodder was born in 1887 in Thorncombe, Dorset, (Near Axminster, Devon) and baptised at St. Marys Church, Thorncombe, on 7 Aug 1887. He was the son of William Henry Hodder, a builder, and Elizabeth Hodder (née Fall). At the time of the 1911 Census he was single, working as a law clerk and living at 3 Brandon House, Parsons Pool, Shaftesbury. His father died in 1912 and was buried at Holy Trinity Church on 16th May, 1912. His mother also died in 1915 and was buried alongside her husband. Walter enlisted with the Somerset Light Infantry (Service No. 22185) as a Private and later transferred to the 6th Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (New Service No. 27746). He served in France and Flanders and was awarded the Victory and British War medals. He was killed in action at Ypres in Belgium on 23rd August 1917 and his name appears on the Tyne Cot Memorial (Panel 80 to 82 and 163A). His next of kin following his death was his sister, Mary Alice Hodder, to whom probate was eventually granted. He is remembered on the Park Walk War Memorial and on the Holy Trinity Memorial, now in St. Peter's Church, Shaftesbury. He is also remembered on the headstone (grave no. 60) of his parents WILLIAM HENRY HODDER AND ELIZABETH HIS WIFE  in the Holy Trinity churchyard. The inscription reads: ALSO TO THE MEMORY OF WALTER WILLIAM HENRY THE ONLY SON OF THE ABOVE WHO WAS KILLED IN ACTION AT YPRES AUGUST 23RD 1917, AGED 30 YEARS.