Family History

As in many families of the time, there is some mystery regarding William Walsh’s family. We do know that William Herbert Walsh was born March 11, 1879, at Bellary (Madras Presidency) India to Thomas Francis Walsh and his wife Alice Nugent. Thomas Francis who at the time went by the surname Cooke, was both a musician and belonged to the 48th Regiment British Army. William Herbert’s young mother Alice was the daughter of Dr. William Nugent and Katharine Shanahan whose families originated in the Waterford area of Ireland.

In early 1881 William Herbert Walsh’s father Thomas Cooke (Walsh) was bought out of the British Army and the family travelled to Tooraneena Waterford, Ireland – where William Herbert’s great aunt and feisty tavern owner Johanna Cooke was said to have provided the family with the funds to travel to Canada via New York City. From New York, the now only known as the Walsh family travelled to Ontario where after a brief period in Hamilton the family settled in Toronto where William Herbert’s father Thomas F Walsh joined the Canadian Army and was stationed at Stanley Barracks. From there the family relocated to Wolseley Barracks in London Ontario where William Herbert’s father served as both leader of the Wolseley Barracks band as well as choir leader of St. Peter’s Cathedral.

William Herbert travelled to the Klondike in 1898, as a member of the newly formed Yukon Field Force, to bring law and order to the Gold Rush areas.

William Herbert spent 25 years in the Canadian Military. After many years, he re-enlisted, and in Sept. 1914, he was dispatched to Bermuda, with the Royal Canadian Regiment, as Sergeant, part of the first WWI contingent from Canada. He enlisted again on Oct. 1, 1917, to serve in WWI at age 38, and was dispatched to England.

In England he served in the 1st Depot BN, W.O.R. He was promoted to Sergeant Major in England on Oct. 22nd, 1917.

In April of 1918, he was hospitalized and returned to Canada to the Wolseley Barracks Military Hospital. After a lengthy hospital stay, he was discharged on Aug. 12th, 1918.

He was sidelined again, by age 44 with Tuberculosis, and ended up, like many others, convalescing in The Queen Alexandra Sanatorium, in the former Byron Ontario.

William Herbert was bitten by music at the tender age of 11 years, when he joined the 22nd Battalion of The Oxford Rifles, as, “Bugler Willie Walsh”, on June 17th, 1890.

Throughout his life, he wrote and composed hundreds of pieces of music. Whether he was on the road in Chicago, playing numerous shows in multiple venues, or back home with family, neighbours, and friends at The Irish Benevolent Society, and his beloved Royal Canadian Regiment Band, he wrote, and wrote, and wrote.

He was a multi instrumentalist, composing the music for the entire orchestra, from the Piano, Violin, Piccolo, Drums, The Horns of all kinds, 23 orchestral instruments and more. He was prolific, and was obviously deeply driven by the need to create the beautiful art of music. His music survives to this day, all painstakingly hand written with a fountain pen, in stark contrast to our modern, instant world of today. Many works were published in that time, and the research into those publications continues at the writing of this, the year 2024.

William Herbert went on to marry Margaret Bennett in 1902, and together they had 7 children, Kathleen Teresa, b1903, William Herbert Jr b1905, Cecilia Margaret, b1907, Agnes Alice, b1910, John Thomas, b1913, Helen Patricia, b1918, and Jack Edward, b1920.

William Herbert was a long time member of the London Musician's Union, and also spent several years in Chicago, USA, as a working musician, and that is where William Herbert Jr was born. The rest of the children were born in London Ontario.

William Herbert died of heart failure, on June 11, 1937, at The London Armouries, in London, Ontario, while leading the Royal Canadian Regiment Veteran's Band. Death notices in the Gallery indicate his influence far and wide, and his death was felt and mourned by the community he flourished in for most of his life.

After a long, and eventful life, Margaret Bennett died on July 12, 1965, in London, Ontario. They are interred together at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, in London, Ontario.