Walter Landale was born in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, on 8 December 1889, the son of Walter Landale and Ethel Maude Landale. He joined the Royal Navy as a Cadet and was promoted to Midshipman on 15 September 1906. He was promoted to Sub Lieutenant on 30 December 1909.

Walter Landale was promoted to Lieutenant on 30 September 1911 and was appointed to the Submarine Depot Ship HMS ARROGANT ‘for Instruction in Submarines’ on 31 July 1912. On 30 December 1913 he was appointed to HMS D4.

His next appointment was to HMS E18 as First Lieutenant on 5 May 1915. E18 was on patrol in the Baltic on 23 May 1916 when the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Robert C Halahan, torpedoed the German Destroyer V100 – blowing the bows off the German ship. This success was reported by HMS E18 on the 24 May which was the last message received from the submarine. It is now known that the submarine was lost after hitting a mine. Walter Landale was lost with the submarine.

Walter Landale’s next of kin were his parents. He was awarded the Order of St Anne, 3rd Class by the Russian Government. He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval War Memorial Panel No. 11 and on the Prestbury War Memorial, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.