Walter Tucker was born in 1894 in Newfoundland, the son of Stephen J. Tucker and Lucy Tucker. The family were to live at 116 Springdale Street, in St. John's, Newfoundland.

He enlisted in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, as a Private, no. 880. The regiment was raised by a Patriotic Committee at the Church Lads Brigade Armoury in St John's on 21 August 1914. The first 500 men sailed for England on 4 October, 1914, and subsequent drafts were sent from Newfoundland to bring the battalion up to strength. The battalion moved to Fort George, at Inverness, on 7 December, 1914, and Edinburgh Castle for guard duties on 19 February, 1915. It moved to Stobs Camp, near Hawick, on 11 May, 1915, and on 2 August, 1915, moved to Badajox Barracks, at Aldershot. The battalion joined the 88th Infantry Brigade in the 29th Division.

Walter Tucker, having been appointed Lance Corporal, embarked with his regiment at Devonport on 19 August, 1915, aboard the liner Megantic for service at Gallipoli. Sailing via Malta and Lemnos, the battalion disembarked at Alexandria, in Egypt, on 1 September.

On 13 September, 1915, the battalion boarded the Ausonia, which took it to Mudros, the advanced base for operations at Gallipoli, where it arrived five days later. The 1,076 men then trans-shipped to the Prince Abbas, and disembarked at Kangaroo Beach at Gallipoli on 20 September 1915.

The next day they were shelled by Turkish artillery as they huddled in their shallow dugouts for protection. Hoping for action and excitement, they were soon disappointed. They spent the first month digging trenches and keeping long night watches, spending time on the front line learning trench warfare techniques from the ANZAC and British forces that had been fighting there for months.

Conditions were bad. Enemy fire and life in the trenches made the situation miserable for the Newfoundlanders. Getting enough to drink was difficult, with soldiers sometimes getting less than a cup of water a day. The heat brought swarms of flies that helped spread dysentery, which hit the Newfoundlanders hard.

During the four months the Newfoundland Regiment fought at Gallipoli, approximately 30 men died as a consequence of action and 10 more died of disease.

Walter Tucker died of wounds on 25 October, 1915, aboard the HM Hospital Ship Aquitania. He was aged 21 and had survived 36 days active service. He was buried at sea.

Walter Tucker is commemorated on the Beaumont Hamel (Newfoundland) Memorial, on the Somme, in France. He is also commemorated in the Newfoundland Book of Remembrance.

His service earned him the 1914-15 Star; British War Medal, 1914-20; and Victory Medal, 1914-19.