Walter Kilford was the eldest son of Joseph Kilford and Ellen Field.

Born in 1863 in Chertsey, Surrey, he married Clara Maidment in 1892 in Brockley Hill, London.

He raised his family in the Sydneham area of London. Clara died in Childbirth in 1905 (the child also died) and Walter was left with three children; Cecil, Reginald and Winifred.

Walter remarried late in 1908.