Tuhia he tomokanga mō tēnei wāhanga - I whānau a Wingfield i te 16 o Oketopa 1833 ki Ruabon, Denbighshire, Wales, he tama a Clopton Lewis Wingfield, he rangatira i te 66th Foot Regiment, me Jane Eliza, tamahine a Sir John Mitchell KCB. I mate tona whaea i te tau 1836 i muri i te whanautanga o tana tamaiti tuarua, ka mate tona papa i te tau 1846 na te aukati o te kopu. I whakatipuhia a Walter e tana matua keke me tana matua keke. I whakaakona ia ki te Kura o Rossall, a i te tau 1851 ka uru ia ki te Royal Military College, Sandhurst, i te whakamatau tuarua na te awe o tana matua keke he koroneela. I whakawhiwhia ia ki a Cornet i te 1st Dragoon Guards ka mahi ia ki Inia. I te tau 1858 ka riro a Wingfield hei rangatira, ā, i te tau 1860 i uru ia ki te pakanga ki Haina
I tae atu ki te hopu i a Peking. I hoki ia ki Ingarangi i te tau 1861 ka reti mai i nga Kaitiaki Dragoon i te tau i muri mai.