Son of Richard and Mary Balderstone of 10 Dale Street, Ulverston, as shown by army pension ledgers.

Joseph first volunteered for service in the King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) on 20 December 1915 claiming to be 19 years 6 months old, he was discharged on 13 April 1916 after being found to be just 16 years 10 months old.

Joseph had given his name as Joseph Balderston on attestation, but census records show that the family name was Balderstone.

There are only two Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) records for Joseph Balderston, one is for a soldier of the 14th Bn. Royal Welsh Fusiliers with a service number 58223 who died on 28 August 1918, the other is for a soldier of the 1st/4th Battalion, King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) with a service number 1922 who died on the 2 September 1916 aged 20 (buried in Ulverston cemetery). Both these CWGC records are linked to Ulverston and there are two Joseph Balderstons listed on the Ulverston war memorial.

The list of soldiers killed in the Great war shows that the Joseph Balderston who served with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers was born in Ulverston and enlisted in Ulverston. This Joseph Balderston served first with the South Wales Borderers (service number 50080) before being transferred into the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and given the service number 58223.

We must assume that following his discharge from the King's Own for being underage he re-enlisted with the South Wales Borderers, there are no attestation records available for this enlistment.