[3] The youngest of five children, Walter Strang was born in Wellington in April 1888, and his mother died a few days later.

He served in Europe as a sergeant in the Canterbury Infantry Regiment of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force.

[8] After working for the ironmongers Paterson and Barr for several years, in 1928 he opened his own sporting goods business, Walter Strang, Limited, in Princes Street in central Dunedin.

[5] During the late 1920s his batting form brought him close to selection for the Otago team several times.

[13][14] Strang served as an officer in the National Military Reserve during World War II.