Walter Le Montais Giffard was born on the Island of Jersey, Great Britain on 27 May 1856 and moved to Honolulu 24 October 1875. He worked for William G. Irwin in various business enterprises from 1877 to 1909. In particular, Giffard functioned as Irwin's agent in Hawaii after Irwin moved to San Francisco. In 1885 William G. Irwin and Claus Spreckles formed the bank Claus Spreckles & Co., later Bank of Honolulu, Ltd.