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William George Walker

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Major-General
William George Walker
VC CB
Captain Walker depicted on a cigarette card
Born(1863-05-29)29 May 1863
Nainital, British India
Died16 February 1936(1936-02-16) (aged 72)
Seaford, East Sussex, England
Military career
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch
British Indian Army
Rank
Major-General
Unit4th Gurkha Rifles
Commands2nd Division
9th Sirhind Brigade
Conflicts
Third Somaliland Expedition
First World War
AwardsVictoria Cross
Companion of the Order of the Bath
Mentioned in Despatches

Major-General William George Walker, VC, CB (29 May 1863 – 16 February 1936) was a senior British Indian Army officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross.

Early career

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Walker was born at Nainital, India, on 29 May 1863, the son of Deputy Surgeon General William Walker, Indian Medical Service.[1][2] He was commissioned in the Suffolk Regiment in August 1885,[3] seconded to the Indian Staff Corps in May 1887,[4] and promoted to captain in 1896.[5] In India, Walker served on the North-West Frontier, including campaigns in Samana, 1891 and Waziristan, 1894–95.[6] In 1903–04 he served in Somaliland.[2]

VC action

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Walker was 39 years old, and a captain in the 4th Gurkha Rifles, Indian Army, attached to the Bikanir Camel Corps during the Third Somaliland Expedition when he won the VC. On 22 April 1903 after the action at Daratoleh, British Somaliland, the rearguard got considerably behind the rest of the column. Captain Walker and Captain George Murray Rolland, with four other men, were with a fellow officer when he fell badly wounded, and while one went for assistance, Captain Walker and the rest stayed with him, endeavouring to keep off the enemy. This they succeeded in doing, and when the officer in command of the column, Major John Edmund Gough, arrived, they managed to get the wounded man on to a camel. He was, however, hit a second time and died immediately.[7][8] Rolland and Gough also received the VC for this action.[9]

Later life

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Walker returned to India, and served as commandant of the 1st Battalion, 4th Gurkha Rifles,[10] becoming a brevet lieutenant colonel in September 1904,[11] a colonel in January 1911,[12] and appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in June 1914.[13]

Walker served in the First World War. His first major role was when he was made commander of the 9th Sirhind Brigade from 3 January 1915 when he was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general and assigned to command the brigade.[14] He achieved the temporary rank of major general on 5 November 1915[15] and succeeded Major General Henry Horne as general officer commanding (GOC) of the 2nd Division.[16]. In 1916 his temporary rank became permanent "for distinguished service in the Field",[17]

Walker died at the age of 72 on 16 February 1936 in Seaford, East Sussex,[6] and was cremated at the Woodvale Crematorium in Brighton and is commemorated there.[18]

His VC is displayed at the National Army Museum, Chelsea, London.[6]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ↑ "William George Walker VC CB". victoriacrossonline. 27 April 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  2. 1 2 Wilkins, Philip Aveling (1904). The History of the Victoria Cross. A. Constable & Co. p. 136. Retrieved 21 March 2025 – via Google Books.
  3. ↑ "No. 25506". The London Gazette. 28 August 1885. p. 4083.
  4. ↑ "No. 25739". The London Gazette. 16 September 1887. p. 4996.
  5. ↑ "No. 26795". The London Gazette. 17 November 1896. p. 6275.
  6. 1 2 3 "Victoria Cross medal group, Major-General William George Walker, 4th Gurkha Rifles, 1891–1917". National Army Museum Online Collection. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  7. ↑ "No. 27584". The London Gazette. 7 August 1903. p. 4981.
  8. ↑ "No. 27584". The London Gazette. 7 August 1903. p. 4976.
  9. ↑ "No. 27636". The London Gazette. 15 January 1904. p. 331.
  10. ↑ "No. 28362". The London Gazette. 3 May 1910. p. 3072.
  11. ↑ "No. 27711". The London Gazette. 6 September 1904. p. 5776.
  12. ↑ "No. 28487". The London Gazette. 21 April 1911. p. 3095.
  13. ↑ "No. 28842". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 June 1914. p. 4876.
  14. ↑ "No. 29090". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 March 1915. p. 2226.
  15. ↑ "No. 29382". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 November 1915. p. 11877.
  16. ↑ Army Commands Archived 5 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ↑ "No. 12894". The Edinburgh Gazette. 17 January 1916. p. 86.
  18. ↑ "Victoria Cross Holders interred within or cremated at Brighton & Hove City Council's Cemeteries and Crematorium". Brighton and Hove City Council (Woodvale Bereavement Services). 2010. Archived from the original (DOC) on 6 December 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2016.

References

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