William George Walker
William George Walker | |
|---|---|
 Captain Walker depicted on a cigarette card | |
| Born | 28 May 1863 Nainital, British India |
| Died | 16 February 1936 (aged 72) Seaford, East Sussex, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | British Indian Army |
| Rank | Major general |
| Unit | 4th Gurkha Rifles |
| Commands | 2nd Division 9th Sirhind Brigade |
| Battles / wars | Third Somaliland Expedition First World War |
| Awards | Victoria Cross Companion of the Order of the Bath Mentioned in Despatches |
Major General William George Walker, VC, CB (28 May 1863 – 16 February 1936) was a senior British Indian Army officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross.
Early career
[edit]Walker was born at Nainital, India, on 28 May 1863, the son of Deputy Surgeon General William Walker, Indian Medical Service.[1] He was commissioned in the Suffolk Regiment in August 1885,[2] seconded to the Indian Staff Corps in May 1887,[3] and promoted to captain in 1896.[4] In India, Walker served on the North-West Frontier, including campaigns in Samana, 1891 and Waziristan, 1894–95.[5] In 1903–04 he served in Somaliland.
VC action
[edit]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.[6][7] Rolland and Gough also received the VC for this action.[8]
Later life
[edit]Walker returned to India, and served as commandant of the 1st Battalion, 4th Gurkha Rifles,[9] becoming a brevet lieutenant colonel in September 1904[10], a colonel in January 1911, and appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in June 1914.[11]
Walker served in the First World War as commander of the 9th Sirhind Brigade from August 1914 and achieved the temporary rank of major general in 1915, which in 1916 became permanent,[12] as general officer commanding (GOC) 2nd Division.[13]
Walker died on 16 February 1936 in Seaford, East Sussex,[5] and was cremated at the Woodvale Crematorium in Brighton and is commemorated there.[14]
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the National Army Museum, Chelsea, London.[5]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ "William George Walker VC CB". victoriacrossonline. 27 April 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ "No. 25506". The London Gazette. 28 August 1885. p. 4083.
- ^ "No. 25739". The London Gazette. 16 September 1887. p. 4996.
- ^ "No. 26795". The London Gazette. 17 November 1896. p. 6275.
- ^ a b c "Victoria Cross medal group, Major-General William George Walker, 4th Gurkha Rifles, 1891–1917". National Army Museum Online Collection. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ "No. 27584". The London Gazette. 7 August 1903. p. 4981.
- ^ "No. 27584". The London Gazette. 7 August 1903. p. 4976.
- ^ "No. 27636". The London Gazette. 15 January 1904. p. 331.
- ^ "No. 28362". The London Gazette. 3 May 1910. p. 3072.
- ^ "No. 27711". The London Gazette. 6 September 1904. p. 5776.
- ^ "No. 28842". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 June 1914. p. 4876.
- ^ "No. 12894". The Edinburgh Gazette. 17 January 1916. p. 86.
- ^ Army Commands Archived 5 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "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
[edit]- Location of grave and VC medal(East Sussex)
- 1863 births
- 1936 deaths
- Suffolk Regiment officers
- British recipients of the Victoria Cross
- British Indian Army generals
- Companions of the Order of the Bath
- British military personnel of the Third Somaliland Expedition
- People from Nainital
- Indian Army generals of World War I
- British military personnel in colonial India
- 19th-century British Army personnel