John Wickham Walker

On the outbreak of war his territorial battalion was in camp for its annual traing at Whitby, all the officers and 90% of the men volunteered for foreign service. He went to France with his battalion in April 1915. He was in continual trench fighting near Ypres .Whilst in the trenches he was slightly wounded and suffered for a time with trench fever and shell shock. On the eve of the Great British attack in July 1916 he re joined his battalion (having been at the divisional school of instruction for a few months prior) He was with his battalion throughout continuous fighting from 1st to 5th July at and near to Thiepval. At daybreak on 5th July he led a picked body of men in an attack on the German trenches. Soon after the attack has started the Germans set up a barrage of fire which cut off the detachment from all support and not a man got back to tell the story. Only 3 men survived and were taken prisoner. One of these men was private Halloran who was eventually interned in Switzerland and wrote a letter to Captain Walker's father stating :- ' The attack was made at 0430 in the morning on 5th July, we were detailed off to make the attack and your son Captain Walker had to lead the same and believe me sir, he did it like the real soldier he was.The last words he said to us when we were going over was ' come on lads death or glory this time' I was in his company all the time I was in France and had been in a good few rough scraps with him and I can honestly say I never saw a cooler man in all my life and on the morning of the attack he was cooler than ever. We got over all right but it was not long before we were getting it hot with bombs and shell fire,most of the boys were down before we had gone far.As far as I could see there was only about a dozen of us got to the German trenches. The fighting became very hot but did not last long,all were down except Captain Walker and myself. He was standing on the top of a dugout and calllng for me to give him a hand,at the same time I was hit in the groin and I had 4 Germans between Captain Walker and myself. Well I got them out of the way and making for him when I got hit through the right hip, I then saw Captain Walker come off the dugout and dash down it. Afterwards I heard some shots in the dugout and that was the last of it.

He is buried at the A.I.F Burial Ground at Flers, Somme, France Three of Mr and Mrs Walker’s sons served in the war. Two sons, Captain John W Walker and Second Lieutenant Anthony T Walker, were killed but the third, Evelyn D Walker, survived. Captain Walker and Second Lieutenant Walker are also commemorated on the memorial in St Nicholas, Blyth, church and the Bawtry memorial