A Liverpool Exemplar - Johnny Walker

Frederick John Walker was born in Plymouth on the 3rd of June 1896, the second son of Lieutenant (later Captain) Frederic Murray Walker RN and his wife, Lucy Selina, the daughter of Major Horace William Scriven, but his mother, four sisters, two brothers and himself moved about regularly, packing and unpacking according to the movements of their father. They moved to a variety of towns stretching from the South Coast to Scotland; of these, they stayed longest in Milford-on-Sea and Bath, which became their last home town as a family. Johnny Walker entered the Royal Navy on 15th June 1909 and passed out top of his class at the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, receiving the King's Medal. He went to sea in June 1914 as a midshipman in the battleship HMS Ajax where Captain Hodges, the strict but fair- minded commanding officer of the training cruiser, passed him out with a 'Very Good' for engineering, navigation, pilotage, gunnery, torpedo and electrical work and then spoiled the report somewhat by awarding only a 'Good' for seamanship. However he made up for it by rounding off the training period with a report, which said, "He has shown good attention to his work and his conduct has been very good." This was no mean tribute, as 'V.G.' is the highest award possible during this part of a young officer's career. This brilliance in theoretical naval education was matched by natural qualities of leadership showing, as Cadet Captain, he could control a class of rowdy cadets who had a healthy respect for his ability in the boxing ring and on the rugger field. He stayed with the ship until he was promoted to sub-lieutenant on 1st January 1916 before moving to HMS Mermaid based at Dover. In 1917 he moved to HMS Sarpedon, which was part of the Grand Fleet and at the age of 21, became involved in the battle against the U-boats that was to dominate his remaining time in the Royal Navy. 

In the spring of 1915, Eilleen Stobart had sat with her cousin knitting for friends in the Services. Melissa’s pair of mittens was to be sent to her brother Guy, then a midshipman in Ajax. Melissa suggested, "you know that midshipman called Johnnie Walker who Guy is always talking about, the tall one who did so well at Dartmouth, let’s send him our knitting. He’s in Ajax now." When Johnnie opened the parcel a cautious correspondence sprang up between him and Eileen. In January, 1916, he was promoted to sub-lieutenant and in June transferred to a smaller ship, H.M.S. Mermaid, then based at Dover. Eilleen received a letter suggesting that, as he would soon be able to spend a day in London, she might care to join him. She wangled permission to visit friends in London and they met one afternoon for tea at Rumpelmayers. After two or three further meetings, they became unofficially and most secretly engaged. In 1919, he married her and after a brief honeymoon at Bournemouth, Eilleen settled down to the nomadic life of a naval officer's wife and together they had three sons and a daughter.

At the end of the First World War he was sent to HMS Valiant as a watch-keeping officer. In 1921 he began to make a determined effort to learn everything he could about a new subject in naval warfare, anti-submarine operations. He was one of the first volunteers to go to the specialist courses at the newly formed anti-submarine school, HMS Osprey at Portland, where he completed the course and was duly sent off to sea for six years, 1925-1931, in the largest ships, as far away from home as possible. This was a particularly unfashionable area of seafaring at the time but one which would become of vital importance to Britain in the coming years and would see Walker display his ingenuity, bravery and brilliance. He was appointed Fleet Anti-Submarine Officer in the Atlantic and Mediterranean Fleets. However he became increasingly disillusioned with peacetime service in the big ships, but in 1933 he was promoted to Commander and in 1936 he was appointed to command the sloop HMS Falmouth, used as the Commander-in-Chief's yacht on the China Station and he spent three years in this ship. During this time, Eileen was taken seriously ill and had to submit to two major operations when in China, leaving them financially broke. Shortly after this he completed his time in the Far East and returned home to the Valiant as a caretaker to keep her functional. In 1937 he became Experimental Commander in the Anti-Submarine School in Portland, responsible for research and development of anti-submarine materials and methods, an appointment he held until the outbreak of the Second World War. It was one of the happiest periods of his life and the disappointment of missing the opportunity for promotion to Captain was offset by doing a job he liked, able to take on a family house and return to his wife and children in the evening. Unbelievably, at the start of hostilities in 1939, Walker was being earmarked for early retirement! 

He was then appointed Staff Officer Operations to Vice-Admiral B. H. Ramsay, based at Dover and was responsible for the safe passage of the British Expeditionary Force and troops across the channel. After pleading to get to sea, and after the intervention of Admiral Ramsay, he finally came to the attention of the Commander-in-Chief Western Approaches, Admiral Sir Percy Noble, and was given command of HMS Stork in 1941, part of the 36th Escort Group guarding convoys of merchant ships crossing the Atlantic: a vital lifeline for the country and one which had to be maintained or risk starvation or surrender. It was this new posting which forged his connection to Liverpool.
During his time with the 36th Escort Group, Walker showed his unconventional but successful methods of dealing with the U-boat threat. He was charged, first and foremost, with simply escorting ships in the convoy but he saw that the most effective strategy was to take the attack to the enemy. His first convoy was HG76 (a group of 32 ships travelling homeward from Gibraltar) and in the course of this voyage, a total of five U-boats were sunk!

In 1943, longing for another seagoing command after a period based ashore, he was given command of the Second Support Group consisting of six ships including his own, HMS Starling. His idea of taking the battle to the enemy had now been adopted by the Commander-in-Chief of Western Approaches, Admiral Sir Max Horton, and the Support Groups were no longer confined to escort duties but could actively hunt down submarines. A significant engagement came in July 1943 when, in the Bay of Biscay, Walker ordered the signal ‘General Chase’, permitting the ships to abandon their positions and pursue the enemy. This was only the third time such an order had ever been given, putting him in the same ranks as Sir Francis Drake and Horatio Nelson! That November their group sank six U-boats in one patrol. When they returned to Liverpool, the quaysides of their base in Gladstone Dock, Bootle, were crowded with rows of merchant seamen, WRENS, escort crews and dock workers cheering and waving. Met by the First Lord of the Admiralty, Johnny Walker was promoted to Captain, and a galaxy of medals (six in all) fell into his possession. Sadly it was here that Johnny was informed that his son, Sub Lieutenant John Timothy Ryder Walker RNVR, was reported missing on the 10th of August 1943 while serving in a Mediterranean submarine. After only three days in Liverpool, following a request by scientists, he led his ships back to the Bay of Biscay, to patrol well inshore under the enemy guns to entice rocket-firing aircraft into the air. After two missiles were fired within seconds of each other and, after wobbling on a proper course straight for the Wild Goose sloop, suddenly fell into the sea one scientist asked Walker what electrical machinery was running then that would not have been running during earlier attacks. Investigation revealed that one of Starling's officers had been shaving at the time, using an electric shaver. The scientists begged Walker to sail even closer to the French coast to coax a further series of attacks, which he did and the Luftwaffe sent up a squadron armed with orthodox bombs and guided rockets. As the planes came in low and launched their rockets, all four of their electric razors were switched on in an attempt to thwart the radio signals from the parent aircraft. Every rocket swerved off course and crashed into the sea.

His return to Liverpool

On his previous return to Liverpool Eilleen Walker had been aghast at her husband’s haggard appearance, the toll being taken of his strength and resistance had frightened her. So when an Admiralty representative called at her Liverpool home to relay the news that her husband was to be knighted by King George VI she thought, now he will have to take a rest. The afternoon following his arrival home saw the couple go to the movies to see 'Madame Curie'.  Afterwards, he complained of giddiness and a curious humming noise in his head. At home he was violently sick and the giddy spells returned. He was rushed to the hospital and immediately examined. Eileen was informed, "All your husband needs is quiet and rest," but the next day it became apparent that something was seriously wrong. At midnight on July 9, 1944, Eileen was summoned to her husband's bedside but it was too late. Officially Johnny died aged only 48 of a cerebral thrombosis but in reality he died of overstrain, overwork and war weariness; his mind and body had been driven beyond the normal limits in a life dedicated to the total destruction of the enemy, revenge for his son and to the service of his country. By the time of his death, he had been made Companion of the Order of the Bath, had received the DSO & three Bars, only the second naval officer to earn this high award four times, and he was Mentioned in Despatches three times.

Unveiled by the Duke of Edinburgh in October 1998

His funeral was attended by 1000 people and his coffin was taken through the streets of Liverpool, down to the river where HMS Hesperus was waiting to take him back to the sea one last time to his final resting place in Liverpool Bay. Although not a native son of the city he was taken to the hearts of the people of Liverpool as a naval hero in the mould of Drake or Nelson, with Winston Churchill himself admitting that without triumph in the Battle of the Atlantic, Britain was in danger of losing the war. Of the 21 million tons of Allied shipping lost during World War 2, 15 million tons were sunk by U-boats. The Allies retaliated by sinking 781 U-boats, which resulted in a loss of nearly 30,000 of the 40,000 Kriegs marine personnel serving in U-boats. There was nothing accidental about this victory at sea. It was the direct result of a relentless pursuit of the enemy by the little ships, largely inspired by the brilliant exploits of one man, Captain Johnny Walker of the Royal Navy. Today he is officially recognized as 'the man who did more to free the Atlantic of the U boat menace than any other single officer.'

see also:- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2020/10/a-liverpool-exemplar-lilian-bader.html