Walter Walker
Encyclopedia
General
Sir Walter Colyear Walker KCB
, CBE
, DSO & bar
(11 November 1912 – 12 August 2001) was a British
General.
Walker and his family moved back to Britain and he was sent to Blundell's School
in Devon
. Even as a child Walker had a militaristic streak; in his memoirs Fighting On he says he ordered the previously "idle, unpatriotic, unkempt" pupils into "showing the school what smartness on the parade ground meant". His teachers became alarmed at Walker's strict behaviour and tried to explain the difference between "driving" and "leading".
and in 1933 after a short attachment to the Sherwood Foresters
, joined his grandfather's regiment, the 1/8th Gurkha Rifles in Quetta
. In 1935 he survived the major earthquake that hit that city. The battalion moved to Assam in the aftermath where it remained until early 1939, Walker was appointed the battalion's adjutant in 1938.
In 1939, Walker moved with his battalion across India to Razmak
, on the North West Frontier facing Waziristan
, there had been turmoil on the Frontier since 1936, and operations were continuous, a mixture of defensive and offensive operations, some of them "punitive operations" against tribesman of the North West Frontier
in India. Walker distinguished himself and was recommended for the Military Cross
, he had come to senior officers' attention and was appointed staff captain at the Razmak Brigade
headquarters. His attention to detail enabled him to excel in this role.
In 1942, Walker was selected to attend the Staff College at Quetta. After this he was appointed General Staff Officer Grade 3 (GSO 3) on the staff of Lieutenant General Slim's Burma Corps
, joining them near the oilfields at Yenangyaung in mid April 1942. Walker remained with the HQ as it walked back to India, and was then appointed as an instructor at the Quetta staff college.
In early 1944, Walker was appointed second-in-command, alongside a new commanding officer, of the 4/8th Gurkha Rifles, who had suffered severely in the Arakan Campaign. In March the battalion was moved to the Imphal area where the Japanese had launched a major offensive and spent several months in hard fighting. In November he became the commanding officer, instigated a tough training regime and the battalion's motto - "Live Hard, Fight Hard, and when necessary Die Hard". Always a disciplinarian, he was a hard taskmaster and a totally professional soldier dedicated to hard training, and balanced by integrity, generosity and warmth.
In early 1945 he led the 4/8th Gurkhas, part of IV Corps, across the Irrawaddy River and hard fighting against the main body of the Japanese Army in Burma. In June he was appointed GSO 1 in his division’s (7 Indian Division) Headquarters, although circumstances dictated that he had to return part time to 4/8th Gurkhas as their commanding officer again. A highly unusual situation. At the end of the war he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and 7th Indian Infantry Division moved to occupy Thailand where Walker was involved in negotiating the surrender of Japanese forces in that country.
Walker’s first post-war posting was as GSO 1 to the Director of Military Operations in General Headquarters (GHQ), Delhi. When GHQ was transferred to Indian control in 1948 he handed over to a future Indian Chief of Army Staff and was appointed GSO 1 in Malaya District Headquarters in Kuala Lumpur
. At much the same time the Comintern held a conference in Calcutta and made the decision for insurrection against the colonial powers in South East Asia.
In 1948, the Emergency was declared in Malaya. Walker’s immediate role was to train and equip the irregular Ferret Force. In late 1948 he was appointed Commandant of the Far East Training Centre in Johore Bahru with the task of training British units, arriving from UK, in jungle fighting. He also highlighted the many deficiencies in equipment and neglect of the lessons learned in Burma. He then had his first posting to UK as a student at the Joint Services Staff College. In 1950 he was appointed to command 1/6 Gurkha Rifles. Needless to say Walker created at superbly effective jungle fighting battalion with many notable successes, including killing high ranking communists, in the three years he was in command.
He was awarded a Bar to his DSO and in 1954, returned to UK as a senior (Colonel) staff officer in Headquarters Eastern Command where he was involved in planning and mounting the Suez operation in 1956. He also expressed the view that if he had been commanding at Port Said
he would have used a Nelsonian eye to signals from London telling him to stop. However, as an up and coming senior officer he was selected as an observer to nuclear tests in Australia and subsequently lectures on nuclear battlefield.
In 1957, he was promoted to Brigadier and commander of 99th Gurkha Infantry Brigade Group in Malaya. This was the most demanding and important command in the Army with the task of finally defeating the most formidable remaining terrorists in Johore – Operation Tiger. A feature was Walker’s excellent relationship with and trust in Police Special Branch, painstaking development of intelligence and sustained ambushing. And his genius for training, and inspiring confidence and enthusiasm.
In 1959, 99th Brigade was sent to Singapore for the forthcoming elections. Walker was told to take charge of internal security throughout Singapore Island. The problem was 99th Brigade were highly skilled jungle fighters, urban Singapore was a foreign land, and internal security entirely new. Walker immediately instituted a typically thorough training program. Which include writing the manual on the subject, which did not exist. Internal Security in a City became the army standard on the subject. The elections passed peacefully. Walker relinquished command and attended the Imperial Defence College in London. He was unimpressed by the politically tuned officers and considered that politics was the business of politicians not soldiers. After the course, in 1961, he was promoted to Major General and appointed General Officer Commanding 17th Gurkha Division
and Major General, Brigade of Gurkhas
. 17 Division was the operational headquarters for all non-Malayan formations (99 Gurkha Infantry Brigade and 28 Commonwealth Brigade) and divisional units in Malaya.
Rumours about the axing of the Gurkhas emerged and Walker played an astute hand involving the King of Nepal and the US Ambassador there to protect them. It did not endear him to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff and he came close to being sacked. However, on 8 December 1962, while he was in Nepal and some days walk from transport, a revolt broke out in Brunei
. Walker reached Singapore 9 days later.
Walker was appointed COMBRITBOR on 19 December with command over all British forces (land, sea and air) in the colonies of Sarawak and North Borneo, and the protectorate of Brunei. The revolt was quickly mopped up and incipient revolts in Sarawak prevented by an influx of British and Gurkha troops. However, clues of Indonesian sympathy for the insurgents and emerging hostility caused Walker concern. The situation gradually evolved into Confrontation. However, Walker was master of the situation and developed an effective operational concept and tactics to contain the threat and most importantly retain the military initiative. The outcome was a successful campaign ending in August 1966. Walker handed over as commander in December 1965. During the campaign he established good relations with the Labour Defence and Army ministers (Denis Healey and Fred Mulley).
He returned to the UK and was posted to NATO as Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Plans, Operations and Intelligence, H.Q., Allied Forces Central Europe headquarters in Paris where his job was to plan and execute the headquarters move out of France. He accomplished this complex task on time and very efficiently. Promoted and knighted he was appointed General Officer Commanding in Chief of Northern Command
in the UK. Finally in 1969 he was promoted to General and appointed NATO's Commander in Chief Allied Forces Northern Europe
with headquarters in Oslo. This covered German Jutland, Denmark and Norway but had no direct command responsibilities in peacetime. Walker saw is role as publicising the threat. The region faced an overwhelming and expanding Soviet force and while he did not expect Soviet direct attack he did see a strategic threat of expanding influence aimed at neutralising the Nordic countries (and possibly beyond) and clearing the path into the North Atlantic. Pointing this out did not endear him to some politicians and even his NATO superior. He retired from the army in 1972.
interviews and then took part in a documentary named A Day in the Life of a General which was never aired due to security reasons, although Walker believed it was banned because he was "revealing the true state of affairs which the politicians are hiding from the public".
By 1974 Walker had grown "shocked" by the state of the country in general and the "militancy" of the trade unions in particular. In July of that year he wrote a letter to The Daily Telegraph
calling for "dynamic, invigorating, uplifting leadership ... above party politics" which would "save" the country from "the Communist Trojan horse in our midst". After the publication of this letter Walker claimed he received positive responses from Admiral of the Fleet
Sir Varyl Begg
, Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Sir John Slessor
, a few British general
s, ex-MPs, the Goon
comedian
Michael Bentine
and the shipping industrialist Lord Cayzer
.
Shortly after this letter the London Evening News
(now defunct) gave Walker a front-page interview and asked him if he could imagine a situation in which the army
could take over Britain. Walker responded: "Perhaps the country might choose rule by the gun in preference to anarchy", although Walker always argued he hated the idea of a military government in Britain.
By August 1974 Walker had joined the anti-Communist Unison group (later renamed to Civil Assistance
) which claimed would supply volunteers in the event of a general strike
. Walker claimed it had at least 100,000 members, which led Defence Secretary Roy Mason
to interrupt his holiday by condemning this "near fascist groundswell". In 1975 Walker travelled to various boardrooms in the City of London in the hope of securing money and support. After Margaret Thatcher
was elected Leader of the Conservative Party
Walker and Civil Assistance
faded from the media although he still travelled abroad, notably to Rhodesia
and South Africa
.
Walker privately told journalists that he thought Harold Wilson
was a "proven Communist" and that there was a "Communist cell" in Downing Street
(conclusively disproven by MI5
investigations). He advocated Enoch Powell
as Prime Minister
and favoured "tougher" measures against the IRA
. He was an early member of the Conservative Monday Club
and about 1984, until his death, became Patron of the ultra-conservative, anti-communist, and anti-Marxist pressure-group, the Western Goals Institute
.
In 1980 his book The Next Domino?, with a foreword by Monday Club MP Julian Amery, was first published simultaneously in the UK, the US, and South Africa. In the 1980s, Walker's health began to decline and he underwent two hip operations in military hospitals. They left him permanently disabled which led to Walker suing the Ministry of Defence
in 1990. The suit was eventually settled out of court.
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General (United Kingdom)
General is currently the highest peace-time rank in the British Army and Royal Marines. It is subordinate to the Army rank of Field Marshal, has a NATO-code of OF-9, and is a four-star rank....
Sir Walter Colyear Walker KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, DSO & bar
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
(11 November 1912 – 12 August 2001) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
General.
Early life
Walker was born on a tea plantation in British India to a military family, one of four sons. At the end of the First World WarWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Walker and his family moved back to Britain and he was sent to Blundell's School
Blundell's School
Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school located in the town of Tiverton in the county of Devon, England. The school was founded in 1604 by the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the time, and relocated to its present location on the...
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. Even as a child Walker had a militaristic streak; in his memoirs Fighting On he says he ordered the previously "idle, unpatriotic, unkempt" pupils into "showing the school what smartness on the parade ground meant". His teachers became alarmed at Walker's strict behaviour and tried to explain the difference between "driving" and "leading".
Military career
Walker then went to SandhurstRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
and in 1933 after a short attachment to the Sherwood Foresters
Sherwood Foresters
The Sherwood Foresters was formed during the Childers Reforms in 1881 from the amalgamation of the 45th Regiment of Foot and the 95th Regiment of Foot...
, joined his grandfather's regiment, the 1/8th Gurkha Rifles in Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
. In 1935 he survived the major earthquake that hit that city. The battalion moved to Assam in the aftermath where it remained until early 1939, Walker was appointed the battalion's adjutant in 1938.
In 1939, Walker moved with his battalion across India to Razmak
Razmak
Razmak is one of the three sub-divisions of North Waziristan Agency in Pakistan, the other two being Miranshah and Mirali. Inhabitants are Uthmanzai Wazirs. Razmak is further sub-divided in three Tehsils. Tehsil being the lowest administrative unit in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of...
, on the North West Frontier facing Waziristan
Waziristan
Waziristan is a mountainous region near the Northwest of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11,585 km² . The area is entirely populated by ethnic Pashtuns . The language spoken in the valley is Pashto/Pakhto...
, there had been turmoil on the Frontier since 1936, and operations were continuous, a mixture of defensive and offensive operations, some of them "punitive operations" against tribesman of the North West Frontier
North-West Frontier (military history)
The North-West Frontier was the most difficult area, from a military point of view, of the former British India in the Indian sub-continent. It remains the frontier of present-day Pakistan, extending from the Pamir Knot in the north to the Koh-i-Malik Siah in the west, and separating the...
in India. Walker distinguished himself and was recommended for the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, he had come to senior officers' attention and was appointed staff captain at the Razmak Brigade
Razmak Brigade
The Razmak Brigade was an Infantry formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was in existence in September 1939, for service on the North West Frontier...
headquarters. His attention to detail enabled him to excel in this role.
In 1942, Walker was selected to attend the Staff College at Quetta. After this he was appointed General Staff Officer Grade 3 (GSO 3) on the staff of Lieutenant General Slim's Burma Corps
Burma Corps
The Burma Corps was an Army Corps of the Indian Army during World War II.It was formed in Prome, Burma in March 1942, it took part in the Burma Campaign and was disbanded on arrival in India in May 1942.-Formation:*1st Burma Infantry Division...
, joining them near the oilfields at Yenangyaung in mid April 1942. Walker remained with the HQ as it walked back to India, and was then appointed as an instructor at the Quetta staff college.
In early 1944, Walker was appointed second-in-command, alongside a new commanding officer, of the 4/8th Gurkha Rifles, who had suffered severely in the Arakan Campaign. In March the battalion was moved to the Imphal area where the Japanese had launched a major offensive and spent several months in hard fighting. In November he became the commanding officer, instigated a tough training regime and the battalion's motto - "Live Hard, Fight Hard, and when necessary Die Hard". Always a disciplinarian, he was a hard taskmaster and a totally professional soldier dedicated to hard training, and balanced by integrity, generosity and warmth.
In early 1945 he led the 4/8th Gurkhas, part of IV Corps, across the Irrawaddy River and hard fighting against the main body of the Japanese Army in Burma. In June he was appointed GSO 1 in his division’s (7 Indian Division) Headquarters, although circumstances dictated that he had to return part time to 4/8th Gurkhas as their commanding officer again. A highly unusual situation. At the end of the war he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and 7th Indian Infantry Division moved to occupy Thailand where Walker was involved in negotiating the surrender of Japanese forces in that country.
Walker’s first post-war posting was as GSO 1 to the Director of Military Operations in General Headquarters (GHQ), Delhi. When GHQ was transferred to Indian control in 1948 he handed over to a future Indian Chief of Army Staff and was appointed GSO 1 in Malaya District Headquarters in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
. At much the same time the Comintern held a conference in Calcutta and made the decision for insurrection against the colonial powers in South East Asia.
In 1948, the Emergency was declared in Malaya. Walker’s immediate role was to train and equip the irregular Ferret Force. In late 1948 he was appointed Commandant of the Far East Training Centre in Johore Bahru with the task of training British units, arriving from UK, in jungle fighting. He also highlighted the many deficiencies in equipment and neglect of the lessons learned in Burma. He then had his first posting to UK as a student at the Joint Services Staff College. In 1950 he was appointed to command 1/6 Gurkha Rifles. Needless to say Walker created at superbly effective jungle fighting battalion with many notable successes, including killing high ranking communists, in the three years he was in command.
He was awarded a Bar to his DSO and in 1954, returned to UK as a senior (Colonel) staff officer in Headquarters Eastern Command where he was involved in planning and mounting the Suez operation in 1956. He also expressed the view that if he had been commanding at Port Said
Port Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
he would have used a Nelsonian eye to signals from London telling him to stop. However, as an up and coming senior officer he was selected as an observer to nuclear tests in Australia and subsequently lectures on nuclear battlefield.
In 1957, he was promoted to Brigadier and commander of 99th Gurkha Infantry Brigade Group in Malaya. This was the most demanding and important command in the Army with the task of finally defeating the most formidable remaining terrorists in Johore – Operation Tiger. A feature was Walker’s excellent relationship with and trust in Police Special Branch, painstaking development of intelligence and sustained ambushing. And his genius for training, and inspiring confidence and enthusiasm.
In 1959, 99th Brigade was sent to Singapore for the forthcoming elections. Walker was told to take charge of internal security throughout Singapore Island. The problem was 99th Brigade were highly skilled jungle fighters, urban Singapore was a foreign land, and internal security entirely new. Walker immediately instituted a typically thorough training program. Which include writing the manual on the subject, which did not exist. Internal Security in a City became the army standard on the subject. The elections passed peacefully. Walker relinquished command and attended the Imperial Defence College in London. He was unimpressed by the politically tuned officers and considered that politics was the business of politicians not soldiers. After the course, in 1961, he was promoted to Major General and appointed General Officer Commanding 17th Gurkha Division
17th Gurkha Division
The 17th Gurkha Division was a British military formation that saw active service during Malayan Emergency.-History:The Division was formed in 1952 in response to the Malayan Emergency. It pepetuated the traditions of the former 17th Indian Infantry Division which had used a Black Cat as its emblem...
and Major General, Brigade of Gurkhas
Brigade of Gurkhas
The Brigade of Gurkhas is the collective term for units of the current British Army that are composed of Nepalese soldiers. The brigade, which is 3,640 strong, draws its heritage from Gurkha units that originally served in the British Indian Army prior to Indian independence, and prior to that of...
. 17 Division was the operational headquarters for all non-Malayan formations (99 Gurkha Infantry Brigade and 28 Commonwealth Brigade) and divisional units in Malaya.
Rumours about the axing of the Gurkhas emerged and Walker played an astute hand involving the King of Nepal and the US Ambassador there to protect them. It did not endear him to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff and he came close to being sacked. However, on 8 December 1962, while he was in Nepal and some days walk from transport, a revolt broke out in Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
. Walker reached Singapore 9 days later.
Walker was appointed COMBRITBOR on 19 December with command over all British forces (land, sea and air) in the colonies of Sarawak and North Borneo, and the protectorate of Brunei. The revolt was quickly mopped up and incipient revolts in Sarawak prevented by an influx of British and Gurkha troops. However, clues of Indonesian sympathy for the insurgents and emerging hostility caused Walker concern. The situation gradually evolved into Confrontation. However, Walker was master of the situation and developed an effective operational concept and tactics to contain the threat and most importantly retain the military initiative. The outcome was a successful campaign ending in August 1966. Walker handed over as commander in December 1965. During the campaign he established good relations with the Labour Defence and Army ministers (Denis Healey and Fred Mulley).
He returned to the UK and was posted to NATO as Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Plans, Operations and Intelligence, H.Q., Allied Forces Central Europe headquarters in Paris where his job was to plan and execute the headquarters move out of France. He accomplished this complex task on time and very efficiently. Promoted and knighted he was appointed General Officer Commanding in Chief of Northern Command
Northern Command (United Kingdom)
-Nineteenth century:The District Commands of the British Army in Great Britain and Ireland first appear in print in 1840, at which time Northern Command was held by Maj-Gen Charles James Napier, appointed in 1838. During his time the troops stationed within Northern Command were frequently deployed...
in the UK. Finally in 1969 he was promoted to General and appointed NATO's Commander in Chief Allied Forces Northern Europe
Allied Forces Northern Europe
Allied Forces Northern Europe was the most northern NATO command located at Kolsås outside Oslo. It was part of Allied Command Europe from around 1952 to 2003...
with headquarters in Oslo. This covered German Jutland, Denmark and Norway but had no direct command responsibilities in peacetime. Walker saw is role as publicising the threat. The region faced an overwhelming and expanding Soviet force and while he did not expect Soviet direct attack he did see a strategic threat of expanding influence aimed at neutralising the Nordic countries (and possibly beyond) and clearing the path into the North Atlantic. Pointing this out did not endear him to some politicians and even his NATO superior. He retired from the army in 1972.
Politics
Walker then began giving televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
interviews and then took part in a documentary named A Day in the Life of a General which was never aired due to security reasons, although Walker believed it was banned because he was "revealing the true state of affairs which the politicians are hiding from the public".
By 1974 Walker had grown "shocked" by the state of the country in general and the "militancy" of the trade unions in particular. In July of that year he wrote a letter to The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
calling for "dynamic, invigorating, uplifting leadership ... above party politics" which would "save" the country from "the Communist Trojan horse in our midst". After the publication of this letter Walker claimed he received positive responses from Admiral of the Fleet
Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)
Admiral of the fleet is the highest rank of the British Royal Navy and other navies, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-10. The rank still exists in the Royal Navy but routine appointments ceased in 1996....
Sir Varyl Begg
Varyl Begg
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Varyl Cargill Begg GCB, DSO, DSC was First Sea Lord, the professional head of the Royal Navy, from 1966 to 1968.-Early life:...
, Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Marshal of the Royal Air Force is the highest rank in the Royal Air Force. In peacetime it was granted to RAF officers in the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff, and to retired Chiefs of the Air Staff, who were promoted to it on their last day of service. Promotions to the rank have ceased...
Sir John Slessor
John Slessor
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Cotesworth Slessor GCB, DSO, MC was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force . A pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I, he held operational commands in World War II and served in the RAF's most senior post, Chief of the Air Staff, from 1950 to...
, a few British general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
s, ex-MPs, the Goon
The Goon Show
The Goon Show was a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme...
comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Michael Bentine
Michael Bentine
Michael Bentine CBE was a British comedian, comic actor and founding member of the Goons. A Peruvian Briton by heritage as a result of his father's nationality, In 1971 Bentine received the Order of Merit of Peru because of his fund-raising work for the 1970 Great Peruvian...
and the shipping industrialist Lord Cayzer
Cayzer Baronets
There have been three baronetcies created for people with the surname Cayzer, each in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom and each for members of the same family ....
.
Shortly after this letter the London Evening News
London Evening News
The London Evening News was a newspaper that was first published on 14 August 1855.Usually when people mention the London Evening News they are actually referring to The Evening News, that was published in London from 1881 to 1980 when it was incorporated into the Evening Standard.A newspaper under...
(now defunct) gave Walker a front-page interview and asked him if he could imagine a situation in which the army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
could take over Britain. Walker responded: "Perhaps the country might choose rule by the gun in preference to anarchy", although Walker always argued he hated the idea of a military government in Britain.
By August 1974 Walker had joined the anti-Communist Unison group (later renamed to Civil Assistance
Civil Assistance
Civil Assistance was a British civil defence group in the 1970s.Formed as a breakaway of Unison by General Sir Walter Walker, Commander in Chief of NATO forces in Northern Europe from 1969 to 1972, it was a voluntary group that aimed to break any planned general strike.In August 1974 Walker...
) which claimed would supply volunteers in the event of a general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
. Walker claimed it had at least 100,000 members, which led Defence Secretary Roy Mason
Roy Mason
Roy Mason, Baron Mason of Barnsley, PC is a British Labour politician and former Cabinet minister.He was born in Royston, and grew up in Carlton, Barnsley in South Yorkshire...
to interrupt his holiday by condemning this "near fascist groundswell". In 1975 Walker travelled to various boardrooms in the City of London in the hope of securing money and support. After Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
was elected Leader of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Walker and Civil Assistance
Civil Assistance
Civil Assistance was a British civil defence group in the 1970s.Formed as a breakaway of Unison by General Sir Walter Walker, Commander in Chief of NATO forces in Northern Europe from 1969 to 1972, it was a voluntary group that aimed to break any planned general strike.In August 1974 Walker...
faded from the media although he still travelled abroad, notably to Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Walker privately told journalists that he thought Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
was a "proven Communist" and that there was a "Communist cell" in Downing Street
Downing Street
Downing Street in London, England has for over two hundred years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an...
(conclusively disproven by MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
investigations). He advocated Enoch Powell
Enoch Powell
John Enoch Powell, MBE was a British politician, classical scholar, poet, writer, and soldier. He served as a Conservative Party MP and Minister of Health . He attained most prominence in 1968, when he made the controversial Rivers of Blood speech in opposition to mass immigration from...
as Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
and favoured "tougher" measures against the IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
. He was an early member of the Conservative Monday Club
Conservative Monday Club
The Conservative Monday Club is a British pressure group "on the right-wing" of the Conservative Party.-Overview:...
and about 1984, until his death, became Patron of the ultra-conservative, anti-communist, and anti-Marxist pressure-group, the Western Goals Institute
Western Goals Institute
The Western Goals Institute was a conservative pressure group in Britain, re-formed in 1989 from Western Goals UK, which originated in 1985 as an offshoot of the U.S. Western Goals Foundation...
.
In 1980 his book The Next Domino?, with a foreword by Monday Club MP Julian Amery, was first published simultaneously in the UK, the US, and South Africa. In the 1980s, Walker's health began to decline and he underwent two hip operations in military hospitals. They left him permanently disabled which led to Walker suing the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
in 1990. The suit was eventually settled out of court.
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