Lieutenant Eric Walker (10 July 1896 – 11 April 1983) was a British

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

credited with six aerial victories.

Military service

Walker was commissioned from cadet to second lieutenant on 19 December 1916, and served in the 4th Battalion,

Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

(

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...

), until seconded to the Royal Air Force as an observer officer on 27 May 1918. He then served as an observer/gunner in No. 18 Squadron flying in an

Airco DH.4 The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited (Airco) was an early British aircraft manufacturer. Established during 1912, it grew rapidly during the First World War, referring to itself as the largest aircraft company in the world by 1918. Ai ...

. He gained his first victories on 31 May 1918 with pilot Second Lieutenant J. Waugh, driving down out of control two

Fokker Dr.I The Fokker Dr.I (''Dreidecker'', "triplane" in German), often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918. It became famous as the ...

triplanes south of Armentières. On 28 July, with pilot Lieutenant John Gillanders, he destroyed a

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII qui ...

and another two-seater aircraft over Esquerchin. Finally, on 31 July, he and Gillanders accounted for two Fokker D.VII fighters (one destroyed and one driven down) over Brebières. Walker was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, which was

gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

on 1 November 1918. His citation read: :Second Lieutenant Eric Walker. ::"This officer has taken part in thirty-five bombing raids, ten photographic flights and twenty-one reconnaissances, many at low altitudes. He is a most efficient and keen observer who has rendered as such most valuable service. Moreover, he is a bold and determined fighter when attacked, and has accounted for four enemy machines." He relinquished his commission on ceasing to be employed on 13 March 1919. He was the brother of seafarer

Dora Walker Dora Walker (1890–1980) was a British woman who became the first female fishing boat skipper on the north East coast. She became an author writing her memoirs and also history and tales of the fishing community in Whitby and the North East Coas ...

and artist Hilda Annetta Walker, and the uncle of the artist

Marie Walker Last Marie Walker Last (14 March 1917 – 25 March 2017) was a British artist working in London in the late 1950s and early 1960s before returning to continue painting in her Yorkshire home until her death in 2017. She developed her own style of Tachis ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Eric 1896 births 1983 deaths Burials in Dorset British Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Yorkshire People from Mirfield Duke of Wellington's Regiment officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I British World War I flying aces Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)