Frederick James 'Frank' Walker (1876 – 19 May 1914) was an Irish

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

racer who competed at the

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...

races. A hat manufacturer by trade and native of

Kingstown Kingstown is the capital, chief port, and main commercial centre of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. With a population of 12,909 (2012), Kingstown is the most populous settlement in the country. It is the island's agricultural industry centr ...

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, Frank Walker competed at the 1914 TT races riding a Royal Enfield motorcycle in the

Junior TT The Junior TT is a motorcycle road race that takes place during the Isle of Man TT festival; an annual event at the end of May and beginning of June. Between 1949 and 1976 this race was part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. Engine c ...

race. After leading on the first lap, Walker suffered tyre problems and eventually dropped to sixth place. After regaining third place by lap 5, Walker ran wide into a ditch at

Hillberry Hillberry Corner (in gv, Knock berrey or ''Cronkybury'') is situated at the 36th Milestone road-side marker on the Snaefell Mountain Course, being on the primary A18 Mountain Road with the side-road junction of the C22 Little Mill Road, in the ...

and was thrown over the handle-bars. After recovering his motorcycle, Walker continued on the last lap but fell at Willaston Corner on Ballanard Road after locking both wheels under braking. Again managing to continue, on the short distance to the finish his view of the finish-line was obscured by spectators who had spilled onto the road to watch the competitors cross the finish-line. Passing the judges-box at the finish-line, Walker continued at full racing speed through St. Ninians Crossroads and collided with a wooden barrier across Ballaquayle Road, was thrown from his motorcycle and taken to hospital where he died of his injuries.pp208 ''The Magic of The TT. A Century of Racing over The Mountain'' by Mac McDiarmid.(2004)(1st Ed). Haynes Publishing. Later, Walker was posthumously declared third-place finisher by the ACU race committee in the Junior TT race won by Eric Williams.

Sources

External links

TT database TT results
iomtt.com 1876 births 1914 deaths Irish motorcycle racers Isle of Man TT riders Motorcycle racers who died while racing People from Dún Laoghaire Sportspeople from County Dublin Sport deaths in the Isle of Man {{motorcycle-racing-bio-stub