George Walker (c.1645 – 1 July 1690

Old Style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 158 ...

) was an English soldier and

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest. He was joint

Governor of Londonderry The Governor of Londonderry and Culmore was a British military appointment. The Governor was the officer who commanded the garrison and fortifications of the city of Derry and of Culmore fort. The Governor was paid by The Honourable The Irish Soc ...

during the

Siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

in 1689. He was killed at the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and ...

while going to the aid of the wounded

Duke of Schomberg Duke of Schomberg in the Peerage of England was created in 1689. The title derives from the surname of its holder (originally Schönberg). The Duke of Schomberg was part of King William of Orange's army and camped in the Holywood hills area of ...

Family

George Walker II (1645–1690) was born in

Wighill Wighill is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is near the River Wharfe and east of Wetherby, West Yorkshire. The village has one public house, the White Swan Inn, which reopened in 2009 after a ...

, now in North Yorkshire, England, the son of George Walker (1600–1677), rector of

Kilmore, County Armagh Kilmore or Killmore (from the ga, Cill Mhór) is a small village, townland and civil parish in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies 2.5 miles (4 km) north of Richhill and within the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Counci ...

and Chancellor of Armagh, and Ursula Stanhope (1617–1654), daughter of Sir John Stanhope of Melwood. Walker was educated at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. He married Isabella Barclay (1644–1705), by whom he had nine sons and daughters: George Walker III 1669–1699; James 1670–1700; John 1671–1726; Gervase 1672–1693; Robert 1674–1705; Thomas 1677–1712; Mary 1679; Charity 1681–1728; Elizabeth 1683.

Early career

He became rector of the Parish of Donaghmore in 1674. He was also made rector of the Parishes of Lessan (or

Lissan Lissan () is a civil and Anglican and Roman Catholic ecclesiastical parish that spans parts of County Londonderry and County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The local Roman Catholic church was built in 1908. Sport *Lissan GAC is the local Gaelic At ...

) and Desertlyn, in the Church of Ireland Diocese of Armagh.

Siege of Derry

The Walker Memorial Plinth at the Royal Bastion on the Grand Parade - geograph

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

, Walker was joint

along with

Robert Lundy Robert Lundy (floruit, fl. 1689) (died 1717) was a Scottish army officer best known for serving as Governor of Londonderry during the early stages of the Siege of Derry. Early career Lundy was born in Dumbarton and raised in the Church of Scotla ...

during the Siege of Derry in 1689, and received the thanks of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

for his work. Walker's Monument, Derry City, Co

He was killed at the

on 1 July 1690 (12 July

New Style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 158 ...

), whilst going to the aid of

Frederick Schomberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg Friedrich Hermann von Schönberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg, 1st Count of Mertola, (french: Frédéric-Armand; pt, Armando Frederico; 6 December 1615 – 1 July 1690) was a Marshal of France and a General in the English and Portuguese Army. He was ...

, Commander-in-Chief of all

Williamite A Williamite was a follower of King William III of England (r. 1689–1702) who deposed King James II and VII in the Glorious Revolution. William, the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, replaced James with the support of English Whigs. One ...

forces in Ireland, who was wounded during the crossing of the river in the early part of the battle. He was originally buried at the battlefield but at the insistence of his widow, his body was later exhumed and buried inside the church at Castlecaufield,

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...

. His body was later rediscovered and re-interred next to that of his wife but not before a cast was taken of his skull. The Walker Plinth on the Londonderry city walls which was completed in 1828, remains in his memory; although the column that stood on the plinth was destroyed in an

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

bomb attack in 1973.

References

External links

''The Siege of Londonderry in 1689'' by George WalkerNational Portrait Gallery
*
Phrenological Notice of the Skull of Walker by the Ulster Archeological Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, George 1610s births 1690 deaths Doctors of Divinity English army officers English military personnel killed in action Alumni of the University of Glasgow People from the Borough of Harrogate History of Derry (city) 17th-century English Anglican priests Year of birth uncertain Williamite military personnel of the Williamite War in Ireland Military personnel from Yorkshire