George Alfred Walker (14 April 1929 – 22 March 2011) was a British businessman and founder of

Brent Walker Brent Walker was a British company involved in property, gambling, distilled beverages and pubs. It was founded by George Walker, the brother of the boxer Billy Walker. In 1991, following the accumulation of debts which had been used to finance ...

Early life

Born in

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appli ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, Walker was the son of William James Walker, a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

worker,

drayman A drayman was historically the driver of a dray, a low, flat-bed wagon without sides, pulled generally by horses or mules that were used to transport all kinds of goods. Modern use The word "drayman" is used in U.S. ports as the over the road ...

at Watneys brewery, and wife (Limehouse, April/June 1925) Ellen Louisa née Page (Southwark, October/December 1903). Walker attended the Jubilee School in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, leaving at 14 to work in an

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engine ...

factory. He later worked as a

salesman Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in r ...

and a porter (carrier), porter in Billingsgate Fish Market and did his National Service in the Royal Air Force.

Boxing

A former prize-fighter, Walker was a keen amateur Boxer (boxing), boxer becoming British amateur heavyweight champion in 1951. He turned professional and fought 14 professional fights winning 11 with eight knockouts. He was pitted unsuccessfully against Boxing in Wales, Welsh champion, Dennis Powell (boxer), Dennis Powell for the British light-heavyweight title relinquished by Randolph Turpin.

Crime

Walker then drifted into crime, working for East End gangster, Billy Hill (gangster), Billy Hill, and eventually being convicted for theft and serving two and a half years in Wormwood Scrubs.

Business

On release he became the owner of a motor garage and manager for his brother, Billy Walker (boxer), Billy Walker a professional heavyweight boxer. Walker launched London's first discothèque, Dolly's in Jermyn Street, and a chain of cafes, Billy's Baked Potato, with his brother. In 1970 Walker completed a reverse takeover of Hackney & Hendon Greyhounds Ltd. This meant his private company bought a public company and the new merger resulted in a new company called

, the property and leisure empire. The company developed the Brent Cross shopping centre (the UK's first stand-alone shopping centre) on the site of Hendon Greyhound Stadium, during 1972. Walker sold his equity in Brent Cross in 1979 netting £3.7 million in profit. Hackney Wick Stadium remained under the control of Brent Walker until 1991 when the bank took control of it. Brent Walker had a turbulent career through the 1980s, being worth about 250 million pounds at its zenith but eventually collapsing in 1990 after taking over William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Bookmakers in a leveraged buy out. Walker was accused of fraud after an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (United Kingdom), Serious Fraud Office but was cleared of all charges after a lengthy trial in 1995. He was however made bankrupt and moved to Russia where he ran a series of businesses selling cigarettes and perfume and later opening a chain of betting shops.

Marriage and issue

Walker was married in 1957 to Jean Maureen Hatton (West Ham, January/March 1936) who he had known since he was 16 years old, daughter of George (Georgie) James Hatton (West Ham, January/March 1907 - ?), a professional gambler and garage owner in Plaistow, Newham, Plaistow, and wife (West Ham, July/September 1929) Lilian Elizabeth née Attreed (West Ham, January/March 1908 - ?). Walker had two daughters and a son. Sarah Georgina Walker, their eldest daughter, was married secondly from 1989 to 1996 to the George Mountbatten, 4th Marquess of Milford Haven, Marquess of Milford Haven. The younger daughter, Romla, was an actress, including in List of EastEnders characters (1999)#Claudia Fielding, EastEnders.

References

Sources

Obituary: George Walker
''Daily Telegraph'', 25 March 2011 * David McKittric

''The Independent'', 26 March 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, George People from Stepney 1929 births English male boxers England Boxing champions Heavyweight boxers 2011 deaths Boxers from Greater London People in greyhound racing 20th-century English businesspeople