Sir James Walker (9 April 1809 – 28 August 1885) was a Scottish colonial administrator.

Life

The son of Andrew Walker of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, was born there on 9 April 1809, and was educated at the

Edinburgh High School The Royal High School (RHS) of Edinburgh is a co-educational school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland. It serves 1,200 pupils drawn from four feeder primar ...

and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. Entering the colonial office as a junior clerk in 1826, he served under several secretaries of state, and on 11 February 1837 he became registrar of British Honduras. Transferred on 18 February 1839 to be treasurer of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

he was colonial secretary there from June 1839 to September 1840. In January 1841 he accompanied, as his secretary, Sir Henry Macleod, special commissioner to

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

, to settle difficulties with the legislature over the civil list. He became in 1842 colonial secretary of

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

, at that time the seat of the government for the

Windward Islands french: Îles du Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Windward Islands. Clockwise: Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth ...

group, and during his service there Walker was sent in September 1856 to act as lieutenant-governor of

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

, and in 1857 to fill a similar position at St Vincent. Walker acted as governor of Barbados and the Windward Islands from 13 March to 25 December 1859, and as lieutenant-governor of Trinidad from 20 April 1860 to 25 March 1862, when he was appointed governor in chief of the Barbados and the Windward Islands. On 4 January 1869 he was transferred to the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

, which were then going through a time of financial depression. Walker retired on a pension in May 1871, and lived a country life, first at Uplands, near

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

, and later at Southerton,

Ottery St. Mary Ottery St Mary, known as "Ottery", is a town and civil parish in the East Devon district of Devon, England, on the River Otter, about east of Exeter on the B3174. At the 2001 census, the parish, which includes the villages of Metcombe, Fai ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, where he died on 28 August 1885. He became a CB in 1860, and KCMG in 1869.

Family

On 15 October 1839 he married Anne, daughter of George Bland of Trinidad. They had two daughters and one son. His son, Sir Edward Noël Walker, was

lieutenant-governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

and

colonial secretary of Ceylon The Chief Secretary of Ceylon, was the Chairman and one of three officers of state of the Board of Ministers of the State Council of Ceylon from 1932 to 1947. The post succeeded that of ''Colonial Secretary'' which was one of six offices that hel ...

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, James 1809 births 1885 deaths Civil servants from Edinburgh People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Governors of Barbados British governors of the Bahamas Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Colonial Secretaries of Barbados