Gus Walker

Sir George Augustus Walker
Sir George Augustus Walker
	Croix de guerre (France)

Second World War bomber pilot, a jet aircraft pioneer, and a senior Royal Air Force

officer in the post-war era, as well as a rugby player.

Early life

Walker was born on 24 August 1912 in West

St. Bees School in Cumberland, and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he took a second in the natural science tripos. He played rugby for Yorkshire, and twice for England in 1939.^[1]

RAF career

He joined the Royal Air Force from university on 29 March 1933.

Légion d'Honneur.^[1]

After the War he was appointed Deputy Director of Operational Training at the Air Ministry before taking up the role of Senior Air Staff Officer for the Rhodesian Air Training Group in 1948.^[2] In 1951 he became Officer Commanding RAF Coningsby and in 1954 he was made Commandant of the RAF Flying College at Manby where he developed flying techniques for jet aircraft: he received the Air Force Cross in 1956 for his work in this and techniques for flights over the North Pole.^[3]

He became Air Officer Commanding

Rugby Union in 1965–6.^[1] He retired in 1970.^[2]

Following his retirement he carried out various voluntary activities, notably for the Royal Air Forces Association, including the role of President.^[3]

Family

On 5 September 1942 he married Dorothy Brenda Wilcox (who survived him) and they had a son and daughter.^[1] He died 11 December 1986 in King's Lynn, Norfolk.^[1] He is commemorated by a memorial blue plaque in Lidgett Lane in Garforth, where he lived as a child.^[4]

References

^
doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/67140. (Subscription or UK public library membership
required.)

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir Augustus Walker". rafweb.org. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Air Chief Marshal Sir Augustus Walker" (PDF). Proceedings RAF Historical Society (2): 68–74. August 1987. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 December 2010.
^ Robinson, Andrew (12 October 2006). "Blue plaque honour for village's RAF hero". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 23 August 2017.

Military offices
Preceded by Sir Hugh Constantine	Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Flying Training Command 1961–1964	Succeeded by Sir Patrick Dunn
Preceded by Sir Paterson Fraser	Inspector-General of the RAF 1964–1967	Succeeded by Sir Reginald Emson
Preceded by Sir Edmund Hudleston As Commander Allied Air Forces Central Europe	Deputy C-in-C Allied Forces Central Europe 1967–1970	Succeeded by Sir Frederick Rosier

[ODNB-1] 
doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/67140. (Subscription or UK public library membership
required.)

[air-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir Augustus Walker". rafweb.org. Retrieved 23 August 2017.

[RAFpdf-3] "Air Chief Marshal Sir Augustus Walker" (PDF). Proceedings RAF Historical Society (2): 68–74. August 1987. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 December 2010.

[4] Robinson, Andrew (12 October 2006). "Blue plaque honour for village's RAF hero". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 23 August 2017.

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Authority control databases
International	FAST ISNI VIAF
National	Germany United States
People	Deutsche Biographie