British Forces

One Fewer ...

Dilip Sarkar (collection)

Flight Lieutenant William Walker, oldest surviving Battle of Britain veteran, who died having suffered a stroke, Sunday 21 October, 2012. He was 99 years old. Mr Walker joined the RAF Reserve in 1938. He was commissioned into Fighter Command 616 Squadron (South Yorkshire) in 1940. On 26 August, 1940, his Spitfire was part of a mixed force of Spitfires, Hurricanes and Defiants scrambled to meet a large force of Luftwaffe bombers and fighter escorts. Having scored a number of hits, Walker was shot down by an MeBf 109, coming down in the English Channel. He clung to a shipwreck until rescued (with an armour-piercing bullet lodged in his ankle), and was brought ashore at Ramsgate, where he was cheered by the locals and given a packet of cigarettes by an elderly lady. He recalled that at that moment, being shot down did not seem so bad, after all. When the bullet was removed from his ankle, Mr Walker recalled that it sprang out of the wound and bounced off the operating theatre ceiling (no general anaesthetic there, then). He kept the bullet as a lucky keepsake for the rest of his life. Aviation historian Dilip Sarker claims to have proved (from the bullet) that Walker had had the dubious honour of being shot down by no less an ace than Werner Molders. After the war, Mr Walker enjoyed a successful career in the brewing business, and was heavily involved in work for the Battle of Britain Trust. May he Rest in Peace. JR.