Arnold Edgar "Blondie" Walker DFC & Bar (4 April 1917 – 9 November 2008) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

fighter pilot during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

who flew 169 sorties, was shot down three times, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross twice.

Early life

Born in Warley Edge,

Halifax, West Yorkshire Halifax is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. In the 15th century, the town became an economic hub of the old West Riding of Yorkshire, primarily in woo ...

, the son of a stonemason and builder, and youngest of three children, Walker (always known as 'Blondie') was educated at Heath Grammar School but left school early, aged 15, to join his father's building firm; he did however continue to study three nights a week at technical college for the national building exam. However, at the age of 18 his father died, leaving Blondie in charge. At the outbreak of war, construction was deemed a

reserved occupation A reserved occupation (also known as essential services) is an occupation considered important enough to a country that those serving in such occupations are exempt or forbidden from military service. In a total war, such as the Second World War, ...

, but he was "mad keen on flying" and immediately volunteered for the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

RAF career

Walker undertook pilot training in

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under the

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a large-scale multinational military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand during the Second Wo ...

. On completion of his training he was a

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

. He was then commissioned into the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( ...

(Service No 115919) as a

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off or P/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Pilot officer is the lowest ran ...

on probation on 1 December 1941. He returned to the UK and converted to the Hurricane. He was then sent to the Middle East, sailing to

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

before flying across the desert to

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

and on to

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where he was mostly protecting convoys. His first kill was a

Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a twin-engined multirole combat aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works. It was used extensively during the Second World War by the ''Luftwaffe'' and became one o ...

. In August 1942, Walker joined No. 94 Squadron, which soon received four

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

s donated by Lady MacRobert, whose three sons had died while serving in the RAF, one of them with No. 94 Squadron. Their names and coat of arms were painted on the nose of the aircraft, and Walker was allocated "Sir Roderic", which he flew during the North African campaign. He was promoted war substantive

flying officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...

on 1 October 1942. After his experiences flying with No. 94 Squadron, Walker was offered an instructor's job. He did not want this, so volunteered to transfer to No. 6 Squadron RAF who were preparing to join the war in Italy. He was promoted to war substantive flight lieutenant on 1 December 1943. On 8 August 1944, he was awarded an "immediate" Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), which is a field award; the citation read: On 14 November 1944 he was awarded a bar to his DFC. However, on his return from operations in October 1944, Blondie was posted as an instructor on the

Hawker Typhoon The Hawker Typhoon was a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was intended to be a medium-high altitude interceptor aircraft, interceptor, as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, but several design problems we ...

, based in the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

. He was released from RAF service in 1946.

Postwar career

Walker returned to Halifax to re-establish the family building company, Joseph Walker & Son, which had been shut down during the war. He wrote a short memoir of his wartime experiences with the dedication: "To my two ground crew – without your fabulous service of my aircraft I would not be alive today". Immediately after the war, Joseph Walker & Son built more than 2,000

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and 1,000 private houses. He continued to build houses in the

Calderdale Calderdale () is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 211,439. It takes its name from the River Calder, and dale, a word for valley. The name Calderdale usually refers to the borough through which the ...

area of

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

for the next half-century. He also had building interests in Perth, Western Australia, where he would later move to. He was a Liberal

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

for Warley Ward in Halifax during the early 1950s and was elected president of the Halifax Building Trades Council.

Personal life

Walker was known to be a fierce competitor in sport, business and life. He played golf off a handicap of four, was captain of West End Golf Club, Halifax and also made an honorary member of The Royal Perth Golf Club. He skied virtually every year in

Kitzbühel Kitzbühel (, also: ; ) is a town rights, medieval town situated in the Kitzbühel Alps along the river Kitzbüheler Ache in Tyrol (state), Tyrol, Austria, about east of the state capital Innsbruck and is the administrative centre of the Kitzbüh ...

from 1948 until he was 80 years old. He was known in Kitzbühel as "Halifax", some locals even assuming he was the

Earl of Halifax Earl of Halifax is a title that has been created four times in British history—once in the Peerage of England, twice in the Peerage of Great Britain, and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The name of the peerage refers to the town of ...

. He married three times. He married Maisie, who he had known since he was 18 before being sent to the Middle East in 1941. He had a son, Johnny who predeceased him in 2007, a daughter, Diana, three stepsons and two grandchildren, Melissa and Daniel. In later life, Walker lived nine months of the year in Perth, spending the remainder in his hometown of Halifax, West Yorkshire.

References

External links

Telegraph ObituaryYorkshire Post ObituaryHalifax Courier ObituaryHalifax Courier Announcement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Arnold 1917 births 2008 deaths Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force pilots of World War II British World War II fighter pilots Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) People educated at Heath Grammar School