Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Spring Walker (6 January 1876 – 24 June 1941) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer. He was educated at

Dean Close School Dean Close School is a co-educational private boarding and day school (for pupils aged 3–18) in the public school tradition, located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1886 and is divided into pre-prep, prepa ...

, Cheltenham. He received his diploma for Licentiate Midwifing from the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland in 1898. He was also educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was commissioned into the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

on 25 April 1900 and served in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

in the Orange River Colony and Cape Colony from June to December 1900 before being invalided. Between 1902-03, when his health broke down and he had to go on half-pay for 8 months, and 1905-1908 he served in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and was promoted to Captain 25 April 1903. He was stationed at Ferozepore in 1908. He was promoted to Major 25 April 1912. With the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1914, Spring Walker sailed to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

with the 16th Field Ambulance of the British Expeditionary Force on 11 September 1914, where he served until 15 January 1915 when he was invalided. On 17 February 1915, he was

Mentioned in Dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

for the first time. He served in the Gallipoli Campaign as a medical officer in command of the Hospital Carrier Vladivian at Suvla Bay and Malta 1915-16 as O.C. No. 3 Convalescent Camp, Ghain Tuffeyh, Malta. Back in the UK he was the O.C. Military Hospital, Taunton and Military Hospital Cork. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel 26 December 1917.Entry No: 127. Drew R, 1968. Commissioned Officers in the Medical Services of the British Army 1660–1960, Vol II Roll of Officers in the RAMC 1898–1960 London, Wellcome Historical Library On 3 June 1919, he was decorated as a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. On 10 and 29 July that same year, he was Mentioned in Dispatches for a second and third time. He retired from the army in May 1920, but remained on the officer reserve list until 1922. He returned to

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, Ireland, where he died in 1941.

References

*Entry No: 127. Drew R, 1968. Commissioned Officers in the Medical Services of the British Army 1660–1960, Vol II Roll of Officers in the RAMC 1898–1960 London, Wellcome Historical Library. *Succession Books Vol XX, Returns of statement of service of RAMC Officers. {{DEFAULTSORT:Spring Walker, Francis 1876 births 1941 deaths Royal Army Medical Corps officers

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Anglo-Irish people