George Walker (soldier)
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George Walker (c.1645 – 1 July 1690
Old Style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, they refer to the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries betwe ...
) was an English soldier and
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
priest. He was joint Governor of Derry during the
Siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...
in 1689. He was killed at the
Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ) took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and James's daughter), had acceded to the Crowns of England and Sc ...
while going to the aid of the wounded Duke of Schomberg.


Family

George Walker II (1645–1690) was born in Wighill, now in North Yorkshire, England, the son of George Walker (1600–1677), rector of Kilmore, County Armagh and Chancellor of Armagh, and Ursula Stanhope (1617–1654), daughter of Sir John Stanhope of Melwood. Walker was educated at
Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...
. He married Isabella Barclay (1644–1705), by whom he had nine sons and daughters: George Walker III 1669–1699; James 1670–1700; John 1671–1726; Gervase 1672–1693; Robert 1674–1705; Thomas 1677–1712; Mary 1679; Charity 1681–1728; Elizabeth 1683.


Early career

He became rector of the Parish of Donaghmore in 1674. He was also made rector of the Parishes of Lessan (or Lissan) and Desertlyn, in the Church of Ireland Diocese of Armagh.


Siege of Derry

A
Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...
, Walker was joint Governor of Londonderry along with Henry Baker during the Siege of Derry in 1689, and received the thanks of the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
for his work. He was killed at the
Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ) took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and James's daughter), had acceded to the Crowns of England and Sc ...
on 1 July 1690 (12 July
New Style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, they refer to the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various Europe, European countrie ...
), whilst going to the aid of
Frederick Schomberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg Frederick Herman de Schomberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg (6 December 1615 – 1 July 1690) was a German-born army officer who served as the English Master-General of the Ordnance from 1689 to 1690. Having fought in the French, Portuguese, Dutc ...
, Commander-in-Chief of all
Williamite A Williamite was a follower of King William III of England (r. 1689–1702) who deposed King James II and VII in the Glorious Revolution. William, the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, replaced James with the support of English Whigs. On ...
forces in Ireland, who was wounded during the crossing of the river in the early part of the battle. He was originally buried at the battlefield but at the insistence of his widow, his body was later exhumed and buried inside the church at Castlecaufield,
County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Its county town is Omagh. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...
. His body was later rediscovered and re-interred next to that of his wife but not before a cast was taken of his skull. The Walker Plinth on the derry city walls which was completed in 1828, remains in his memory; although the column that stood on the plinth was destroyed in an IRA bomb attack in 1973.


References


External links


''The Siege of Londonderry in 1689'' by George WalkerNational Portrait Gallery
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Phrenological Notice of the Skull of Walker by the Ulster Archeological Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, George 1610s births 1690 deaths Doctors of Divinity English army officers English military personnel killed in action Alumni of the University of Glasgow People from the Borough of Harrogate History of Derry (city) 17th-century English Anglican priests Year of birth uncertain Williamite military personnel of the Williamite War in Ireland Military personnel from North Yorkshire