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The following story by Terence Robertson is out of copyright and appears courtesy of and with thanks to Mike Kemble, and Captain Frederic John Walker.

The Walker trio, father, mother and son, matured and learned to cope with recurrent minor financial crises. Father, always an individualist, acquired the reputation of being an outspoken critic of instruction he considered ill-advised or based on wrong precepts. Yet he was a popular figure at Osprey and regarded as one of the few pioneer experts in the developing art of tactical defence and attack against an underwater enemy. Mrs. Walker increased her authority over all things domestic by giving birth in 1924 to a second son, Nicholas, and a year later to their first daughter, Gillian. But the years ashore made Walker restless, even promotion to lieutenant-commander failing to induce him to settle down in his career. For many long hours, he discussed with his wife the attractive possibility of leaving the Navy and finding a more lucrative job in civilian life while they were both young. When he said that the Navy in peacetime was 鈥渘ot my cup of tea鈥� he really meant it. He had enormous energy and an equally vast capacity for sheer hard work, but the Navy had returned to its pre-war role of providing a salty atmosphere in society ashore. Overshadowing this frustrating state of affairs was Walker鈥檚 awareness that a healthy and growing family would tax his income to the limit. He was a family man and hated to think that the number of children he might enjoy could be limited by naval pay. For a long time he toyed with the possibility of seeing how much further his economy would stretch outside the Navy. Eilleen, however, knew he would never really be happy outside the Service and gently opposed his most determined decisions to make a change. He burned away most of this excess energy in gardening, hockey, swimming and boxing, if and when someone at Osprey was brash enough to suggest a round or two in the gym. He had given up rugger, although he might easily have played for the Navy, but was still a nimble middleweight with a powerful punch in both fists. But his speed, offensive spirit and individuality emerged best on the hockey field where he played himself into the Dorset county eleven and would have been selected for the West of England team but for a capricious Appointments Branch of the Admiralty who decided at that moment to send him back to sea.

Further thoughts of leaving the Navy were pushed aside, and he left Portland to serve for the next five years in the battleships Revenge, Nelson and Queen Elizabeth as Fleet Anti Submarine Officer of the Atlantic and Mediterranean fleets. This period in what he regarded as floating parade grounds where no one from admirals downward seemed to care much about submarines or their antidotes, was punctuated by continual but fruitless efforts to have himself transferred back to destroyers. The only bright spot came in the Mediterranean when he out pointed a mountainous sailor to become unofficial middleweight champion of the Fleet. Although a brilliant future had been predicted for him at Dartmouth, Walker came face to face with the sudden realisation that he had entered the zone for promotion to commander, passed through most of it and had only a few months left before he would become 鈥減assed over鈥�, as a Lieutenant Commander. Not even a 鈥渂rass-hat鈥� to show for all that early promise. He tackled his senior officers, finally reaching the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, whose reply was hardly encouraging. But, not long afterwards, he received the third ring of a commander with an appointment to take command of the destroyer, Shikari, 鈥渂rain鈥� of the Navy鈥檚 first radio-controlled gunnery target ship, Centurion. The Navy had never looked better to Commander Walker. His ship was equipped with the latest asdic and other anti-submarine devices. At home, the extra pay made him feel almost affluent. This device enabled surface ships to detect submerged submarines. It sent out sound waves underwater which produced a distinctive 鈥減ing鈥� or echo, if they hit metallic objects. As it also produced echoes from shoals of fish, wrecks and confused whirlpools of water, the operator had to be highly trained to distinguish the difference.

Unfortunately, the Shikari days ended all too soon and six months later he learned with dismay that he was to be sent to the China Station to take command of the sloop, Falmouth, also used by the Commander-in-Chief, Far Eastern Fleet, as his personal yacht. He remarked tersely to his wife 鈥淚 know I鈥檓 not cut out for that job.鈥� Before leaving for China, Eilleen took a personal step she had been considering for some time. Since childhood, religion had meant much to her, and one of Johnnie鈥檚 attractions had been his belief not only in God, but in going to church. When ashore he attended services every Sunday. Now Eilleen decided to become a Catholic. To remain an Anglican, feeling as she did, would have been to live a lie and she refused to do this even for the sake of husband and family. Johnnie, eminently fair-minded, put no obstacles in her way, although he preferred to remain in his own religion. Eilleen鈥檚 conversion was carried out smoothly. On the question of the children, Johnnie was decisive. They were to be allowed to choose for themselves when they were old enough and, until then, would remain in the Anglican Church in which they had been brought up. In return, he agreed that, should they ever have another child, he should be raised as a Catholic. On Sundays, they walked up the road together, each to go to their respective churches; often, if Johnnie arrived in a port before Eilleen, he would hunt out her church and note the times of Services for her. Not long afterwards, he left England for China, an interlude in his career which placed the first black mark against his name in the files of the Admiralty.

Continued.....
'This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by 大象传媒 Radio Merseyside鈥檚 People鈥檚 War team on behalf of the author and has been added to the site with his / her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.'

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