Graham Walker (racing driver)

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The 500 cc rudge with which Graham Walker won the Ulster Grand Prix in 1928.

Graham William Walker (* 1896 in Wallington , Surrey , † September 7, 1962 in New Forest , Hampshire ) was a British motorcycle racer and journalist .

Life

Graham Walker was born in Wallington, now part of the London Borough of Sutton , in 1896 to William, Secretary of the Union-Castle Line , and Jessie Walker. He had five siblings, three brothers and two sisters. Walker was married to Elsie Spratt and together they had a son, Graeme Murray Walker (* 1923), who worked as a reporter and TV commentator for many years.

Graham Walker started riding a motorcycle at the age of 13. During the First World War he served as a motorcyclist in the Royal Engineers Signal Service and was the youngest official sergeant major at the time . In the course of the war, the Briton sustained a leg injury , because of which he retired from active service in 1918 and which from then on forced him to modify the foot brake levers on his machines. During the Second World War was Walker part of a campaign aimed at new dispatch rider for the British Army to recruit .

In 1935, after finishing his racing career, Walker was hired by the BBC as a commentator on motorcycle races on radio and later on television . From 1949 he worked with his son Murray .

From 1938 to 1954, Walker was the editor of the weekly motorcycle magazine Motor Cycling , which he published almost alone during the Second World War. He then worked as director of the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu , Hampshire . There, his enthusiasm for the preservation of historical motorcycles led to the establishment of a motorcycle department in which he worked closely with the museum's founder, Lord Montagu . His services to the museum were later honored with the dedication of the Graham Walker Motorcycle Gallery . Walker was also president of the TT Riders Association for a while .

Graham Walker died on September 7, 1962.

Career

In the early 1920s, Graham Walker was a works driver for Norton , which was based in Birmingham . In 1923 he came second in the Isle of Man TT team race behind the Douglas duo Freddie Dixon / Walter Derry. The following year, Walker on Sunbeam was able to record his first international success with victory in the 500 cc race for the Swiss Grand Prix at the Circuit de Meyrin in Geneva .

In 1925, Graham Walker moved permanently to Sunbeam in Wolverhampton as race director and works driver . In 1926 he won the 500cc Ulster Grand Prix in Northern Ireland . In the following year, the Briton won the half-liter run for the German Grand Prix on the Nürburgring , in which the titles of the European motorcycle championship were awarded in 1927 , ahead of Stanley Woods (Norton) and Cecil Ashby ( Rudge ), and thus crowned himself for the first time in his career to European champion .

For the 1928 season, Graham Walker moved from Sunbeam to Rudge in Coventry , where he was sales and racing director and continued his racing career. In the Senior TT race he retired while in the lead just a few kilometers from the finish. Two weeks later he won the half-liter race for the Dutch TT in Assen . On September 1, 1928, the Briton prevailed on a Rudge Ulster in a duel lasting over two hours against Charlie Dodson in the 500 cc run for the Ulster Grand Prix. He became the first driver in the history of the race to win at an average speed of over 80  mph (128.75  km / h ). The following year Walker was able to repeat this victory. In 1930 the Briton again won the 500 Grand Prix of Germany and the Netherlands.

In the 1931 season, Graham Walker celebrated the only TT victory of his career. He won the lightweight race (250 cm³ class) on a new and previously little tried Rudge ahead of his teammates Henry Tyrell-Smith and Ted Mellors ( New Imperial ). A few weeks later, at the 12ème Grand Prix de l'UMF in Montlhéry, he won the quarter-liter race ahead of Paddy Johnston ( Moto Guzzi ) and thus secured the European title in this displacement class.

In addition to his road racing activities, Graham Walker also took part in the International Six Day Ride. In 1926 and 1927 he won the 8th and 9th International Six-Day Race with the Trophy Team , and in 1928 he was a member of the victorious Silver Vase Team at the 10th International Six-Day Race . In 1932 he led his team as captain to win the silver vase at the 14th international six-day voyage in Merano, Italy .

statistics

title

Isle of Man TT victories

year class machine Average speed
1931 Lightweight (250 cm³) AJS 68.98  mph (111.01  km / h )

North West 200 Victories

year class machine Average speed
1931 350 cc Rudge 67.39  mph (108.45  km / h )

More victories

(colored background = European championship run )

year class machine run route
1924 500 cc Sunbeam Swiss Grand Prix Geneva
1926 500 cc Sunbeam Ulster Grand Prix Clady Circuit
1927 500 cc Sunbeam Grand Prix of Germany Nürburgring
1928 500 cc Rudge Dutch TT Circuit van Drenthe
500 cc Rudge Ulster Grand Prix Clady Circuit
1929 500 cc Rudge Ulster Grand Prix Clady Circuit
1930 500 cc Rudge Grand Prix of Germany Nürburgring
500 cc Rudge Dutch TT Circuit van Drenthe
1931 250 cc Rudge UMF Grand Prix Montlhéry
1932 250 cc Rudge Spanish TT Castrejana
500 cc Rudge Spanish TT Castrejana

References

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Graham Walker's military record from the First World War
  2. ^ England and Wales Birth Index - Births in July, August and September 1896, p. 561
  3. ↑ 1901 United Kingdom census
  4. ↑ Vincent Glon: Les Championnats du Monde de Courses sur Route - L'année 1962. racingmemo.free.fr, accessed on July 7, 2011 (French).
  5. ↑ a b Walker, pp. 12-14
  6. ↑ a b Obituary: Mr. Graham Walker. (Registration required) In: The Times . September 14, 1962, p. 13 , accessed June 13, 2017 (English).
  7. ↑ Obituary: Mr. Graham Walker. (Registration required) In: The Times . September 10, 1962, p. 16 , accessed June 13, 2017 (English).
  8. ↑ Walker pp. 5-8
  9. ↑ a b The National Archives. www.nationalarchives.gov.uk, accessed April 14, 2012 (English).
  10. ↑ The TTRA: Badge of Honor. (No longer available online.) Www.ttra.co.uk, archived from the original on May 12, 2008 ; accessed on April 14, 2012 (English).
  11. ↑ Vincent Glon: L'HISTOIRE DU GRAND PRIX DE SUISSE. racingmemo.free, accessed April 14, 2012 (French).
  12. ↑ Vincent Glon: L 'HISTOIRE DE L'ULSTER GP. racingmemo.free, accessed April 14, 2012 (French).
  13. ↑ a b Vincent Glon: L'HISTOIRE DU GRAND PRIX D'ALLEMAGNE. racingmemo.free, accessed April 14, 2012 (French).
  14. ^ A b Vincent Glon: L'Histoire de la course moto - Palmarès des Championnats d'Europe (1924-1937 et 1947-1948). racingmemo.free.fr, accessed on April 21, 2010 (French).
  15. ↑ Vincent Glon: L'Histoire de la course moto; 5th partie: Les Grand Prix d'Europe. (1924-1937); 1927. racingmemo.free, accessed on April 21, 2010 (French).
  16. ↑ a b Vincent Glon: L'HISTOIRE DU DUTCH TT. racingmemo.free, accessed April 14, 2012 (French).
  17. ↑ Vincent Glon: L 'HISTOIRE DU GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE. racingmemo.free, accessed April 14, 2012 (French).
  18. ↑ Vincent Glon: L'Histoire de la course moto; 5th partie: Les Grand Prix d'Europe. (1924-1937); 1931. racingmemo.free, accessed April 21, 2010 (French).
personal data
SURNAME Walker, Graham
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Walker, Graham William (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British motorcycle racer and journalist
DATE OF BIRTH July 1896 or August 1896 or September 1896
PLACE OF BIRTH Wallington , Surrey
DATE OF DEATH September 7, 1962
Place of death New Forest , Hampshire