Hubert P (Johnny) Walker
Notes and Memories
Hubert (Johnny) Walker taught geography and was housemaster for the Crusaders. He was at Rutlish 1946-1976. To pupils in earlier years he was known as "Hubert" but we called him "Johnny". After we left Rutlish he became Deputy Head (in 1966) and he was Acting Head from March 1969 when Mr Blenkinsop went into hospital until Mr Blenkinsop's succcessor (Mr Coyle) arrived in early 1970. Hubert Walker was President of the Old Rutlish Association (ORA) in 1973.
In 1996 he leapt to national fame when it emerged that he had caned John Major, the then Prime Minister. Click here for the main Times news report and click here for a follow-up Times interview with Hubert Walker himself age 83. The Times said "Mr Walker always announced at parents' meetings, cane in hand, that if any parents objected to their children being beaten, they should speak out." He died in a road accident in 1998.
See memories of Johnny Walker by
Mike Bartlett,
Dudley Brown
and Peter Watts.
Norman Wells (1961 joining year; Rutlish Memories):
He of "I whacked John Major and proud of it" fame. Looked like an American WWII General without the uniform. Unlike all other teachers, he would make you stand outside the geography room before any lesson with him, and would bark "Inside" when he got within firing range, ie about 100 yds. Sense of humour typified by "The interior of the Sudan is dry and barren [pause] Just like my wife. Although I've tried, God knows I've tried".
Colin Brock (writing in Rutlish School The First Hundred Years, page 31)
Hubert Walker, though born in Lancashire, spent most of his early years in East London and moved from West Ham Secondary School to the then University College Southampton where he graduated in Chemistry and Geography in 1934. Remaining in Southampton at Taunton's School he gained a Cambridge University Teachers Certificate in 1935 and embarked on further geographical studies at Fitzwilliam House, Cambridge, Graduating with honours in 1937. Hubert immediately became Head of Geography at Dame Allen's School, Newcastle-upon-Tyne until entering military service in 1939. He emerged in 1945 as a Major in the Royal Artillery and became Head of Geography at Rutlish in 1946. A dynamic teacher of geography and geology, Hubert Walker was appointed Deputy Head in 1966, acted as Headmaster during 1970, and retired in 1976, becoming an Open University Tutor in Geology. A dedicated Rutlish man, Hubert was Clerk to the Rutlish Foundation from 1965-92, and is now, in 1995, the only member of the old guard regularly seen at school function, 50 years after joining the staff.
Footnotes
As The Times interview stated in 1996 that he was then aged 83, he is probably the person in the following record:
- GRO Birth Index: Hubert P Walker (mother: Smith) 1913 Q2 Ashton 8d 975
At Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge there is a scholarship fund called
The Walker Fund. The college website says that it was established in 1989 by a gift from Mr Hubert P Walker (BA 1937) who read Geography at Fitzwilliam House, and was augmented by further gifts in 1990 and 1991. The Walker Fund supports the following scholarships:
- The Irene Walker Scholarship: The Scholarship is named in memory of Mr Walker's wife, Mrs Irene M Walker. Preference will be given to an undergraduate reading Geography.
- The Thomas Walker Scholarship: The Scholarship is named in memory of Mr Walker's father, the Revd Dr Thomas Walker. Preference will be given to an undergraduate reading Earth Sciences.
- The Donald Walker Scholarship:
The Scholarship is named in memory of Mr Walker's brother, Donald Walker. Preference will be given to an undergraduate reading Natural Sciences.
- The Henry Locke Scholarship: The Scholarship is named in memory of Mr Henry R Locke, sometime Head of Modern Languages at Rutlish School, Merton. Preference will be given to an undergraduate reading Modern Languages.
- The David Mason Scholarship: The Scholarship is named in memory of Mr David Mason, a promising young graduate of the University of Warwick, whose father was a friend of Mr Walker and an engineer. Preference will be given to an undergraduate reading Engineering.
- The Muriel Lawrence Scholarship:The Scholarship is named in memory of Mrs Muriel I Lawrence, a friend of Mr Walker, who spent much of her life caring for others. Preference will be given to an undergraduate reading Medicine.
- The Wilfred Wilde Scholarship: The Scholarship is named in memory of Mr Wilfred S Wilde, a long-standing personal friend of Mr Walker. Preference will be given to an undergraduate reading Plant Sciences.
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