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Name: WALKER, John Howard
Birth Date: 18 Sep 1893 St Leonard's Creek, NSW, Australia
Death Date: 31 July 1971 Wellington, New Zealand
First Date: 1922
Profession: Inspector, Kenya Police in 1939, appointed 1938. Originally Constable 1923
Area: Eldoret 1939, 1922 Gilgil, 1925 Nakuru, 1930 Mombasa, Kericho
Married: In Sotik 18 Dec 1933 Beatrice Hilda Elizabeth Hoare b. 8 Jan 1902 Totnes, d. 14 July 1973 Wellington, New Zealand
Children: one
Book Reference: Staff 39, KAD, Red 25, Red 31, Hut, Colonial, Red 22, Dominion
War Service: Military service 1914-18, Lieut. Australian Light Horse (wounded at Gallipoli)
School: Maitland High School, New South Wales, Australia
General Information:
Dominion - Assistant Inspector of Police - 1930
Colonial - Ch. Inspr. 1945; Asst. Supt. 1946
Gazette 6 Dec 1938 Nyanza Voters List
Blue Book 1926 appt. 18.1.1923
Last Chance He is 55 years old, and he had never fired on a native crowd before February 11th at Malakisi near Kakamega. (Dini ya Msambwa members were threatening the RC mission at Kababii.) Walker stood there with his handful of native police lined up behind him. They rushed him and he went down under a blow as one man tried to wrench his revolver away from him. He got up to his feet and shot that man. A rifle had been taken from one of his askaris, and with this Walker was hit again over the head. As he fell to the ground, he gave the order to fire. Some 32 shots were fired by his police askaris; seven natives were killed outright and four more died in the Kakamega hospital. Walker, although seriously wounded, got to his feet and directed the fire until he saw the crowd begin to break and disperse. Then he stopped it. At the inquiry the magistrate summing up said 'this officer has been in the police for twenty-five years, and he has never before fired on a crowd. He showed great restraint and courage. All witnesses are unanimous that he withheld fire until the last possible moment, and that the small detachment of police would have been murdered if they had not fired.'