Frederic John Walker - World War II

World War II

When the Second World War began, in 1939, Walker's career seemed at an end. Still a Commander, he had been ignored for promotion to captain and indeed had been scheduled for early retirement. He gained a reprieve, however, due to the commencement of war and in 1940 was appointed as Operations Staff Officer to Vice-Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay. Even so, Walker still had not been given a command, despite expertise in anti-submarine warfare that would no doubt be indispensable in the Battle of the Atlantic. During Walker's time in that role the legendary Dunkirk evacuations took place, in which the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was evacuated from France. The evacuation was an immense success, with over 330,000 British and French troops being taken to the United Kingdom. He was Mentioned in Despatches for his work during the evacuation.

Walker finally received a command in October 1941, taking control of the 36th Escort Group, commanding from the Bittern-class sloop Stork. The escort group comprised two sloops (including Stork) and six corvettes and was based in Liverpool, home of Western Approaches Command. Initially his Group was primarily used to escort convoys to and from Gibraltar.

His first chance to test his innovative methods against the U-boat menace came in December when his group escorted Convoy HG 76 (32 ships). During the journey five U-boats were sunk, four by Walker's group, including U-574 which was depth-charged and rammed by Walker's own ship on 19 December. The RN's loss during the Battle for HG76 was one escort carrier (Audacity), one destroyer (Stanley) and two merchant ships. This is sometimes described as the first true Allied convoy victory in the Battle of the Atlantic. He was given the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on 6 January 1942 for, "For daring, skill and determination while escorting to this country a valuable Convoy in the face of relentless attacks from the Enemy, during which three of their Submarines were sunk and two aircraft destroyed by our forces". Walker's group succeeded in sinking at least three more U-boats during his tenure as commander of the 36th Group. He was awarded the first Bar to his DSO in July 1942.

In 1942 Walker left the 36th Group and became Captain (D) Liverpool, granting him some time to recuperate. He finally returned to a ship command when he became commander of the 2nd Support Group in 1943, consisting of six sloops. Walker led from Starling, a newly-commissioned Black Swan-class sloop. The group was intended to act as reinforcement to convoys under attack, with the capacity to actively hunt and destroy U-boats, rather than be restricted to escorting convoys. Walker had suggested the innovative idea to Commander-in-Chief Western Approaches Command Sir Max Horton. The combination of an active hunting group and a charismatic, determined and innovative anti-submarine specialist such as Walker would prove to be a potent force. One eccentric aspect of his charismatic nature was the playing of the tune A Hunting We Will Go over the ship's Tannoy when returning to their base.

In June 1943 Walker's own ship Starling was responsible for the sinking of two U-boats. The first, U-202, was destroyed on 2 June by depth charges and gunfire, and the other, U-119, on 24 June by depth charges and ramming. Another U-boat, U-449, was sunk by his group on the same day. One highly successful tactic employed by Walker was the creeping attack, where two ships would work together to keep contact with a U –boat whilst attacking; a refinement of this was the barrage attack, which had three or more sloops in line to launch depth charges to saturate the area with depth charges in a manner similar to a rolling barrage by artillery in advance of an infantry attack. On 30 July Walker's group encountered a group of three U-boats on the surface (two were vital type XIV replenishment boats known as "Milk Cows") while in the Bay of Biscay. He signalled the "general chase" to his group and fired at them, causing damage that prevented them from diving. Two of the submarines, U-462, a Type XIV, and U-504, a Type IX/C40, were then sunk by Walker's group, and the second Type XIV, U-461, by Australian Short Sunderland flying boat.

Upon his return to Liverpool, Walker was informed that his son, Timothy, had been killed when the submarine HMS Parthian had been lost in early August 1943 in the Mediterranean. On 14 September 1943 he was appointed a Companion of the Bath (CB), "for leadership and daring in command of H.M.S. Starling in successful actions against Enemy submarines in the Atlantic."

On 6 November 1943 Walker's group sank U-226 and U-842. In early 1944 Walker's group displayed their efficiency against U-boats by sinking six in one patrol. On 31 January 1944 Walker's group gained their first kill of the year when they sank U-592. On 9 February his group sank U-762, U-238, and U-734 in one action, then sank U-424 on 11 February, and U-264 on 19 February. On 20 February 1944 one of Walker's group, HMS Woodpecker, was torpedoed and sank seven days later while being towed home; all of her crew were saved. They returned to their base at Liverpool to the thrilled jubilation of the city's inhabitants and the Admiralty. The First Lord of the Admiralty was present to greet Walker and his ships. Walker was promoted to captain and awarded a second bar to his DSO.

In March Walker's group provided the escort for the American cruiser USS Milwaukee which was on its way to Russia as part of the lend-lease programme. Walker's group sank two U-boats on the outward trip and a third on the return trip. Walker's last duty was protecting the fleet from U-boats during D-Day, the immense Allied invasion of France. This he did successfully for two weeks; no U-boats managed to get past Walker and his vessels, and many were sunk or damaged in the process. During this concerted effort Walker's dedication to his tasks was tremendous; he took no respite from his duties, which would ultimately contribute to his death. He was awarded the third bar to his DSO on 13 June 1944, and was again Mentioned in Despatches on 20 June 1944.