Here's what I think

Very interesting piece Kevin with much food for thought.

As someone who knew the man, met him, discussed angling with him and corresponded with him for some time, here's my short resume of Richard Walker.

First of all Walker had a private education. He certainly qualified to attend Cambridge University where he spent several years prior to WW2 reading electrical engineering at Caeus College.

Then came WW2. He volunteered for the Home Guard but was soon packed off to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough to work on airborn radar.

At the end of the war, he wanted to go back to Cambridge to finish his degree but his mother - Elsie May Walker, who had financed all his education, couldn't afford that, so **** joined Lloyds and Company of Letchworth, his mother's company as a design draughtsman. They made Lawnmowers.

In between all this of course, Walker went fishing. Most of his fishing at this time was spent on his local trout streams of course. But **** became interested in Carp for a while and most of you know the rest.

Angling was a complete passion with Walker. He applied his scientific training to the sport. Because of his intense "feud" with wanting to catch fish, he attracted many highly skilled, dedicated, and passionate anglers amongst his intimate circle of friends, notably Pete Thomas, Peter Stone, Fred J Taylor, Pat Russel, Fred Buller and others.

He wrote for magazines of course. Most of the time he was asked to write by the magazines themselves.

Some people called him arrogant. He could often seem that way, yet when you finally met him, arrogance was not in his character. He assumed you were are passionate about angling as he. He was extremely generous and if he gave you something he never wanted anything in return.

He loved having an arguement - intelligently of course, yet he would not suffer fools.

He was certainly a catalyst that got together many other great anglers and made them think, either by his writings or personally. He spent a great deal of time telling others that they were far better anglers than he.

He motivated and inspired.

He was a "One off."

I am at the moment working on a review of the recently published book - "The Walker/Stone Letters". This recent publication will certainly give a further insight into the mind of this great angler.

A little more about Richard Walker that perhaps many may not know.

He was educated at "The Friend's School" - Saffron Walden.

A private school, run by "The Society of Friends" which in another word means Quakers, one can maybe get an understanding of his true personality.

Was Walker a Quaker?

Perhaps.

Excellent article, Kevin. My exposure to Walker was 1970-83 through AT, and then the last 10 years through books and magazines. However you define genius he was truly that rare beast, and the fact that we're still having our thinking provoked by his work more than 20 years after his death is remarkable.

Was Walker a genius who became an angler, or an angling genius?

I tend to think he was a bit of both.

He certainly was a very deep thinker. He studied philosophy, the classics, music, science, the arts, mathematics (he got that wrong on occasions and had quite a set-to with Eric Hodson and Dr. Terry Coulson on floats and bouyancy) and religion.

And here is something else most people will not know.

Elsie May Walker - ****s mother was a close friend of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother!

Elsie May loved betting on the gee gees, smoking and drinking whisky in fair old quantities.

Hence her long life!

Walker once described how he made a little fly rod for "A most charming titled lady".

I wonder who that was?

"A little more about Richard Walker that perhaps many may not know.
He was educated at "The Friend's School" - Saffron Walden.
A private school, run by "The Society of Friends" which in another word means Quakers, one can maybe get an understanding of his true personality"

Interestingly enough (or not if you prefer), that is also the school where the guy who set up the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium, David Powell, was educated, before leaving for South Africa and then the US. It's just behind where my missus' mum lives. Dave once blew up the school goldfish pond with stuff stolen from the Chemistry Labs, there must be something in the water there. It's less than a mile from where the Cam runs through the grounds of Audley End House, but as yet I've been unable to find out about the fishing rights.

I read his stuff as a youth in the 70's when it was already an anachronism in style, yes a bit preachy but always superbly argued and captivated the 12 year old me. Most instructional work of the 50's would be in the same style. Generosity- well he chose to share very vividly in his success (and failure), nothing hidden. Arrogance, well those who don't suffer fools are often described that way, they've just progressed to a conclusion quickly, if you can't keep up, don't talk to them! I think he was a very practical thinker and would have excelled in any field - there was an explosion in angling at the time he was most active, I believe he was a key figure and would recommend his work to any modern angler of any age and experience.

Ron.....how old was **** in 1945?

Brummie, he was born May 29th 1918, that made him 27 years old in 1945.

I was 3!!

If Walker did have a fault in those days it was first of all the assumption that anyone who he spoke fishing to, was as enthusiastic as he. Also remember Walker was quite a brilliant student at Cambridge. Although he didn't finish his degree, due to the war, he wasn't called to Farnborough to work on radar for being a numpty.

I wouldn't call his writings anachronistic whatsoever. He was actually years ahead of his peers in the angling world at the time.

By the way Kevin, you mentioned that he did not accept fibreglass as the way forward in terms of a rod building material. Actually he did.

However he criticised the early glass fibre and with very good reason. Some of it was horrid and floppy. I remember those days clearly.

Then came German blanks from Sportex. Shortly after that, glass blanks utilising phenolic resins became available. Walker was particularly enthusiastic about these, especially now that spigot ferrules had been designed.

Hardy's at the time had a sub division of their company called "Fibretube". He was involved with the design of a number of rods that utilised Fibretube blanks, Including "The Grafham Ghost" fly rod, A range of Avon, Carp and Match Rods, which culminated in the Richard Walker Superlight Reservoir Fly rod. A nine foot 3 inch weight 7/8 rod that weighed under 4 1/2 oz. This rod became a Hardy best seller of all time. I lost no time and acquired one in 1976.

Then a material called carbon fibre became available. Walker was probably the first to recognise that this new material would be suitable for fishing rods. It was developed by The Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough, Walkers old firm.

Walker went down with Jim Hardy of Hardys to look at this new material. It wasn't long after this that Hardys used a carbon fibre composite spigot ferrule on many of their rods.

And then came carbon fibre proper.

Walker was probably the first man in the world to fish with a carbon fibre fly rod.

A carbon fibre fly rod called the Richard Walker Farnborough was soon on the market. It was 9 feet in length and rated for 7 and 8 weight lines. The tapers were worked out by Walker in conjuction with Hardys.

Walker was right at the forefront of carbon rod design. He was not one to live in the past.

And he never made a penny out of the work he did for Hardys, except perhaps getting a few free samples for test.

I think it's as well to point out here that we would never have had carbon fibre if it were not for one thing:

The Space Race.

The need for a light strong engineering material became paramount during the early days of space exploration and the shuttle.

We often take carbon fibre for granted.

By the way, it's often been said that Walker's success in all matters angling were due to him "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants".

Let me put it another way:

He was "The Giant" and all the angling writers of today are still standing on "His" shoulders!

All???????

Sorry Mark, let me change that word to "many".

Ron & friends
Was not the the rod designed by **** in I believe 1967 called the Grafham Ghost, Whilst being heavily involved in those days with the Northampton school of fishing the lead core lines for Brownies and other developments, i.e. the rudder, we had to acquire Laminglas blanks from Sweden, to do the job, as there were no rods at that time to fit the bill. **** and I talked, and corresponded on such matters for over two years or so, and he never came over as being arrogant on any occasion, all **** wanted to do was to see that angling move on for all anglers to catch more fish and enjoy themselves.

Ron, Farnborough, I think, is the concrete bowls, close to Oxford, in fact two concrete bowls, one and two. I believe that one or the other is a public water and the second is or was a syndicate water, I may be wrong. Please, can anyone tell me which came first, Farnborough or Grafham, because when I first met **** in 1966, he was using rods which were certainly not carbon fibre. Sportex blanks in those days I felt were very sloppy and soft, but the Grafham Ghost was well capable of handling No., 9 shooting heads for distance casting. Does the Walker Farnbough rod relate to the Oxford Ressies ?.
Please for give me Gents, I've just had 6 pints of Stella, so my post may be a bit incoherent.

"Elsie May loved betting on the gee gees"

I thought I'd read Elsie May loved getting on the bee gees for a minute...

I'll shut up now...

The Walker Farnborough fly rod made by Hardys was named after The Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough where carbon fibre was invented and where Walker worked on airborn radar in WW2.

I'me pretty sure that The Grafham Ghost was made from Fibretube phenolic blanks.

Initially, the Sportex Blanks were quite floppy and thin walled. Tag Barnes put his name to a range of rods made by Sportex from much beefed up blanks. I used several of these rods and they were not bad.

Not as good as Fibretube I must admit.

Keith, you're confusing Farmoor reservoirs with Farnborough in Hants

By the way, certain members of the Northants Specimen Group called the Grafham Ghost the: "Golden Wonder Pea Stick".

It was no good for chucking lead core lines!

Yes Mark, I woke up 20 mins., ago with Farmoor on my mind. Must leave the Stella out.
Ron, the Ghost was a Fibretube product and I'm pretty sure that **** was involved. During that time the North Western blanks were the in thing for the trout anglers.