More about Norman Walker

Norman Walker was the son of Mr Andrew and Mrs Walker of 172 Hawkhill and later at 168 Hawkhill, Dundee and he was employed as a Light Porter. He was one of the first local men to volunteer on 27 September 1914 to join the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve onboard HMS Unicorn for service in the Royal Naval Division. After initial Naval Training at the Crystal Palace in South London he was drafted to the Drake Battalion in billets in England in November and later to Blandford Camp in Dorset for advanced military training. At the end of February 1915 the Drake Battalion sailed for the Eastern Mediterranean with eight other Naval and Marine battalions and landed in Mudros Harbour on the Greek island of Lemnos. Here, the men trained for a role to support an Allied Naval attempt to force a passage through the Dardanelles to bring Constantinople, now Istanbul, under the guns of the British and French Navies causing Turkey to surrender. The attempt failed and troop landings took place in late April on the Gallipoli Peninsula to capture and destroy the Turkish defences in the Dardanelles. The Drake Battalion took part in the fighting at the Second Battle of Krithia on 4 May in an attempt to seize the high ground overlooking the Allied foothold on the Peninsula. Norman Walker survived that action but was listed as missing later in May and efforts were made to find out what had happened. This was changed to killed in action on 19 May 1915 when records showed that he had been buried by the Reverend B J Failes on that day. His body was not found after the war and Norman Walker is commemorated on the Helles Memorial on Gallipoli, Turkey.

SIXTEEN-YEAR OLD PATRIOT GIVES HIS LIFE FOR HIS COUNTRY. Mr Andrew Walker, furniture dealer, 168 Hawkhill, Dundee, has received official intimation of the death in action at the Dardanelles of his son, A.B. Norman Walker, 1st Royal Naval Division. A.B. Walker was only 16 years of age. Before enlisting he was in the employment of Messrs D. P. Whitton & Sons, fancy goods merchants, Exchange Street, as a storeman. The news of his death was received was received by his parents on Monday, and on the previous day they had a letter from himself dated 15th May. This reads: – “We have read of the life in the trenches. I thought it was horrible, but after being in seven days I cannot tell you how hard it is. During our last three days it rained without stopping, and made our trench all muddy. I can tell you we gave the Turks a warm reception with some lead spots, and advanced about 200 yards, the only danger being the snipers, who are paid to kill as many officers as they can. Their faces are painted green so as not to be seen in the trees.
“The only thing to send us to sleep is the roar of the guns, which are only 100 yards away, and do a lot of damage to the Turks.” The Courier, Wednesday, 9 June 1915, 4.

Normans 3 brothers all served during the Great War, L/Cpl Andrew Walker, 14325, 3rd Battalion Scots Guards, died 30.12.1917, Sapper Francis Walker, 458, 3rd Canadian Divisional Engineers, John Walker, 1st Battalion Black Watch, both Francis and John are believed to have returned home safely.