Richard Walker – Biography of an Angling Legend by Barrie Rickards | |
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Ron Clay writesI have just spent an incredible 30 hours. During that time I have not slept at all, and at the moment, as I type, I don’t even feel tired. The reason for this is that yesterday (as I write) I received my long awaited copy of the biography of Richard Stuart Walker that Barrie Rickards started work on a few years ago. I have been unable to put it down. I’ve often wondered why a biography of Dick Walker – who died in 1985 – had never been written years ago. In this book I think Barrie answers that question very well. Quite frankly it takes a great deal of courage to tackle the biography of a man as great as Dick Walker, but overall I would say that Barrie has been equal to the task and has done it eloquently. My own experience of Barrie’s writing is that he is superb at digging out facts, a job that must be very daunting to other writers. But the most important aspect of this biography that the reader is given the impression that in this case, Barrie has dug deeply, and accurately too. Although not in perfect chronological order, the book covers such subjects as Richard Walker – the boy; as a young man; Walker and the media; Walker and the tackle trade through to philosophical matters, achievements and technical aspects of his fishing. The final part of the book is mainly devoted to a personal perspective by Walker’s widow, Patricia, and a number of personal recollections by many of Walker’s closer friends. Barrie also covers the difficult subject of a few of the errors Walker made in his writings, particularly the debate between Dick and Dr. Terry Coulson on shotting, floats, buoyancy and inertia which took place in the 60s in the magazine: Fishing. This is one set-to that Walker did lose due to a classic error of physics, but never forget, to err is human and Walker was a human being. I must say a few words about Pat Marston-Walker. She comes from a distinguished lineage of Angling journalists connected with The Fishing Gazette, her ancestor – R.B. Marston being its first editor. Her personal perspective of her late husband is wonderfully written and gives a true insight into Walker – The Man. Amongst others, further personal cameos are written by Tag Barnes, Geoff Bucknall, Fred Buller, Alan Pearson. Fred J. Taylor, Peter Thomas, Alwyne Wheeler, Frank Guttfield, Colin Willock and Dermot Wilson. The redoubtable Elsie May Walker nee Cooper, Dick’s mother, and Simon Walker, his son, both write very entertaining and revealing chapters. Did you know that Dick Walker might be descended from King Charles II, and is related, albeit distantly, to the film star Gary Cooper? Did you also know that Dick could read exceptionally well at the age of five, before he went to primary school? This biography of full of hitherto unpublished photographs that provide much evidence of Dick’s many interests and achievements. The picture that really tickles me is one showing Walker hoisting a local Conservative MP aloft on his shoulder after a successful election! I’ve always thought that if Walker had never been interested in fishing, he would probably have entered the political arena and who knows, he could have become Prime Minister. It’s often been said that Walker came from the wealthy landed gentry class having been sent to private schools and Cambridge. What few will know was that his mother Elsie May worked her fingers to the bone, first as a Post Office employee, and finally as a filing clerk in the company Lloyds of Letchworth, to give Richard, her only son, the best education she could afford. Elsie May worked so hard she finally achieved the position of Managing Director of Lloyds and Dick joined this, the family business, after the war to work as a draughtsman. He was elected to the board of directors in 1954. This biography is quite honestly one of the best fishing reads of the past 100 years, not only because it is the biography of our greatest ever angler and angling writer, but also because Barrie Rickards has made a superb job of an exceedingly difficult task. In the book, Barrie compares Walker with two other famous anglers: Bernard Venables and Isaak Walton. Quite frankly, there is no comparison. Richard Walker was unique, an innovator, a true giant who will always be acknowledged as the greatest and most influential British angling writer of all time. This becomes more and more evident the deeper you get into the book. There are a few errors in this book but these are minor and mainly based on photo captions.
Phil Smith writesWhen it became public knowledge that Barrie Rickards was to complete a biography of Dick Walker I thought, ‘that will be worth reading.’ With Barrie’s academic record he is the right man to do the job properly. I feel I can say without any doubt whatsoever that Walker has been the biggest single influence on the big fish scene since he almost single-handedly brought that aspect of coarse fishing into being. I never had the pleasure of meeting the man although I must have been in the same area having been at the Chelsea Conference when he attended. Reading Barrie’s book I almost feel he has made up for that missed opportunity and I know more about the man than previously possible.Right at the start of the book Barrie lets the reader know that he has selected just the aspects of Walker’s life that impinged on the fishing side of his career. Other areas, which are many and varied, he has left for others to cover. What comes across quite strongly is the forceful nature of the man and his arguments, his enquiring mind, and the ability to take a problem to its logical conclusion. If a piece of equipment fell short of its potential he would improve it, if it did not exist then he would make it. Today, anglers go into the tackle shop and can purchase almost any conceivable piece of tackle. Walker made his rods, bite indicators, leads and many other bits because they did not exist. When I began my angling in the mid 1960’s I was already benefiting from those developments. The references to waters that were high profile in their day, Redmire, Upper Ouse and Arlesley Lake gave me a brilliant memory jog as I remembered the envy I had when reading of the exploits on those venues. The contribution by Pat Walker gives insights that no other could complete, both in the area of angling and other aspects of Dick’s life. The many testimonies given show how wide his influence spread and how freely he would give information or even prized tackle to help a complete stranger.
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