Background
Graham Walker was born in Wallington, Surrey and was the son of William and Jessie Walker.
Graham Walker was born in Wallington, Surrey and was the son of William and Jessie Walker.
He also contributed greatly to the motorcycle section of the National Motor Museum. Walker married Elsie Spratt and together they had one son, Graeme Murray Walker (born 10 October 1923) who went on to have a long career as a motorsport commentator. Walker was a motorcycle despatch rider in the First World War for the Royal Engineers Signal Service, where he received a leg injury requiring him to ride a motorcycle with a modified brake pedal.
Despite this he had a successful racing career with Rudge, Sunbeam and Norton.
He rode many times in the Isle of Manitoba TT, winning the lightweight (250cc) class in 1931, and became president of the TT Riders Association. During World World War II, Walker took part in a campaign to recruit new dispatch riders.
In 1935, after his motorcycle racing career had finished, Walker was employed by the British Broadcasting Corporation as a commentator for motorcycle racing events on television and radio. He was editor of Motor Cycling magazine from 1938 to 1954 and he then took up a directorship at the Montagu Motor Museum, of which his enthusiasm for preserving historic motorcycles partly led to the museum having opened a motorcycle section in 1956.
Riding a 493cc Sunbeam he was a member of the victorious British International Trophy Team at the ISDT held in Buxton 1926 and Ambleside 1927 then saw success on the Silver Vase team in 1928 at Harrogate and 1932 Merano in Italy.