Charles William "Charlie" Walker (19 February 1909 – 18 December 1942) was a cricketer who played for South Australia

Southern Redbacks

The South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks and known as the West End Redbacks due to their sponsorship agreement with local brewers West End, are an Australian first class cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia, and represent the state of South Australia...

. A specialist wicket-keeper

Wicket-keeper

The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...

 and right-handed batsman, Walker was born in Brompton

Brompton, South Australia

Brompton is an inner northern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Charles Sturt.-History:Brompton was established in June 1849 and quickly grew...

, an inner-suburb of Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

.

Nicknamed "Chilla", Walker started his cricket career for the local Coglin Street Mission Cricket Club before making his Adelaide Grade cricket debut for West Torrens Cricket Club

West Torrens Cricket Club

The West Torrens District Cricket Club is a semi-professional cricket club in Adelaide, South Australia. It competes in the West End Grade Cricket Competition, which is administered by the South Australian Cricket Association ....

 and later transferring to Prospect Cricket Club

Prospect Cricket Club

Prospect Cricket Club are a Grade Cricket team located in Adelaide, South Australia.Prospect competes in the South Australian Grade Cricket League, administered by the South Australian Cricket Association...

.

Walker made his first-class

First-class cricket

First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...

 debut for South Australia

Southern Redbacks

The South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks and known as the West End Redbacks due to their sponsorship agreement with local brewers West End, are an Australian first class cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia, and represent the state of South Australia...

 at the end of the 1928/29 season, making eights dismissals (three caught and five stumped), and his form in the 1929/30 season, including four stumpings and three catches in a match against the touring English side, led to his inclusion in the 1930 Australian tour

Australian cricket team

The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...

 of England.

Unfortunately for Walker, a succession of finger injuries hampered his chances during the tour and he missed the 1934 England tour. Chosen for the 1938 Ashes tour of England, Walker again suffered a succession of injuries and did not play in a Test

Test cricket

Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...

. Walker enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force

Royal Australian Air Force

The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...

 on 3 February 1941 and gained the rank of Flying Officer

Flying Officer

Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...

. Assigned to the 14 Operational Training Unit, Walker was killed in action when he was shot down over Soltau

Soltau

- Middle Ages :The region of the Lüneburg Heath had already been settled by the start of the New Stone Age about 4,000 years ago. The Soltau area was initially occupied by a few individual farms. The parish of Soltau was probably founded around 830 and the first wooden church Sante Johannis...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 while piloting a bomber aircraft.

Walker's sister May represented South Australia in netball

Netball

Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...

 while May's husband Bob Quinn

Bob Quinn (Australian footballer)

Robert Berrima Quinn MM was a champion Australian rules footballer with Port Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League and war hero.-Biography:...

 was a leading Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er with Port Adelaide Football Club

Port Adelaide Football Club

The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League...

. Walker's cousin Ron Hamence

Ron Hamence

Ronald Arthur Hamence was a cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. A short and compact right-handed batsman, Hamence excelled in getting forward to drive and had an array of attractive back foot strokes...

 was a member of Don Bradman's Invincibles.

The South Australian Cricket Association

South Australian Cricket Association

The South Australian Cricket Association is the peak body for the sport of cricket in South Australia. The association runs Adelaide Oval and the Southern Redbacks based in Adelaide, South Australia. SACA is the controlling body for the South Australian Grade Cricket League...

now presents the Charlie Walker Trophy to the best wicket-keeper in Adelaide Grade Cricket. Walker's nephew Greg Quinn won the award seven times.