Herbert Ashcombe Walker
Encyclopedia
Sir Herbert Ashcombe Walker, KCB (15 May 1868 – 29 September 1949) was a British railway manager.

Early life

Walker was born in London 15 May 1868. He was educated at the North London Collegiate School and at Bruges.

Career

Walker joined the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...

. In 1893 he was made District Superintendent, North Wales Division; in 1902 he became District Superintendent Euston, when he visited the USA to study American practice.

From 1 January 1912, he became General Manager of the London and South Western Railway
London and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...

, where he instigated the programme of electrification. He received a knighthood in March 1915.

In January 1917, he was acting chairman of the Railway Executive Committee
Railway Executive Committee
The Railway Executive Committee was a government body which controlled the operation of Britain's railways during World War I and World War II...

, for which he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...

 (KCB).

After a frustrating year of indecision on the part of the Southern Railway
Southern Railway (Great Britain)
The Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...

's Board he was appointed General Manager there in 1923, where he encouraged the electrification programme. In this respect he was a major influence on steam locomotive development, or the lack of it, on the Southern. On his retirement in 1937, he served as a Director of the Southern Railway until the end of its existence in 1947. He died in London on 29 September 1949.

Character

Walker was physically well made, having stamina and a commanding presence. He looked what he was, a man who knew his job and meant to do it and had a remarkable memory. There is a memorial to him, including a stone cameo portrait, set in the stonework at Waterloo station
Waterloo station
Waterloo station, also known as London Waterloo, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. The station is owned and operated by Network Rail and is close to the South Bank of the River Thames, and in Travelcard Zone 1....

, commemorating his involvement in the rebuilding of the station, completed in 1922 and the electrification of the Southern Railway. He was a strong advocate of the Channel Tunnel.
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