John Riddell Bromhead Walker, CVO

Royal Victorian Order

The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...

, MC

Military Cross

The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....

 (21 June 1913 – 9 September 1984) was a soldier and long-serving English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 officer of arms

Officer of arms

An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions:*to control and initiate armorial matters*to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state...

 at the College of Arms

College of Arms

The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

Following graduation from Royal Military College, Sandhurst, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant

Second Lieutenant

Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...

 in the British Indian Army

British Indian Army

The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...

 on 4 March 1934. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 2 May 1935. He was promoted to Major on 1 July 1946. He retired on 31 December 1947 and was granted the rank of honorary Lieutenant-Colonel. In 1949, he was transferred to the reserve list of the York and Lancaster Regiment

York and Lancaster Regiment

-History:It was formed in 1881 through the amalgamation of two other regiments:*65th Regiment*84th RegimentThe title of the regiment was derived not from the cities of York and Lancaster, or from the counties...

.

His heraldic

Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...

 career began on 15 October 1947 when he was appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary

Rouge Croix Pursuivant

Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary is a junior officer of arms of the College of Arms. The office is named after St George's Cross which has been a symbol of England since the time of the Crusades...

. He held this position until 1954 when he was promoted to the office of Lancaster Herald of Arms in Ordinary

Lancaster Herald

Lancaster Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an English officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. The title of Lancaster Herald first occurs in 1347 at Calais, and to begin with this officer was a servant to the noble house of Lancaster...

 to replace Archibald George Blomefield Russell, who had been advanced to the position of Clarenceux King of Arms

Clarenceux King of Arms

Clarenceux King of Arms is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Clarenceux is the senior of the two provincial kings of arms and his jurisdiction is that part of England south of the River Trent. The office almost certainly existed in 1420, and there is a fair degree of...

. In 1968, Walker was advanced to this same office on the death of Sir John Dunamace Heaton-Armstrong

John Heaton-Armstrong

Sir John Dunamace Heaton-Armstrong, MVO was a long-serving English officer of arms at the College of Arms in London.During the First World War he was commissioned into the Cavalry Branch of the Reserve of Officers of the British Indian Army as a second lieutenant, and was later promoted to...

. Walker served as Clarenceux for ten years until his retirement in 1978. He died in 1984 and was buried in the Church of St Benet Paul's Wharf

St Benet Paul's Wharf

The Church of St Benet Paul's Wharf is the Welsh church of the City of London. Since 1555, it has also been the church of the College of Arms, and many officers of arms are buried there. The current church was designed by Sir Christopher Wren.-History:...

, which has been the religious home of the officers of arms since 1555.