Early life

Walker, as a lad and a young man, served in the Dutch navy, and was employed in the Levant  for the protection of trade against Turkish or Greek pirates. Later on he became the owner of a merchant ship and commanded her for some years.

In 1739, he was principal owner and commander of the ship Duke William, trading from London to South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

, and, the better to prepare for defence, took out letters of marque. His ship mounted 20 guns, but had only thirty-two men. The coast of the Carolinas was infested by Spanish privateers, and, in the absence of any English man-of-war, Walker put the Duke William at the service of the colonial government. His offer was accepted; he increased the number of his men to 130, and succeeded in driving the Spanish ships off the coast. Towards the end of 1742 he sailed for England with three merchantmen in convoy. But in a December gale, as they drew near the Channel, the ship's seams opened. Walker, with her crew, managed to get on board one of the merchantmen, which was only just kept afloat.

When finally Walker arrived in town, he learned that his agents had allowed the insurance to lapse, and that he was a ruined man. For the next year he was master of a vessel trading to the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

.

Privateer

In 1744, when the War of the Austrian Succession

War of the Austrian Succession

The War of the Austrian Succession  – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...

 broke out, he was offered the command of the Mars, a private ship of war of 26 guns, to cruise in company with another, the Boscawen, somewhat larger and belonging to the same owner. They sailed from Dartmouth

Dartmouth, Devon

Dartmouth is a town and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the banks of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes...

 in November, and on one of the first days of January 1744–5 fell in with two homeward-bound French ships of the line, which captured the Mars after the Boscawen had hurriedly deserted her. Walker was sent as a prisoner on board the Fleuron. On 6 January the two ships and their prize were sighted by an English squadron of four ships of the line, which separated and drew off without bringing them to action . Walker with civility, and he was landed at Brest as a prisoner at large; within a month he was exchanged.

On returning to England Walker was put in command of the Boscawen, and sent out in company with the Mars, which had been recaptured and bought by her former owners. The two cruised with little success during the year, and, coming into the English Channel

English Channel

The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

 in December, the Boscawen, a weakly built ship, iron-fastened, almost fell to pieces; Walker managed run it ashore on the coast of Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

. He was almost immediately offered a larger command. This was a squadron of four ships — King George, Prince Frederick, Duke, and Princess Amelia—known collectively as the "Royal Family", which carried in the aggregate 121 guns and 970 men. In the summer of 1745, off Louisbourg, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, it had made a very rich prize; the ships were consequently well manned.

After cruising for nearly a year, and having made prizes for over £200,000 the Royal Family put into Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

; and, sailing again in July 1747, had been watering in Lagos Bay, when on 6 October a large ship was sighted standing in towards Cape St. Vincent

Cape St. Vincent

Cape St. Vincent , next to the Sagres Point, on the so-called Costa Vicentina , is a headland in the municipality of Sagres, in the Algarve, southern Portugal.- Description :This cape is the southwesternmost point in Portugal...

. This was the Spanish 70-gun ship Glorioso

Voyage of the Glorioso

The voyage of the Glorioso involved four naval engagements fought in 1747 during the War of the Austrian Succession between the Spanish 70-gun ship of the line Glorioso and several British squadrons of ships of the line and frigates which tried to capture it...

, recently come from the Spanish Main

Spanish Main

In the days of the Spanish New World Empire, the mainland of the American continent enclosing the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico was referred to as the Spanish Main. It included present-day Florida, the east shore of the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, Mexico, Central America and the north coast of...

 with treasure on board. The treasure, however, had been landed at Ferrol, and she was now on her way to Cadiz

Cádiz

Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....

. Walker took for granted that she had treasure, and attacked her in the King George, a frigate-built ship of 32 guns. She was nearly beaten; but on the Prince Fredericks coming up, the Glorioso, catching the same breeze, fled to the westward, where she was met and engaged by the Dartmouth, a king's ship of 50 guns. The Dartmouth accidentally blew up, with the loss of every sailor except one lieutenant; but some hours later the 80-gun ship Russell brought the Glorioso to action and succeeded in taking her. The Russell was only half manned, and was largely dependent on the privateers to take the prize into the River Tagus.

The Royal Family continued cruising, with moderate success, to the end of the war. Altogether, the prizes taken by the Royal Family under Walker's command were valued at about £400,000.

Later life

After the peace Walker commanded a ship in the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

 trade, but either lost or squandered the money he had made in the Royal Family. He got involved, too, in a dispute with the owners about the accounts, and was imprisoned for debt shortly after the outbreak of the Seven Years' War

Seven Years' War

The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...

. He died on 20 September 1777.