Robert Sandilands Frowd Walker
Encyclopedia
Lt. Colonel
Robert Sandilands Frowd Walker C.M.G. (also known as R. S. F. Walker) (13 May 1850 – 16 May 1917) was a prominent figure in Malaya
during the British colonial era in the late nineteenth-century. During his youth he was an amateur sports
man, and played three times for the English football XI against Scotland, scoring four goals, in the 1870 to 1872 representative matches
.
registration district), in Chester
and educated at Brentwood School, Essex
before entering the Royal Military College at Sandhurst
.
At Sandhurst, he showed himself to be a keen all-round sportsman, representing the college at athletics in 1869 and 1870 in competitions with the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He played for the Sandhurst cricket
team in 1869, including in the match against Royal Military Academy, Woolwich in May. The following year he was captain of the cricket team. In May 1870, he won the 120 yards hurdles and the pole jump in the annual athletics competition against the Woolwich Academy.
On graduating from Sandhurst in 1870, he was awarded the Sword of Honour which was presented to him by the Duke of Cambridge
, who was then Commander-in-Chief. He continued to use the sword throughout his career and had it re-hilted to conform to the 1895 regulations. This sword is probably the one depicted in the statue of Walker that stands outside the Perak Museum at Taiping
.
and was also a member of the Wanderers
club. In November 1870, he was selected by C. W. Alcock
to represent "England" in the second "pseudo-international
" match against a Scottish XI. He scored England's goal in a 1–0 victory; according to the match reports "[following] a well-executed run-down by C.W. Alcock, in conjunction with a final kick from the foot of R.S.F. Walker, enforced the surrender of the Scottish goal" and "barely ten minutes had elapsed before a neat run down by C.W. Alcock, resulted in a goal to the side of England, the final kick which secured the coveted honour for the South being administered by R.S.F. Walker".
The following February, Walker was again England's scorer in a 1–1 draw; the match report included a reference to the Combination Game
style of football:
In November 1871, Walker made his third and final appearance for England. Walker scored both England's goals in a 2–1 victory; the match report describes his goals thus:
He was also selected for the Scotland vs. England rugby
international of 1873, although he did not actually play.
; on 28 October 1871, he was gazetted as an Ensign
and thence to Lieutenant
; he was one of the last ensigns to be gazetted in the British Army. With the 28th Foot, he served in Gibraltar and Malta.
In 1874, he was transferred to Perak
, but was then moved first to Hong Kong
and then to Singapore
where, in 1878, he was aide-de-camp
to Sir William Robinson
, Governor of the Straits Settlements
. In November 1878, he accompanied Robinson to Bangkok
for the investiture of King Chulalongkorn
as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
.
Early in 1879, he entered the service of the Federated Malay States
as Acting Commissioner of the Perak Armed Police, and was also the Acting Assistant Resident. By 1884, he was Commandant of the 1st Perak Sikhs with the local rank of Major. Five years later, he was granted the honorary rank of Lieutenant-Colonel whilst employed with the Perak Police Force. In 1902, he was granted the local rank of Lieutenant-Colonel while employed as Commandant of the Malay States Guides.
He acted as Assistant Resident in Perak (1882), Secretary to the Government of Perak (1889), acting British Resident in Selangor
(1899) and acting British Resident in Perak (1900).
and Pathan
recruits. In 1884, Walker (now promoted to Major) successfully petitioned for the Perak Armed Police to be allowed to style themselves the "1st Battalion, Perak Sikhs". At this time, the police force had a strength of 650 men, some of whom were sent to Parit Buntar
and Telok Anson. Others performed guard duties at the residency in Taiping and maintained law and order in the State of Perak, including a section of cavalry troopers. The force was engaged mainly in dealing with local uprisings, with occasional interventions in labour disputes between Chinese labour gangs and their bosses.
On 29 November 1887, following friction between the Ghee Hin and Hai San secret societies, a brothel skirmish in Papan escalated into a violent clash which became known as the "Papan Riots", the most serious Chinese secret society clash ever to take place in the Kinta district. The riots were quelled by Walker and the Perak Sikhs but flared up again in September 1889. In "a show of force", Walker and the Perak Sikhs, responding to reports received from the acting magistrate, visited the mining areas at Kinta, inspecting the kongsi
s in which the secret society members lived. The appearance of the feared "Mungkali Kwai" (Sikh Devils) helped prevent any "untoward incidents".
Walker's efforts to quell the riots were praised by the Governor:
During the mining boom years of the early 1890s, Kinta was hit with a wave of crime, influenced by drinking and gambling. As a result of the breaking down of the secret societies, there was less organised crime but the region was plagued with roving gangs of robbers. Walker complained to his superiors that he could not police the district with a police force of only 196:
In early 1892, a large force from the Perak Sikhs was sent to Pahang
to quell an uprising there. Following the suppression of the "Pahang disturbances", Walker was again able to concentrate his attention on the situation in Perak. Following a sudden increase in crime in the Ipoh
division in the second half of the year, Walker visited all the main towns, inspecting the mines and meeting the towkays [mine owners] who "cried out for police protection". Walker telegraphed his headquarters in Taiping to request reinforcements and within two months his forces in Ipoh had been strengthened by about 100 men.
Several new police stations were opened with financial assistance from the mine-owners and increased patrols on the Tambun
road helped reduce the number of robberies and assaults on the highway, although Walker complained that "it exhausts the resources of any force and the constitution of the men." Referring to the rapid growth of crime in northern Kinta, Walker remarked:
To assist in the fight against crime, Walker recommended that the headquarters of the Kinta police should be moved from Batu Gajah
to Ipoh
.
Walker's recommendation was accepted by the Government and the district police headquarters were moved to Ipoh in 1894 at the same time as the headquarters of the Perak Chinese Protectorate were moved from Taiping to Ipoh.
, the Perak and Selangor
Sikh Police forces were consolidated into the "Malay States Guides" with Lt. Colonel Walker as their first commandant. The Guides were modelled on the Corps of Guides of the North-West Frontier of India
.
The Guides consisted of six companies of Infantry, a Depot Company with a Field Company of 15 pounder breech-loading guns and a Mountain Company. Each company was under the command of a British Officer and was made up of two Sikh Officers and 100 non-commissioned officers and men; their total strength was 900 personnel.
In his "Personalities of Old Malaya", written in 1930, Cyril Baxendale relates an incident involving Walker and Chief Inspector John Symes. During a visit by Frank Swettenham
, then the Resident of Perak, to the Police barracks Swettenham admired a row of trees providing shade to the parade square. On being told by Symes that Walker had ordered the trees to be felled, Swettenham insisted that they should be spared. On a subsequent formal visit attended by Walker, Swettenham was surprised to see that the trees had been cut down. On inquiring why, Symes replied:
A few moments of hesitation and then Symes sprang to attention and as he raised his hand in formal salute:
, Governor of the Straits Settlements, and Mr. E. W. Birch
, C.M.G., later British Resident in Perak, he helped introduce cricket to Perak and surrounding areas.
Walker also helped introduce football to the state; he founded a team in Taiping and donated the Ship Challenge Trophy.
He helped found the Perak Club in 1881 which had a playing field used for cricket, football, hockey and tennis. Described as the "father of cricket and football in the [Malay] Peninsula", the club organised the first inter-state matches in Malaya. The Perak Club became the premier social institution of Taiping and the senior club in the Malay States.
Walker was a member of many other sporting, service and social clubs including the Perak Turf Club, the United Service Institute, the Naval and Military Club, the Wellington Club and the Ranelagh Club.
While in Hong Kong in the 1870s, as well as playing cricket he was the stroke in the regimental boat which defeated a team from the United States ship Kearsage
.
Walker was an avid collector of Malay weapons, brasses, and silver and had what was reputed to be "the finest collection of old china in the peninsula". His collection of Malay stone implements from the Straits Settlements is now in the Pitt Rivers Museum
at the University of Oxford
.
The esplanade in the town centre was originally the Parade Square and was laid out by Walker in 1890.
In Taiping and nearby Pokok Assam
there were roads named for Walker although these have since been renamed as "Jalan Maharajalela" and "Jalan Temenggong" respectively.
into a garden for the benefit of the townspeople. The land was donated to the town by its owner, Mr. Chung Thye Phin
, a wealthy tin miner and rubber planter. By 1884, with the help of Walker and his police staff, the Taiping Lake Gardens
were complete with grasses, flowers and trees; the 62 hectares site was the first public gardens in Malaya.
He was also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
, the Royal Zoological Society
, the Royal Colonial Society and of the Royal Colonial Institute.
For his work in settling the labour troubles he was presented with a sword by the Chinese community.
He commanded the dismounted colonial troops at the celebrations to mark Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
He was later given the honour of laying the foundation stone of the of the Diamond Jubilee Wadda Gurdwara
Sahib at Penang
on 3 June 1901. After a formal procession from the jetty at Penang Harbour, accompanied by a large body of Sikhs, Walker laid the foundation stone of the new building with a trowel made of solid silver.
, and eldest daughter of the late Thomas James Ireland, M.P., of Ousden Hall
, Suffolk.
Walker retired in 1910 on the grounds of ill-health; in a private letter he said:
On his retirement a bronze statue was erected in his honour in Taiping
; it stands today outside the Perak Museum; the sculptor was Charles Leonard Hartwell R.A. (1873–1951). According to the inscription on the sculpture:
After his return to England, Walker lived at Scott's Lodge, Knockholt
, Kent. During the First World War, he was appointed as commandant of the internment camp for German and Austrian detainees at Alexandra Palace
. According to Baxendale:
Debt of Honour database. He was buried at St Katharine's Church, Knockholt
.
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Robert Sandilands Frowd Walker C.M.G. (also known as R. S. F. Walker) (13 May 1850 – 16 May 1917) was a prominent figure in Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
during the British colonial era in the late nineteenth-century. During his youth he was an amateur sports
Amateur sports
Amateur sports are sports in which participants engage largely or entirely without remuneration. Sporting amateurism was a zealously guarded ideal in the 19th century, especially among the upper classes, but faced steady erosion throughout the 20th century with the continuing growth of pro sports...
man, and played three times for the English football XI against Scotland, scoring four goals, in the 1870 to 1872 representative matches
England v Scotland representative matches (1870–1872)
Between 1870 and 1872, the Football Association organised five representative association football matches between teams from England and Scotland, all held in London. The first of these matches was held at The Oval on 5 March 1870, and the fifth was on 21 February 1872. The matches, which were...
.
Early life and education
Walker was born in Chestercastle, (in the Great BoughtonGreat Boughton
Great Boughton is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It includes the villages of Boughton Heath and Vicars Cross....
registration district), in Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
and educated at Brentwood School, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
before entering the Royal Military College at Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
.
At Sandhurst, he showed himself to be a keen all-round sportsman, representing the college at athletics in 1869 and 1870 in competitions with the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He played for the Sandhurst cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
team in 1869, including in the match against Royal Military Academy, Woolwich in May. The following year he was captain of the cricket team. In May 1870, he won the 120 yards hurdles and the pole jump in the annual athletics competition against the Woolwich Academy.
On graduating from Sandhurst in 1870, he was awarded the Sword of Honour which was presented to him by the Duke of Cambridge
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge was a member of the British Royal Family, a male-line grandson of King George III. The Duke was an army officer and served as commander-in-chief of the British Army from 1856 to 1895...
, who was then Commander-in-Chief. He continued to use the sword throughout his career and had it re-hilted to conform to the 1895 regulations. This sword is probably the one depicted in the statue of Walker that stands outside the Perak Museum at Taiping
Taiping, Perak
Taiping is a town located in northern Perak, Malaysia. With a population of 191,104 , it is the second largest town in Perak after Ipoh, the state capital. Taiping took over Kuala Kangsar's role as the state capital from 1876 to 1937, but was then replaced by Ipoh...
.
Football career
After leaving Sandhurst, he joined the Clapham Rovers Football ClubClapham Rovers F.C.
Clapham Rovers was from its foundation in 1869 a leading English sports organisation in the two dominant codes of football, association football and rugby union. It was a prominent club in the late 19th century but is now defunct...
and was also a member of the Wanderers
Wanderers F.C.
Wanderers Football Club is an English amateur football club, based in London, that plays in the Surrey South Eastern Combination. Founded as Forest Football Club in 1859, the club changed its name to Wanderers in 1864....
club. In November 1870, he was selected by C. W. Alcock
C. W. Alcock
Charles William Alcock was an influential English sportsman and administrator. He was a major instigator in the development of both international football and cricket, as well as being the creator of the FA Cup....
to represent "England" in the second "pseudo-international
England v Scotland representative matches (1870–1872)
Between 1870 and 1872, the Football Association organised five representative association football matches between teams from England and Scotland, all held in London. The first of these matches was held at The Oval on 5 March 1870, and the fifth was on 21 February 1872. The matches, which were...
" match against a Scottish XI. He scored England's goal in a 1–0 victory; according to the match reports "[following] a well-executed run-down by C.W. Alcock, in conjunction with a final kick from the foot of R.S.F. Walker, enforced the surrender of the Scottish goal" and "barely ten minutes had elapsed before a neat run down by C.W. Alcock, resulted in a goal to the side of England, the final kick which secured the coveted honour for the South being administered by R.S.F. Walker".
The following February, Walker was again England's scorer in a 1–1 draw; the match report included a reference to the Combination Game
Combination Game
The Combination Game was a style of association football based around team work and cooperation. It would gradually favour the passing of the ball between players over individual dribbling skills which had been a notable feature of early Association games. It developed from "scientific" football...
style of football:
It seemed as if the [Scottish] defence would prove more than equal to the attack, until a well-executed run-down by C.W.Alcock, W.C. ButlerThe match report concludes: "For England, R.S.F. Walker was untiring in his efforts forwards until the close."William C. ButlerCaptain William Charles Butler played football for England against a Scottish XI in two unofficial internationals in 1870 and 1871. He subsequently became a J.P. and Registrar in Cumberland.-Family:...
and R.S.F. Walker, acting in concert, enabled the last-named of the trio to equalise the score by the accomplishment of a well-merited goal for England.
In November 1871, Walker made his third and final appearance for England. Walker scored both England's goals in a 2–1 victory; the match report describes his goals thus:
So persevering were the attacks of the English, that at last a loud cheer proclaimed the fall of the Scotch citadel to a well-directed shot by Walker.In conclusion, the report describes Walker as "the hero of the English eleven".
It appeared as if [England] were likely to have the game entirely in their own hands, as within a very short time a second goal was obtained for England by R.S.F. Walker.
He was also selected for the Scotland vs. England rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
international of 1873, although he did not actually play.
Military career
In 1870, aged twenty, he joined the 28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot
The 28th Regiment of Foot was a British infantry regiment from 1782 to 1881.For their conduct at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801 the 28th were given the unique honour of wearing a badge on both the front and rear of their head dress.. They served throughout the Peninsula War including the battles...
; on 28 October 1871, he was gazetted as an Ensign
Ensign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
and thence to Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
; he was one of the last ensigns to be gazetted in the British Army. With the 28th Foot, he served in Gibraltar and Malta.
In 1874, he was transferred to Perak
Perak
Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...
, but was then moved first to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and then to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
where, in 1878, he was aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to Sir William Robinson
William Cleaver Francis Robinson
Sir William Cleaver Francis Robinson GCMG was a British colonial administrator and a musical composer, being the author of several well known songs...
, Governor of the Straits Settlements
Straits Settlements
The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia.Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under direct British control as a crown colony on 1 April 1867...
. In November 1878, he accompanied Robinson to Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
for the investiture of King Chulalongkorn
Chulalongkorn
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Chulalongkorn Phra Chunla Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama V was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri. He was known to the Siamese of his time as Phra Phuttha Chao Luang . He is considered one of the greatest kings of Siam...
as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
.
Early in 1879, he entered the service of the Federated Malay States
Federated Malay States
The Federated Malay States was a federation of four protected states in the Malay Peninsula—Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang—established by the British government in 1895, which lasted until 1946, when they, together with the Straits Settlements and the Unfederated Malay...
as Acting Commissioner of the Perak Armed Police, and was also the Acting Assistant Resident. By 1884, he was Commandant of the 1st Perak Sikhs with the local rank of Major. Five years later, he was granted the honorary rank of Lieutenant-Colonel whilst employed with the Perak Police Force. In 1902, he was granted the local rank of Lieutenant-Colonel while employed as Commandant of the Malay States Guides.
He acted as Assistant Resident in Perak (1882), Secretary to the Government of Perak (1889), acting British Resident in Selangor
Selangor
Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
(1899) and acting British Resident in Perak (1900).
Perak Sikhs
In 1879, Walker took command of the Perak Armed Police from Major Paul Swinburne turning it into a quasi-military force based almost entirely on SikhSikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
and Pathan
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
recruits. In 1884, Walker (now promoted to Major) successfully petitioned for the Perak Armed Police to be allowed to style themselves the "1st Battalion, Perak Sikhs". At this time, the police force had a strength of 650 men, some of whom were sent to Parit Buntar
Parit Buntar
Parit Buntar is a main town in Kerian district, on the northwestern tip of Perak, Malaysia.The name Parit Buntar originated from a well-known leader, Tok Buntar, who was famous at the time when he and his followers built the drainage system, which used water from the Kerian River to irrigate the...
and Telok Anson. Others performed guard duties at the residency in Taiping and maintained law and order in the State of Perak, including a section of cavalry troopers. The force was engaged mainly in dealing with local uprisings, with occasional interventions in labour disputes between Chinese labour gangs and their bosses.
On 29 November 1887, following friction between the Ghee Hin and Hai San secret societies, a brothel skirmish in Papan escalated into a violent clash which became known as the "Papan Riots", the most serious Chinese secret society clash ever to take place in the Kinta district. The riots were quelled by Walker and the Perak Sikhs but flared up again in September 1889. In "a show of force", Walker and the Perak Sikhs, responding to reports received from the acting magistrate, visited the mining areas at Kinta, inspecting the kongsi
Kongsi
Kongsi or "clan halls", are benevolent organizations of popular origin found among overseas Chinese communities for individuals with the same surname. This type of social practice arose, it is held, several centuries ago in China...
s in which the secret society members lived. The appearance of the feared "Mungkali Kwai" (Sikh Devils) helped prevent any "untoward incidents".
Walker's efforts to quell the riots were praised by the Governor:
[He] has done himself great credit, often working from daybreak to midnight – and he has settled some very difficult disputes between Chinese Towkays and mobs of coolies, with great patience, tact, judgement and decision.
During the mining boom years of the early 1890s, Kinta was hit with a wave of crime, influenced by drinking and gambling. As a result of the breaking down of the secret societies, there was less organised crime but the region was plagued with roving gangs of robbers. Walker complained to his superiors that he could not police the district with a police force of only 196:
Police work in Kinta, as elsewhere, has increased with the population, and the number of men for work does not increase proportionally. New places . . . keep opening out, but although the old places do not die as these spring up, the same number of men are still supposed to be sufficient to efficiently check crime.
In early 1892, a large force from the Perak Sikhs was sent to Pahang
Pahang
Pahang is the third largest state in Malaysia, after Sarawak and Sabah, occupying the huge Pahang River river basin. It is bordered to the north by Kelantan, to the west by Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, to the south by Johor and to the east by Terengganu and the South China Sea.Its state...
to quell an uprising there. Following the suppression of the "Pahang disturbances", Walker was again able to concentrate his attention on the situation in Perak. Following a sudden increase in crime in the Ipoh
Ipoh
Ipoh is the capital city of Perak state, Malaysia. It is approximately 200 km north of Kuala Lumpur on the North-South Expressway....
division in the second half of the year, Walker visited all the main towns, inspecting the mines and meeting the towkays [mine owners] who "cried out for police protection". Walker telegraphed his headquarters in Taiping to request reinforcements and within two months his forces in Ipoh had been strengthened by about 100 men.
Several new police stations were opened with financial assistance from the mine-owners and increased patrols on the Tambun
Tambun
Tambun is a major town in the Kinta district of Perak, Malaysia. The Lost World of Tambun, a waterpark, is located here.-Pomeloes:...
road helped reduce the number of robberies and assaults on the highway, although Walker complained that "it exhausts the resources of any force and the constitution of the men." Referring to the rapid growth of crime in northern Kinta, Walker remarked:
No wonder that the crime has increased, as increase it must, with a mining population of Chinese, a race that knows no repose, that settles only for the moment where money is to be made with the greatest ease, that would rob their best friends if they themselves should have lost their savings at the gaming table.
Crime with such a population as this means progress, and although a check has been given to it by raising the Force to its utmost capacity, at the sacrifice of other parts of the state, strengthening the detective branch, and paying judiciously for information, crime must arise, and as long as a fair number of discoveries are made of crimes most difficult to detect in a country where escape is so easy, and a criminal can with comparative ease conceal himself, it is all that can be expected.
To assist in the fight against crime, Walker recommended that the headquarters of the Kinta police should be moved from Batu Gajah
Batu Gajah
Batu Gajah is a town located in the state of Perak in Malaysia, about 24 km from Ipoh, the Perak state capital.-Origins and History:...
to Ipoh
Ipoh
Ipoh is the capital city of Perak state, Malaysia. It is approximately 200 km north of Kuala Lumpur on the North-South Expressway....
.
I beg very earnestly to request the Government to remove the headquarters of my Department from Batu Gajah to Ipoh. From the latter place the officer commanding can regulate his duties with greater efficiency. Almost any portion of his District could be proceeded to with greater rapidity from Ipoh. His living at Batu Gajah merely means an excessive amount of travelling.
Walker's recommendation was accepted by the Government and the district police headquarters were moved to Ipoh in 1894 at the same time as the headquarters of the Perak Chinese Protectorate were moved from Taiping to Ipoh.
Malay States Guides
In 1896, following the inauguration of the Federated Malay StatesFederated Malay States
The Federated Malay States was a federation of four protected states in the Malay Peninsula—Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang—established by the British government in 1895, which lasted until 1946, when they, together with the Straits Settlements and the Unfederated Malay...
, the Perak and Selangor
Selangor
Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
Sikh Police forces were consolidated into the "Malay States Guides" with Lt. Colonel Walker as their first commandant. The Guides were modelled on the Corps of Guides of the North-West Frontier of India
North-West Frontier (military history)
The North-West Frontier was the most difficult area, from a military point of view, of the former British India in the Indian sub-continent. It remains the frontier of present-day Pakistan, extending from the Pamir Knot in the north to the Koh-i-Malik Siah in the west, and separating the...
.
The Guides consisted of six companies of Infantry, a Depot Company with a Field Company of 15 pounder breech-loading guns and a Mountain Company. Each company was under the command of a British Officer and was made up of two Sikh Officers and 100 non-commissioned officers and men; their total strength was 900 personnel.
Personality
Walker had the reputation of being something of a disciplinarian with a fierce temper, and was known to the local Malays as the "Black Panther". He has been described as "at the best of times very much a martinet" and "a difficult man to work with".In his "Personalities of Old Malaya", written in 1930, Cyril Baxendale relates an incident involving Walker and Chief Inspector John Symes. During a visit by Frank Swettenham
Frank Swettenham
Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham GCMG CH was the first Resident General of the Federated Malay States which was formed by combining a number of sultanates. He served from 1 July 1896 to 1901. He was also an amateur photographer...
, then the Resident of Perak, to the Police barracks Swettenham admired a row of trees providing shade to the parade square. On being told by Symes that Walker had ordered the trees to be felled, Swettenham insisted that they should be spared. On a subsequent formal visit attended by Walker, Swettenham was surprised to see that the trees had been cut down. On inquiring why, Symes replied:
"Colonel's Order, Sir," replied Symes.
"Inspector Symes, did you tell Colonel Walker that the Resident gave you orders not to cut down those trees?"
"Yes, Sir."
"What did Colonel Walker say?"
A few moments of hesitation and then Symes sprang to attention and as he raised his hand in formal salute:
"Damn the British Resident, Sir."
Sport and leisure in Malaya
Walker continued to be involved in all forms of sport throughout his life. Together with Sir Frank SwettenhamFrank Swettenham
Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham GCMG CH was the first Resident General of the Federated Malay States which was formed by combining a number of sultanates. He served from 1 July 1896 to 1901. He was also an amateur photographer...
, Governor of the Straits Settlements, and Mr. E. W. Birch
Ernest Woodford Birch
Sir Ernest Woodford Birch, ICS, KCMG was the eighth British resident of Perak. Sir Ernest was the eldest son of James Wheeler Woodford Birch.-Family:...
, C.M.G., later British Resident in Perak, he helped introduce cricket to Perak and surrounding areas.
Walker also helped introduce football to the state; he founded a team in Taiping and donated the Ship Challenge Trophy.
He helped found the Perak Club in 1881 which had a playing field used for cricket, football, hockey and tennis. Described as the "father of cricket and football in the [Malay] Peninsula", the club organised the first inter-state matches in Malaya. The Perak Club became the premier social institution of Taiping and the senior club in the Malay States.
Walker was a member of many other sporting, service and social clubs including the Perak Turf Club, the United Service Institute, the Naval and Military Club, the Wellington Club and the Ranelagh Club.
While in Hong Kong in the 1870s, as well as playing cricket he was the stroke in the regimental boat which defeated a team from the United States ship Kearsage
USS Kearsarge (1861)
USS Kearsarge, a Mohican-class sloop-of-war, is best known for her defeat of the Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama during the American Civil War. The Kearsarge was the only ship of the United States Navy named for Mount Kearsarge in New Hampshire...
.
Walker was an avid collector of Malay weapons, brasses, and silver and had what was reputed to be "the finest collection of old china in the peninsula". His collection of Malay stone implements from the Straits Settlements is now in the Pitt Rivers Museum
Pitt Rivers Museum
The Pitt Rivers Museum is a museum displaying the archaeological and anthropological collections of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The museum is located to the east of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and can only be accessed through that building.The museum was...
at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
.
Contributions to Malayan society
During his time in Perak, Walker made several contributions to local society, many of which still remain.The esplanade in the town centre was originally the Parade Square and was laid out by Walker in 1890.
In Taiping and nearby Pokok Assam
Pokok Assam
Pokok Assam is a small town in Taiping, Perak, Malaysia. It is the second biggest satellite town in Taiping, after Kamunting, with its famous road side fried chicken and Mee Rebus. It has its own post office, basketball court, police station and market place....
there were roads named for Walker although these have since been renamed as "Jalan Maharajalela" and "Jalan Temenggong" respectively.
Taiping Lake Gardens
In 1880, Walker conceived the idea of transforming a disused mining site in TaipingTaiping, Perak
Taiping is a town located in northern Perak, Malaysia. With a population of 191,104 , it is the second largest town in Perak after Ipoh, the state capital. Taiping took over Kuala Kangsar's role as the state capital from 1876 to 1937, but was then replaced by Ipoh...
into a garden for the benefit of the townspeople. The land was donated to the town by its owner, Mr. Chung Thye Phin
Chung Thye Phin
Kapitan Chung, Thye Phin , MSC, JP was a wealthy Malayan tin miner and rubber planter of Hakka ancestry who was raised on the island of Penang in the state of the same name in Malaysia, known at that time as British Malaya. He was a member of the Perak Advisory Board and the last Kapitan China of...
, a wealthy tin miner and rubber planter. By 1884, with the help of Walker and his police staff, the Taiping Lake Gardens
Taiping Lake Gardens
Taiping Lake Gardens is the first public garden established during British rule in Malaysia. The garden is located near Bukit Larut, within the town center and the Taiping Zoo.-History:...
were complete with grasses, flowers and trees; the 62 hectares site was the first public gardens in Malaya.
All Saints' Church, Taiping
The history of All Saints' Church, the earliest Anglican church in Malaya, can be traced from 1883 when Walker presided over a meeting to arrange for funds to be collected to pay for the stipend of a clergyman.Honours
Walker was created a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1901 "in recognition of his public services".He was also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
, the Royal Zoological Society
Royal Zoological Society
Royal Zoological Society may refer to:* Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales* Royal Zoological Society of Scotland...
, the Royal Colonial Society and of the Royal Colonial Institute.
For his work in settling the labour troubles he was presented with a sword by the Chinese community.
He commanded the dismounted colonial troops at the celebrations to mark Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
He was later given the honour of laying the foundation stone of the of the Diamond Jubilee Wadda Gurdwara
Gurdwara
A Gurdwara , meaning the Gateway to the Guru, is the place of worship for Sikhs, the followers of Sikhism. A Gurdwara can be identified from a distance by tall flagpoles bearing the Nishan Sahib ....
Sahib at Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
on 3 June 1901. After a formal procession from the jetty at Penang Harbour, accompanied by a large body of Sikhs, Walker laid the foundation stone of the new building with a trowel made of solid silver.
Retirement and death
In 1907, he married Mrs. Beatrice Bolton (née Ireland), the widow of Lieut. Colonel Richard Bolton, of the Royal Horse GuardsRoyal Horse Guards
The Royal Horse Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry.Founded August 1650 in Newcastle Upon Tyne by Sir Arthur Haselrig on the orders of Oliver Cromwell as the Regiment of Cuirassiers, the regiment became the Earl of Oxford's Regiment during the reign of...
, and eldest daughter of the late Thomas James Ireland, M.P., of Ousden Hall
Ousden
Ousden is a village and civil parish in the St Edmundsbury district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located around six miles west of Bury St Edmunds, in 2005 its population was 260.-External links:*...
, Suffolk.
Walker retired in 1910 on the grounds of ill-health; in a private letter he said:
Thirty-two and a half years since I landed in Singapore and knocked the ball about on the old cricket ground. A longish spell, that has passed very quickly, at times very happily. I cannot help feeling I am leaving a splendid little Corps behind me, and only wish it was a Brigade.
On his retirement a bronze statue was erected in his honour in Taiping
Taiping, Perak
Taiping is a town located in northern Perak, Malaysia. With a population of 191,104 , it is the second largest town in Perak after Ipoh, the state capital. Taiping took over Kuala Kangsar's role as the state capital from 1876 to 1937, but was then replaced by Ipoh...
; it stands today outside the Perak Museum; the sculptor was Charles Leonard Hartwell R.A. (1873–1951). According to the inscription on the sculpture:
This statue was erected by public subscription of the Sultans of Perak and Johore and many personal friends of the principal Chinese Towkays and of the officers and men of the Regiment of Malay State Guides to be a memorial of ROBERT SANDILANDS FROWD WALKER
Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George who retired in 1910 afer 31 years in Perak and the Federated Malay States.
For his hospitality and encouragement of all branches of sport and his success in raising the Regiment of Malay States Guides to the highest excellence this statue will serve as a continued remembrance.
After his return to England, Walker lived at Scott's Lodge, Knockholt
Knockholt
Knockholt is a village and civil parish in Kent, England, lying approximately 5 miles south of Orpington and 3 miles northwest of Sevenoaks. It is part of the Sevenoaks district and according to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,166...
, Kent. During the First World War, he was appointed as commandant of the internment camp for German and Austrian detainees at Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is a building in North London, England. It stands in Alexandra Park, in an area between Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green...
. According to Baxendale:
he tempered his strict regard for discipline with his usual kindness, and the encouragement he gave to the prisoners to pursue their various trades won their respect and affection.Walker suffered from a long-term complaint of the inner ear; he died of a heart attack on 16 May 1917, a few days after his 67th birthday. He is one of the oldest soldiers commemorated on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...
Debt of Honour database. He was buried at St Katharine's Church, Knockholt
St Katharine's Church, Knockholt
St Katharine's Church is an Anglican parish church in the village of Knockholt and the Sevenoaks deanery. St Katharine's and St Margaret's came together in 1983 as a United Benefice under one parish priest. The pattern of services reflects the fact that it is two parishes working closely together...
.
External links
- Article on Walker's life (extract from "Twentieth Century Impressions Of British Malaya")
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/wee_choong/3589005696/Photograph of statue on FlickrFlickrFlickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
] - http://www.flickr.com/photos/hshlok/4312808685/Photograph of statue on FlickrFlickrFlickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
] - More photographs of statue