[2] He was educated at the North London Collegiate School and studied medicine for one year at St Francis Xavier College, Bruges.

[2] When family finances meant that plans for a medical career had to be abandoned,[4] Walker, aged 17, joined the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) as a clerk at Euston in April 1885.

[3] In October 1909, he became Assistant to the Superintendent of the Line and in July 1910 Outdoor Goods Manager for the southern half of the LNWR.

[3][6] By January 1917, he was acting chairman of the Railway Executive Committee, for which he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB).

[3] In addition to his two knighthoods, Walker was a lieutenant of the City of London, Knight of Grace of the Order of Saint John and a Grand Officer of the French Legion of Honour.