[1][2] Walker was born in Tianjin China (formerly Tientsin), on 6 August 1917, as a result of his father's posting there as British vice-consul.
[3] During World War II, he served with the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders and Lovat Scouts, being shot on active service in Italy.
[2] During his time the Scottish Office he was awarded a PhD (1954) by the University of Edinburgh for his thesis on The Logical Status of the Freudian Unconscious[4] and a book A Short History of Psychotherapy.
[1] His work challenged many accepted beliefs in the study of criminology, and he had an interest in the rehabilitation of offenders, writing Sentencing in a Rational Society (1969).
[1] He wrote "in private I am as vindictive as any reader of The Daily Telegraph when some particularly evil offender is brought to justice, I simply question whether it is useful or morally justifiable to think in terms of desert rather than deterrence, correction or prevention when sentencing him.