Lance Sergeant David Walker killed in Afghanistan
It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Lance Sergeant David "Davey" Walker, of 1st Battalion Scots Guards was killed in Afghanistan on 18 February 2010.
Lance Sergeant David Walker (All rights reserved.)
Lance Sergeant Walker was fatally wounded while conducting a ground domination patrol which was engaged by insurgent fire. He was serving with Right Flank, Scots Guards, attached to Combined Force Nad-e-Ali (North).
Lance Sergeant Walker was employed as a Section Commander within Right Flank who had been playing a vital part in Operation MOSHTARAK since 3 February 2010.
The Company had experienced considerable success since the beginning of the operation. Lance Sergeant Walker was responsible for commanding and leading a four man ‘fire team’ in engaging and reassuring the local population as well as defeating the insurgents. The success the Company had been experiencing was in no small part due to the extraordinary leadership and guidance of Lance Sergeant Walker.
Lance Sergeant David Walker
Lance Sergeant David “Davey” Walker was born in Glasgow on 9 August 1973. He passed out of the Guards Depot in Pirbright in 1993. He immediately joined the 1st Battalion Scots Guards and served in Dungannon in 1994, Belfast in 1996 and on Operation TELIC 5 in Iraq in 2004/2005.
Lance Sergeant Walker was also employed as an instructor at ITC Catterick where he excelled in passing on his abundance of experience and wealth of knowledge to the recruits he was training.
Lance Sergeant Walker was the absolute epitome of a first class Scots Guardsman who always led his men from the front. He will be remembered for his passion for fishing, football and for Celtic Football Club. He will be missed for his sense of fun, his unselfishness and his unshakable loyalty to his friends.
Lance Sergeant Walker never thought of himself first’ he was a loving son and brother to all his fellow Scots Guardsmen. He was and always will be forever a Scots Guardsman. The thoughts of every one of his colleagues are with his family and, in particular, his wife Teresa and their family.
Lance Sergeant Walker was a man with a great deal of promise. He was fit, strong, smart, enthusiastic and professional in his approach. Indeed, he was everything a professional soldier should aspire to be. Right Flank are enormously privileged to have known Lance Sergeant Walker. He was a great comrade, a brilliant soldier with a very bright future and a great friend to so many.
Lance Sergeant Walker’s tragic loss has been felt very deeply by those in the Scots Guards who he leaves behind - particularly his platoon and those whom he had served with in the Left Flank. He has left a huge hole in the company that will be hard to fill.
Lance Sergeant Walker lived with his family in the Strathclyde area of Glasgow.
Lance Sergeant Walker’s family paid the following tribute:
We are devastated by the loss of David, who was a terrific husband and father. We are proud of the fact that David was prepared to do his duty helping the people of Afghanistan ; he will be sadly missed by his wife Teresa and by all family and friends.
Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln Jopp MC, Commanding Officer 1st Battalion Scots Guards, said:
I have known Lance Sergeant Davey Walker ever since he joined the Battalion. In fact, he is so much a part of the Regimental family that it’s hard to remember a time when he wasn’t around. He was older than the average Lance Sergeant having been out of the Army for a time, but prided himself on always keeping several steps ahead of the younger Guardsman, always on hand to give a bit of fatherly advice and guidance, usually with that glint he had in his eye.
My overwhelming memory of Lance Sergeant Walker was that he was, quite simply, as tough as old boots. I have been with him on operations in Northern Ireland and Iraq and, even as a young Guardsman, he was one of those people you need for the toughest times. Unflinching, steady as a rock and just as hard. He was just what the world would expect when they hear the phrase, ‘a Sergeant in the Scots Guards’.
“He died during a crucial operation as part of Op MOSHTARAK leading his men in their task of air assault, flying and landing beyond the IEDs in order to extend the reach of the Government forces. Knowing Davey, he’d have seen his mission as being mostly about leading the men of Right Flank as they put themselves in harm’s way. A numb pride in his sacrifice is the only relief from the pain of his death.
Right Flank will continue, as they always do, to hold and to enhance the Scots Guards’ reputation as they continue with their mission. The whole Battalion mourns the loss of Lance Sergeant Walker and offers our sincerest and deepest condolences particularly to Teresa and to all of Davey’s family. Lance Sergeant Davey Walker will never be forgotten.
We honour our fallen.
Major Iain Lindsay-German, Company Commander Right Flank, Scots Guards, said:
The Company has lost one of its brightest stars. Lance Sergeant Walker was one of the most inspiring men I have ever met. Universally loved and highly respected by everyone who knew him. He was a true and natural leader of men, the sort of person everyone wanted to be around.
“Lance Sergeant Walker had a natural love for life and had an amazing ability to generate and raise morale. Even in the harshest of conditions you would hear him sing well known songs using his own distinctive lyrics, mocking the arduous conditions and tasks which the Company faced.
Lance Sergeant Walker was always at the centre of Company banter, both giving it and taking it with ease and always with a smile on his face. Extraordinarily brave, already on the tour he had placed the lives of others before his own, most notably saving the life of his seriously wounded Platoon Commander.
My heart and the hearts of every man in Right Flank, goes out to his wife and children whom will feel his loss the most. Dearly loved, tragically lost, he will never be forgotten.
Warrant Officer Class 2 Andrew Johnstone, Company Sergeant Major, Right Flank Scots Guards, said:
Describing a ‘mucker’ like Davey is near impossible but the word dependable sticks out. He had a ‘can’t get me down’ mentality. More than just a leader Davey was a listener for his Guardsmen and always gave his commanders a warm fuzzy feeling when tasked.
In the Sergeant’s Mess Davey was a great character with his ‘work hard play hard’ attitude. Fishing was a big part of his life, when he went with his rod and his six-pack he went to chill.
A big family man, he would support you through thick and thin. He always had a fantastic packed lunch for his Sergeant in Waiting. Davey you are the most dependable Lance Sergeant in Right Flank, what a loss. My heart goes to your family. Forever ‘blue-red-blue’. Rest in Peace mucker.
Lance Corporal Paul Anderson, Right Flank Scots Guards, said:
There are many hard days and times in the life and career of a soldier, none harder than to lose a friend or colleague. Harder yet is the reflection and reminiscence of the times spent with someone you’ve known and respected for a long time and the realisation that everything is suddenly now in the past tense, with no more present or future.
I first met Davey when he first rejoined the Regiment after a somewhat lengthy career sabbatical, when it had suddenly dawned on him that civilian life wasn’t blue-red-blue enough. I had not long joined the Battalion myself when he came back into Left Flank.
The impression Davey made was instantaneous, within the company he was known as a forthright ambitious guardsman with an impeccable turn out, as any Scots Guardsman should be. Davey had a roguish sense of humour which seldom saw him far from the front of any wind ups or foolery; this was one of his strongest character traits. His ability to somehow instantly read people’s characters was matched by his speedy witty rebuttals whenever some one tried to put him down, never happy to give up the last word.
We attended the same JNCO Cadre in Mar 2003 at HDPRCC, both of us equally the oldest guys on the course, having just turned 30, Davey dutifully and deservedly picked up the only distinction on the course. As I recall it was a testament to his ambition, if not his ability. This only made his will to succeed stronger which he promptly did.
To Teresa, the kids, his dog Shamrock and his extended family and friends I send my heartfelt condolences and sorrow for the loss of Davey. I know the pain that we are feeling within the company will never be able to match theirs.
To Davey it was a privilege to work and serve with you. See you in the re-org.
Sergeant Kirkwood, Right Flank Scots Guards, said:
Those who new Davey Walker new him as a great soldier and a consummate professional; just ask the guys in 10A multiple or the young guys over the years who have asked and received advice from him, usually at the expense of an hour’s micky taking. He took all tasks and jobs with no questions, no moans or snipes.
He was the epitome of a great section commander, leading from the front when Lieutenant Murly-Gotto was shot and he risked being shot himself helping him. When I took over as acting Platoon Commander, Davey was the first person I would go to for advice. He is a legend and will forever be in the memory of the Scots Guards. Davey we will drink to you at the end of the tour, so long mate. Kirky.
Lance Corporal William Botes, Right Flank Scots Guards, said:
I first met Davey in 2002, I was the crow and he never let me forget it. There is nothing I can say that will do justice to the kind of man he was. All our thoughts are with him and his family. I will never forget you. Rest in Peace.
Lance Corporal Michael Little, Right Flank Scots Guards, said:
Davey Walker was the best soldier I have ever seen. As a young Section Commander I watched and learned everything he did, and looked up to him. You would always hear him before you saw him; we loved him as a mate and miss him. My heart goes out to Teresa and the kids who he loved very much and always spoke of. If you ever needed a role model it was definitely Davey.
Guardsman Michael Carrick, Right Flank Scots Guards, said:
I commenced training in September 2005 and on arrival at ITC I was met by Davey. He was a Section Commander in 2 Platoon. I was lucky enough to be part of that Section with 11 other ‘Jock Guards’. It was Davey’s first section which he always spoke of as the mighty 2 section of the ‘Jock Guards’. Master Jedi was his name out of combats and he never let you forget it. I am going to miss you mate. Rest in peace Master Jedi.
Guardsman Gavin Dickson, Right Flank Scots Guards, said:
Davey was a great man, a Commander and a soldier without a fault, always pushing others to do the best they could and with a smile on their face, even if he had to put it there. He always kept morale high with banter no one could match, telling stories of his exploits in the past or sharing stories of his wife’s angelic cooking. I have no doubt that Davey will be sitting in heaven now, he was accepted by every one, kind to all and loved by so many.
The world is sadder for his taking but we are richer for having known him. He loved his wife and children deeply and always talked of them. I will miss him.
Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said:
The death of Lance Sergeant Davey Walker came as very sad news to me. Highly respected in equal measure by his men, his fellow NCOs and officers, Lance Sergeant Walker was clearly a first class Scots Guardsman; a man of great character and skill. My deepest condolences are with his family and friends at this time.