Deep-sea-diver. He received notoriety as an English deep-sea-diver, who worked under twenty feet of water six days a week for six years to save Winchester Cathedral. After qualifying as a diver in 1892, he became an experienced diver, who had been working at Portsmouth dockyard. Having a great historical value, there has been a house of worship on this site for over 15 centuries. Originally, finished in the early 16th century, the old cathedral had been built on a very low plot of land below sea level in peat. The wear and tear from a waterlogged foundation had put the cathedral in danger of complete collapse. There were cracks in the wall wide enough for an owl to nest in them, and pieces of the wall were randomly falling. Doing the task in the muddy water with complete darkness, he placed bags of concrete in place to save the building. By 1911, he had used 5,000 bags of concrete, 115,000 concrete blocks, and 900,000 bricks to save the church. Each weekend he cycled one hundred and fifty miles to his home in Croydon and back. A special church service of thanksgiving was held on St Swithun’s Day in 1912, after which Walker was presented to George V and Queen Mary; the king gave him a silver bowl in appreciation. Later, he was made a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO). His eventful career as a diver also included a colliery rescue operation, assignments in building the Blackwall Tunnel and the construction of the naval docks in Gibraltar. He also assisted Sir Leonard Hill with his development of linear decompression tables. He died during the great Spanish flu epidemic of 1918.
Deep-sea-diver. He received notoriety as an English deep-sea-diver, who worked under twenty feet of water six days a week for six years to save Winchester Cathedral. After qualifying as a diver in 1892, he became an experienced diver, who had been working at Portsmouth dockyard. Having a great historical value, there has been a house of worship on this site for over 15 centuries. Originally, finished in the early 16th century, the old cathedral had been built on a very low plot of land below sea level in peat. The wear and tear from a waterlogged foundation had put the cathedral in danger of complete collapse. There were cracks in the wall wide enough for an owl to nest in them, and pieces of the wall were randomly falling. Doing the task in the muddy water with complete darkness, he placed bags of concrete in place to save the building. By 1911, he had used 5,000 bags of concrete, 115,000 concrete blocks, and 900,000 bricks to save the church. Each weekend he cycled one hundred and fifty miles to his home in Croydon and back. A special church service of thanksgiving was held on St Swithun’s Day in 1912, after which Walker was presented to George V and Queen Mary; the king gave him a silver bowl in appreciation. Later, he was made a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO). His eventful career as a diver also included a colliery rescue operation, assignments in building the Blackwall Tunnel and the construction of the naval docks in Gibraltar. He also assisted Sir Leonard Hill with his development of linear decompression tables. He died during the great Spanish flu epidemic of 1918.
Bio by: Linda Davis
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M.V.O.
The diver who with his own hands saved Winchester Cathedral.
In Memory "Our Dad" Beloved husband of Alice Ellen Walker
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