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Peter Walker
CB, CBE
Peter Walker CB, CBE
	Peter Walker inspects cadets Saint Peter Port
Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey
	In office; 15 April 2011 – 6 September 2015
Premier	Lyndon Trott; Peter Harwood; Jonathan Le Tocq
Preceded by	Sir Fabian Malbon
Succeeded by	Sir Ian Corder
Personal details
Born	29 September 1949; Rowley Regis, Staffordshire
Died	6 September 2015 (aged 65)
Spouse	Lynda Walker
Alma mater	Durham University
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1968–2007
Rank	Air Marshal
Commands	Joint Warfare Centre; RAF Mount Pleasant; No. 111 Squadron RAF
Battles/wars	Iraq War
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath; Commander of the Order of the British Empire; Legion of Merit (United States)

Air Marshal Peter Brett Walker, CB, CBE (29 September 1949 – 6 September 2015) was a Royal Air Force officer who served as Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey from 2011 to 2015.

Early life

The son of a Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter pilot, Peter Brett Walker was born on 29 September 1949 in the Staffordshire village of Rowley Regis.^[1] He was initially educated at Pocklington School,^[2] before joining Durham University to read for a General Arts degree at Hatfield College.^[3] As a student he played rugby for the University 4th XV alongside Richard Paniguian, who would go on to a long career with British Petroleum and latterly the British government.^[4]

RAF career

Walker joined the Royal Air Force as a flight cadet in 1968 while at university and in 1971 entered the Royal Air Force College Cranwell.^[1]^[5] Selected for training as a fighter-pilot, his first posting was at No. 29 Squadron, based at RAF Coningsby.^[1] Here, piloting the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, he had regular encounters with Soviet aircraft approaching UK Air Defence.^[1] After three years of squadron service, Walker became an instructor on the Phantom operational conversion unit.^[1] This was followed by a posting to RAF Germany, where he was weapon's leader of No. 92 Squadron, one of two RAF squadrons responsible for the air policing of Western Germany.^[1]

In 1985 he went to RAF Leuchars, where he took command of No. 111 Squadron, also known as the "Tremblers", and flew numerous sorties over the North Sea.^[6] In 1993 he went to the Falkland Islands to command RAF Mount Pleasant.^[1] He became Director of Operational Capability in 1999,^[7] Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Operations) in 2001,^[7] and Assistant Chief of Staff (Policy & Requirements) at SHAPE in 2002.^[8] He went on to be Commander of the Joint Warfare Centre in Norway in 2005,^[9] and retired in 2007.^[5]

In retirement he became Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey, appointed on 15 April 2011.^[5] Walker died in that role on 6 September 2015.^[10]

Reputation

Walker was described as a 'charismatic fighter pilot' by one former colleague and also said to have a highly aggressive style of flying.^[6]^[1] He was also known for his ability to mete out discipline, one former flier describing a 'monumental hats-on bollocking in his office' that he and five others received.^[6]

Personal

Walker was married to Lynda: they had two sons and a daughter.^[5] Before moving to Guernsey the couple lived in North Devon, where they were mentioned in the diaries of socialist politician Tony Benn.^[6]

Death

Walker died of a heart attack following a function at the Beau Sejour centre in Guernsey. An air display due to take place was dedicated to his memory, and the Red Arrows made a special fly-past.^[6] His funeral was held in London on 22 September at St Clement Danes.^[11]