Mr. Vyell Edward Walker.
On the early morning of January 3rd one of the greatest cricketers this
world has produced passed peacefully away, after a brief illness, in his
sixty-ninth year.
Of all families associated with the national game, the Walkers of
Southgate are pre-eminently the most famous; all the seven brothers were
devoted to cricket, and six of them took very high honours at the game,
whilst of “V. E.” the universal opinion of those best qualified to judge
is, and long has been, that whilst W. G. Grace is the greatest cricketer
that ever lived, V. E. Walker was the greatest cricketer who preceded
him.
Mr. Walker was born on April 20th, 1837, at Southgate. His earliest
studies in the science of cricket were pursued on the common at
Stanmore, where he and his four elder brothers were at school before
proceeding to Harrow. 1850 found him building a big cricket reputation
at Harrow, and by the time he left school in 1854 he was recognised as
one of the most promising and prominent amateurs in the country, so that
it was only in the natural order of events that he should represent the
Gentlemen against the Players a year or two later. From his Harrow days
up to the year 1877, when he retired from the captaincy of the Middlesex
County eleven, his was one of the most conspicuously active figures in
the world of cricket during an epoch of over a quarter of a century.
Lillywhite’s for the year 1859 pronounces Mr. V. E. Walker to be
“undoubtedly the best all-round cricketer in the world,” and in 1860 we
find the same writer affirming: “To Mr. V. E. Walker we gave last season
the credit of being the best all-round cricketer in the world. We have
no reason now to alter our opinion, as the figures in the batting and
bowling departments will justify the statement.”
In “The Cricketers’ Guide for 1860” we find the following: “_Bell’s Life
in London_ considered this gentleman to be A1 last season altogether. It
said of him: ‘In coming to the most useful man in an eleven we should
not be far wrong in selecting Mr. V. E. Walker.’ As a slow bowler no one
(with his fielding) can touch him. A very dangerous bat, and anywhere in
the field he is sure to save a vast number of runs. Certainly England
cannot be well represented without him, and we doubt whether such an
omission will for some years be ever attempted.” It is interesting to
remember that at the time all this high praise was justly showered upon
V. E. Walker he was only twenty-one years of age. It was in 1859 that he
performed his great feat at the Oval, when he scored 20 and 108, and
secured the whole of the ten wickets in the first innings. When Mr.
Walker had taken nine wickets, and the last two men were together,
Julius Cæsar was missed off his bowling, but after this he got rid of
Martingell, and so accounted for the dismissal of the entire side,
whilst the not-out man had actually been missed off his bowling. There
must have been an exciting finish to this match, for we read that
“Surrey were all disposed of in the last innings for 39 runs! which
lasted over an hour and a half. 20 to 1 was repeatedly laid when England
was got out—half-past four on the Saturday—that the match was a drawn
one. The day was very dull, and therefore the light was bad, which,
coupled with Jackson’s _extra-pace_ bowling, will account for the small
innings. Mr. V. E. Walker’s performances in this match are
unprecedented. Upon two other occasions Mr. Walker took all ten wickets
in one innings—for Gentlemen of Middlesex against Gentlemen of Kent in
1864, and for Middlesex against Lancashire in 1865.”
Mr. Edward Rutter, who played regularly with him, says: “He was a most
formidable customer as a bowler, and he was the most athletic fellow
that I ever saw in the cricket field. I have seen him catch a man behind
the batsman’s wicket near short leg, which shows as well as anything
that I can think of what a lot of ground he covered. It did not matter
to him how hard the ball was driven back to him; if it was within reach,
he made a catch of it with either hand. His action was peculiar; it was
a sort of ‘half-cock’ action, for his hand, which was higher than the
hip when the ball was leaving it, was at some distance from the body. He
always bowled round the wicket, so that the ball came at a considerable
angle. But, in my opinion, the greatest reason for his success in
bowling was the way in which he fielded it; he was all over the place.
How he managed to get his spin I do not know, but he had enough of it.”
Another interesting reference to Mr. Walker’s method of bowling comes
from Canon McCormick, of St. James’s, Piccadilly: “I think that ‘V. E.’
was the best slow bowler I ever played, after old Clarke, who bowled as
a rule faster than ‘V. E.’ ‘V. E.’ and W. B. Money were perhaps nearer
each other in style than any other two bowlers of the time. I never
think that Money had full justice done to him. ‘V. E.’ was better than
he in both judgment and the way in which he fielded his own bowling;
they neither of them tossed the ball in the air as much as other
bowlers. ‘V. E.’s’ difficulty chiefly lay in his deceptive variation of
pace. He was a splendid judge of a batsman’s abilities, and very quickly
found out his weak spots. He did not concern himself with averages, his
one leading idea was to get a man out.”
V. E. Walker earned every distinction and honour which the world of
cricket could offer. Admittedly the greatest cricketer of the age, he
was asked to captain any team representative of England, the South of
England, or the Gentlemen, and indeed his marked ability as captain of a
side was one of his most valuable qualities.
Mr. C. E. Green says: “Teddy was a splendid captain at every point of
the game, and was always cheery under the most disheartening
circumstances. Even when you had tried for a catch and missed it,
feeling that you were a worm, you did not feel miserable for long, for
he would come up to you and say, ‘Well tried, old chap. No one else
would have got near the ball.’ The result was that you began to think
you had done something rather clever, and it would be a bad look-out for
any batsman who selected you for a catch after that.”
He was one of the founders of the Middlesex County Club in the early
sixties, and captained the team until he gave up first-class cricket in
1877. The history of Middlesex cricket is intimately associated with the
Walker family; they started the Club, and supported it not only by their
brilliant cricket gifts, but financially. In the early days of Middlesex
cricket their matches were played on the old Cattle Market ground at
Islington. When this site was handed over to the builders Middlesex
migrated to Lillie Bridge, but quickly moved on to the luxurious ground
of Prince’s Club, where Hans Place now stands. When this ground was
built over Middlesex accepted the invitation of the Marylebone Club to
make Lord’s their headquarters, and during the last few years it must
have been interesting to Mr. Walker, as President of the Middlesex Club,
to see a handsome income rolling in each year to the credit of the Club,
which he and his brothers had for so many years supported and financed.
In 1866 Middlesex were what would nowadays be styled Champion County,
winning six out of their eight matches and only losing one, when they
were beaten by Cambridgeshire.
It looks now as if the time is remote when Cambridgeshire will again
beat Middlesex. When a couple of years ago Middlesex were again Champion
County, Mr. Walker and his brother, the celebrated Mr. Russell D.
Walker, entertained the County team to signalise the event. In the
fifties and sixties the cricket played at Southgate was second to none
in the world. The Walker brothers were in every sense of the word hosts
in themselves, and by the addition of a few of their personal friends
they were able to get a Southgate team fit to beat all comers.
Here is a very interesting extract from the “Cricketers’ Guide” with
reference to the match of the United All England Eleven against John
Walker, Esq.’s, Sixteen at Southgate in 1859. “Grand preparations were
made in Mr. John’s usual liberal manner. The betting was spirited,
especially when it was known that the valuable services of Mr. C. D.
Marsham (which proved so effective in 1858) could not be obtained. The
ground was in first-rate condition, the usual labour and attention
having been paid to it. The splendid band of the 2nd Life Guards was in
attendance, and a very large assemblage made their appearance each day.
Vehicles from all parts lined the ground, and the Great Northern Railway
ran trains to the Colney Hatch station about a mile and a half from
Southgate. The eleven were most hospitably entertained by this
well-known supporter, who, it will be noticed, manages to get hold of
sufficient strength to always _win_. For the United, Carpenter scored 9
and 27, J. Caffyn 124 and 30, J. Grundy 56 and 1, Lockyer 20 and 37. For
Southgate, Mr. J. Chalkley 18, Mr. E. Dowson 21, Mr. V. E. Walker 88,
Mr. F. P. Miller 26, Mr. H. Perkins 60 and 4. Notwithstanding the
tremendous scores of the United men, they could not pull it
off—Southgate winning in the most plucky manner.”
What with Southgate and Middlesex, with several matches under the
auspices of the Surrey Club at the Oval, and occasional matches for the
Free Foresters and other clubs, Mr. Walker was able to fill up his
cricket season to the best possible advantage; but we shall always
regret that his cricket career had just terminated before the visit to
this country of the first Australian team in 1878, so that he never had
an opportunity of playing in an International match, although to his
wise judgment and that of his brother, I. D., was entrusted the
selection of the first team to represent England at the Oval in 1878.
V. E. Walker was always in office at Lord’s; in 1891 he filled the post
of President, and afterwards was one of the three trustees of the
Marylebone Club. He was Chairman of the Wood Green Bench of Magistrates,
and only a month or two ago he was the recipient of a presentation
walking-stick from members of the police force to commemorate the
services he had rendered to a constable in dealing with a violent
ruffian. V. E. Walker was a great philanthropist; he gave a public
recreation ground to Southgate, he spent thousands of pounds for public
improvements in his neighbourhood, and no one will ever know the extent
of his private charities.
In every circle in which he moved his death has created void which
cannot be filled.
“Our Van.”