# Samuel Walkey

Samuel Walkey (10 July 1871 – 29 March 1953) was an English bank inspector, who used his spare time when travelling to write, and became a prolific author of boy's adventure fiction. Walkey wrote at least sixteen novels and hundreds of magazine stories. He contributed stories to magazines for more than 40 years.

## Early life

Samuel Walkey was born on 10 July 1871 at Kilkhampton, Cornwall, England. He was the son of Joshua Walkey (27 October 1828 – 1884), a draper.
Walkey entered the Devon and Cornwall Bank as a clerk at 16. He was a hard worker and was soon promoted. The 1891 census found Walkey boarding with the White family at 26 Fore Street, in Torpoint, across the river from Plymouth.

## Adult life

Sometime in the 1890s he became a bank-inspector and had to travel all over the West Country. Walkey was already a bank-inspector when he married Kathleen Agnes White (27 March 1873 – 15 June 1949), the daughter of draper Seymore White, whom Walkey was boarding with in Torpoint for the 1881 census. The couple were married at St. James's Church in Torpoint on 6 September 1897.
The couple had three children:
* Joyce Morwenna (26 July 1898 – 3 February 1988), who was the executor of her father's will.
* Howarth Seymour (13 May 1900 – 20 August 1970), who pursued a Naval Career, passing the exam for the Osborne Naval College at age 14. and being appointed Rear Admiral in 1956.
* John Christopher (18 October 1903 – 6 October 1989), who joined the Royal Engineers, held various command positions, including Engineer-in-Chief at the War Office, before retiring with the rank of Major General in 1957.
Walkey was appointed branch manager of the Devon and Cornwall Bank in Penzance in 1901. The Devon and Cornwall Bank was acquired by Lloyds in 1906. In 1908 Walkey was promoted to be manager of the new Lloyds bank at Newton Abbot, and the 1911 census found him visiting his widowed mother at his brother-in-law's house in Manchester, still a bank manager with Lloyds. He was still at Newton Abbott as he was crediting to help resolve a dispute between Lloyds and the Urban District Council over highway encroachment by the bank.
Walkey left Newton Abbot in 1921. In 1924, a press notice about a will for which he was executor says that he is with Lloyds Bank at Salisbury, In the 1939 register Walkey records his profession as Staff Controller Lloyds Bank, retired.

## Writing

Lofts states that Walkey took up writing boy's stories to while away his evenings alone. Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, a fellow Cornishman, saw his writing and introduced him to Max Pemberton, until recently the editor of Chums in 1895. Adcock states that his wife encouraged him to start writing, but Walkey had his first serial in Chums two years before he got married.
Walkey wrote both boys' adventure fiction for a juvenile audience, and stirring romance fiction for an adult audience. However, by a huge measure, the bulk of his output was juvenile fiction. Adcock states that Walkey wrote two adult-oriented adventure novels for Cassell's, whereas Kemp and Mitchell state that Walkey published sixteen volumes of adventure fiction between 1897 and 1935.
In many cases Walkey published his stories as serials first, and then as novels. For example, in April 1901 Cassell and Co. were advertising that With Redskins on the Warpath was starting in Chums (calling it a splendid new serial). By October 1901 Cassell and Co were selling it as a book.

## Books

The following list of books is from the collated library catalogues on the Jisc Library Hub Discover site. No titles by Walker were available on Project Gutenberg on 12 May 2020. Only three of his books are available in online versions, as noted below.
Books by Walkey :
| No | Year | Title | Illustrator | Publisher | Pages |
| 2 | 1897 | In quest of Sheba's treasure : a perilous adventure by land and sea | G. Hutchinson | Frederick Warne, London | 320, 32 p., [5] plates plus 13 illustrations: ill., 20 cm. |
| 1 | 1897 | 'Rogues of the Fiery cross' | Paul Hardy | Cassell & Co, London | cm.18 |
| 3 | 1899 | For the sake of the Duchesse : a page from the life of the Vicomte de Championnet | | J.W. Arrowsmith, Bristol | 409, [4] p., 19 cm. |
| 4 | 1901 | At Britain's call : dramas of a memorable year | | Cassell & Co, London | 127 p., 22 cm. |
| 5 | 1901 | With Redskins on the Warpath | | Cassell & Co, London | vii, 280 pages, 8 fp plates, (8º) |
| 6 | 1904 | The Lovers of Lorraine: a romance | | Cassell & Co, London | viii. 328 pages, (8º) |
| 7 | 1906 | Kidnapped by pirates | Paul Hardy | Frederick Warne, London | ix, 299 pages, [5] leaves of plates : illustrations, 19 cm. |
| 8 | 1910 | Yo-ho! for the Spanish main : a story of adventure among pirates | Archibald Webb | Cassell & Co, London | 311 pages, 4 unnumbered leaves of col plates : illustrations, 22 cm |
| 9 | 1914 | Wolf-on-the-Trail: a tale of adventure among Redskins, etc. | C. Dudley Tennant | Cassell & Co, London | vi, 309 pages, (8º) |
| 10 | 1919 | In quest of a kingdom | | Cassell & Co, London | 318 pages, 4 plates : illustrations, 22 cm |
| 11 | 1920 | Hurrah! for Merry Sherwood, etc. | C. E. Brock | Cassell & Co, London | 312 pages, (8º) |
| 12 | 1921 | For Drake and Merrie England: a rousing story of the days of Good Queen Bess and the sea-dogs of old England | | Cassell & Co, London | 280 p., [4] leaves of plates : ill. (1 col.), 19 cm. |
| 13 | 1928 | The Pirates of El Dorado | | Aldine, London | (8º) |
| 14 | 1931 | The adventures of Jack-a-Lantern | Alfred Elmore, Charles Monnet, Charles Louis Müller | The Sheldon Press, London | vi, 314p., 5 plates : illus. (some col.), 19 cm. |
| 15 | 1935 | When the Vikings came | | Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd, London | |
| 16 | 1935 | The treasure of Pirates' Island | | SPCK, London | 287 pages, (8º) |
| 17 | 1936 | General Gordon, 1833-1885 | | A. Wheaton, Exeter | 52 pages : illustrations, frontispiece (portrait), 19 cm. |

### Example of illustrations for a Walkey book

Paul Hardy was frequently an illustrator for Walkey after he illustrated Rogues of the Fiery Cross. This was Walkey's second serial story, and the second novel he published. It appeared in Chums in the 1896 – 1897 volume and it was a huge success. It was illustrated by Hardy, as was almost all of Walkey's subsequent work in Chums. The story was almost immediately published as a book by Cassell & Co., London in 1897 with sixteen full-page illustrations (courtesy of the British Library, as shown below:
* I caught him by the collar
* One caught me roughly by the throat
* He drew a knife
* His sword came swinging down
* Turn over- he cried
* A ship lay in the lagoon
* The two hurtled up and down
* He wore a ceaseless grin
* They burst up the stairs
* He drew a pistol and pulled the trigger
* He flung his rapier round and round
* He stabbed the second man
* The Dutchman fought with desperate fury
* The heavy wood dropped backwards
* My fathers hands were tight upon his throat
* The ship came nearer and nearer

## Magazine stories

The following list shows Walkey's publications in Magazines from November 1907, some twelve years after his first known serial in 1895. Walkey averaged just under ten stories a year from 1908 to 1917, so a full list would probably list another one hundred stories. Most of the stories are juvenile fiction, but some of the stories are intended for an adult audience.
Stories by Walkey from November 1907 as listed in Steve Holland's British Juvenile Story Papers and Pocket Libraries Index :
| No | Year | Magazine | Title of Story | Type | Date (of 1st pt.) |
| 1 | 1907 | Chums | Trapped by the Enemy: A Story of the Indian Frontier | Short Story | 20 Nov 1907 |
| 2 | 1908 | Chums | Comrades in Peril | Serial Story | 08 Jan 1908 |
| 3 | 1908 | Chums | The Finnish Terror: A Complete Tale of Wild Peril in the Forest of Finland | Short Story | 17 Jun 1908 |
| 4 | 1908 | The Story-teller | The Shadow of the Guillotine | Novella | Jun 1908 |
| 5 | 1908 | Chums | The Ghost of the Haunted Abbey | Short Story | 08 Jul 1908 |
| 6 | 1908 | Chums | Chased by Wolves | Short Story | 12 Aug 1908 |
| 7 | 1909 | The Story-teller | When Terror Reigned | Short Story | Jan 1909 |
| 8 | 1909 | The New Magazine (UK) | A Mission of Shame | Short Story | Dec 1909 |
| 9 | 1910 | The New Magazine (UK) | The Executioner from Paris | Short Story | Feb 1910 |
| 10 | 1910 | The Story-teller | Sir Comely's Adventure | Short Story | Aug 1910 |
| 11 | 1911 | The Story-teller | Where Love Is Deathless | Short Story | Jan 1911 |
| 12 | 1911 | The Story-teller | The Day of Reckoning | Novelette | Feb 1911 |
| 13 | 1911 | The New Magazine (UK) | Sweet Rose of England | Short Story | Apr 1911 |
| 14 | 1911 | The New Magazine (UK) | Dan of the Irish Brigade | Short Story | Sep 1911 |
| 15 | 1911 | Chums | The Lion of Koom-Panda | Short Story | 25 Oct 1911 |
| 16 | 1911 | The New Magazine (UK) | The Enemy in the House | Short Story | Oct 1911 |
| 17 | 1911 | Chums | Hurrah! For Merry Sherwood | Serial Story | 08 Nov 1911 |
| 18 | 1912 | Cassell's Magazine of Fiction | The Land of His Fathers | Short Story | Apr 1912 |
| 19 | 1912 | Chums | Hugo the Terrible | Short Story | 18 May 1912 |
| 20 | 1912 | Chums | The Sea-Dogs of England | Short Story | 01 Jun 1912 |
| 21 | 1912 | Chums | The Mystery Men of the Reign of Terror | Short Story | 08 Jun 1912 |
| 22 | 1912 | Chums | On the War-Trail | Novelette | 08 Jun 1912 |
| 23 | 1912 | Cassell's Magazine of Fiction | All the World Loves a Lover | Novella | Jun 1912 |
| 24 | 1912 | The New Magazine (UK) | The Outcast | Novelette | Aug 1912 |
| 25 | 1912 | Chums | The Bloodhounds of Spain | Short Story | 14 Sep 1912 |
| 26 | 1912 | Chums | When the Redskins Were Out | Short Story | 19 Oct 1912 |
| 27 | 1912 | Chums | One of Nelson's Heroes | Short Story | 26 Oct 1912 |
| 28 | 1912 | Cassell's Magazine of Fiction | Thadee and Clon of the Irish Brigade | Short Story | Oct 1912 |
| 29 | 1913 | Chums | Crossbones Island | Serial Story | 04 Jan 1913 |
| 30 | 1913 | Cassell's Magazine of Fiction | The Last of Her Race | Short Story | May 1913 |
| 31 | 1913 | Chums | Marooned on Drowned Island | Short Story | 21 Jun 1913 |
| 32 | 1913 | The New Magazine (UK) | Blood Money | Short Story | Aug 1913 |
| 33 | 1913 | Chums | The Two Jack-a-Lanterns | Short Story | 13 Sep 1913 |
| 34 | 1913 | Chums | The Adventure of the Chateau Noir | Short Story | 20 Sep 1913 |
| 35 | 1913 | Chums | A Night of Peril | Short Story | 27 Sep 1913 |
| 36 | 1913 | Chums | The Fight in the Snow | Short Story | 04 Oct 1913 |
| 37 | 1913 | Chums | The Traitor Aristocrat | Short Story | 11 Oct 1913 |
| 38 | 1913 | Chums | An Adventure with Captain Barleycorn | Short Story | 18 Oct 1913 |
| 39 | 1913 | The Story-teller | The Great Adventure | Novella | Oct 1913 |
| 40 | 1913 | Chums | Exiles in Peril | Short Story | 13 Dec 1913 |
| 41 | 1913 | The Story-teller | The Prisoner of War | Short Story | Dec 1913 |
| 42 | 1914 | Chums | The War-Whoop of the Redskins | Serial Story | 21 Mar 1914 |
| 43 | 1914 | The Story-teller | The Firebrand of La Vendée | Short Story | Aug 1914 |
| 44 | 1914 | Chums | Captain Swing | Serial Story | 12 Sep 1914 |
| 45 | 1915 | Cassell's Magazine of Fiction | The Red Dawn | Short Story | Apr 1915 |
| 46 | 1915 | Chums | A Blow for Britain | Short Story | 1 May 1915 |
| 47 | 1915 | Chums | For Drake and Merrie England | Serial Story | 19 Jun 1915 |
| 48 | 1915 | Chums | The Spanish Pirate | Short Story | 28 Aug 1915 |
| 49 | 1915 | The New Magazine (UK) | The Honour of Benbow Brooke | Short Story | Aug 1915 |
| 50 | 1916 | Chums | In Quest of a Kingdom | Serial Story | 15 Jan 1916 |
| 51 | 1916 | The Story-teller | Where the Heart Leads | Novella | Jan 1916 |
| 52 | 1916 | The New Magazine (UK) | The Little Methodist | Short Story | Feb 1916 |
| 53 | 1916 | Chums | Rimington's Bungalow | Short Story | 29 Apr 1916 |
| 54 | 1916 | Chums | On the Trail of the Head-Hunters | Short Story | 6 May 1916 |
| 55 | 1916 | Chums | The Dwarfs of the Enchanted Mountains | Short Story | 13 May 1916 |
| 56 | 1916 | Chums | The Ape-Men of the Pool | Short Story | 20 May 1916 |
| 57 | 1916 | Chums | Hoist with His Own Petard | Short Story | 27 May 1916 |
| 58 | 1916 | Chums | A Great Adventure | Short Story | 03 Jun 1916 |
| 59 | 1916 | Chums | Under the Black Flag | Serial Story | 16 Sep 1916 |
| 60 | 1917 | Chums | The Fugitives | Short Story | 24 Feb 1917 |
| 61 | 1917 | The Story-teller | The House of Ghosts | Short Story | Feb 1917 |
| 62 | 1917 | The New Magazine (UK) | The Sword of Mahomet | Short Story | May 1917 |
| 63 | 1917 | Chums | The Secret of the Cordillera | Short Story | 16 Jun 1917 |
| 64 | 1917 | Chums | The Ravine of Death! | Short Story | 23 Jun 1917 |
| 65 | 1917 | Chums | The Giant Sloth | Short Story | 30 Jun 1917 |
| 66 | 1917 | Chums | Wild Riders of the Plains | Short Story | 07 Jul 1917 |
| 67 | 1917 | Chums | Trapped in a Lost City! | Short Story | 14 Jul 1917 |
| 68 | 1917 | Chums | The Temple of Mystery and Terror | Short Story | 21 Jul 1917 |
| 69 | 1917 | Chums | Spanish Reef | Short Story | 20 Oct 1917 |
| 70 | 1917 | Chums | Christmas Chivalry | Short Story | 08 Dec 1917 |
| 71 | 1918 | Chums | When the Guillotine Reigned | Serial Story | 12 Jan 1918 |
| 72 | 1918 | Chums | Dead Men Tell No Tales | Short Story | 27 Apr 1918 |
| 73 | 1918 | Chums | The Pirates of Skeleton Island | Serial Story | 20 Jul 1918 |
| 74 | 1918 | Chums | On the Trail of the Master-Spy | Short Story | 14 Sep 1918 |
| 75 | 1918 | Chums | The Chateau of Mystery | Short Story | 21 Sep 1918 |
| 76 | 1918 | Chums | Traitors and Wolves | Short Story | 28 Sep 1918 |
| 77 | 1918 | Chums | Forty Thieves | Short Story | 05 Oct 1918 |
| 78 | 1918 | Chums | The Death Knell! | Short Story | 12 Oct 1918 |
| 79 | 1918 | Chums | A Duel to the Death | Short Story | 19 Oct 1918 |
| 80 | 1918 | The New Magazine (UK) | In the Cloisters | Short Story | Oct 1918 |
| 81 | 1918 | The New Magazine (UK) | The Rat | Novella | Nov 1918 |
| 82 | 1919 | Chums | The Pearl Stealers | Short Story | 04 Jan 1919 |
| 83 | 1919 | Chums | On the Trail of the Sea Wolf | Short Story | 25 Jan 1919 |
| 84 | 1919 | Chums | King of the Outlaws | Serial Story | 08 Mar 1919 |
| 85 | 1919 | Chums | Phantom Jack | Serial Story | 31 May 1919 |
| 86 | 1920 | Chums | The Night Rovers | Serial Story | 24 Jan 1920 |
| 87 | 1920 | Chums | The Queen's Champion | Novelette | 15 May 1920 |
| 88 | 1920 | Chums | Sea Kings and Sea Wolves | Serial Story | 18 Sep 1920 |
| 89 | 1921 | Chums | Nearly Guillotined! | Short Story | 13 Aug 1921 |
| 90 | 1921 | Chums | The Adventures of Jack-a-Lantern | Serial Story | 17 Sep 1921 |
| 91 | 1921 | Cassell's Magazine of Fiction | Pendragon of Pendragon | Short Story | Nov 1921 |
| 92 | 1921 | The New Magazine (UK) | The Keys of Heaven | Short Story | Dec 1921 |
| 93 | 1922 | Chums | Redskins on the War-Trail | Short Story | 18 Mar 1922 |
| 94 | 1922 | Cassell's Magazine of Fiction | The Wolf | Novelette | Mar 1922 |
| 95 | 1922 | Chums | Dead Men's Cave | Short Story | 29 Apr 1922 |
| 96 | 1922 | Chums | The Pirates of Cathay | Short Story | 22 Jul 1922 |
| 97 | 1922 | The New Magazine (UK) | Wild Justice | Novelette | Jul 1922 |
| 98 | 1922 | Chums | When the Vikings Came | Serial Story | 16 Sep 1922 |
| 99 | 1922 | The Corner Magazine | Thirty Pieces of Silver | Short Story | Oct 1922 |
| 100 | 1923 | Chums | Island of Flames | Short Story | 13 Jan 1923 |
| 101 | 1923 | Chums | The Ghost Tower | Short Story | 19 May 1923 |
| 102 | 1923 | Chums | The White Shark | Short Story | 28 Jul 1923 |
| 103 | 1923 | Chums | Captives in El Dorado | Serial Story | 15 Sep 1923 |
| 104 | 1923 | Chums | The Night Riders | Short Story | 29 Dec 1923 |
| 105 | 1924 | Chums | Kidnapped and Marooned | Serial Story | 22 Mar 1924 |
| 106 | 1924 | Chums | Sea-Wolves of the Main | Short Story | 02 Aug 1924 |
| 107 | 1924 | Chums | The Sword of Tallifer Trueblade | Serial Story | 14 Sep 1924 |
| 108 | 1924 | Chums | The Robber Baron | Short Story | 28 Dec 1924 |
| 109 | 1925 | Chums | Flame-Beard's Treasure | Serial Story | 08 Mar 1925 |
| 110 | 1925 | Chums | The Bloodhound from Paris | Short Story | 07 Jun 1925 |
| 111 | 1925 | Chums | Dungeon and Rack | Short Story | 06 Sep 1925 |
| 112 | 1926 | Chums | Powder-Monkey Jack | Serial Story | 14 Feb 1926 |
| 113 | 1926 | Chums | Pirate Sink-or-Burn | Short Story | 12 Sep 1926 |
| 114 | 1927 | Chums | Marooned | Short Story | 30 Jan 1927 |
| 115 | 1927 | The Story-teller | The Secret Château | Short Story | Mar 1927 |
| 116 | 1927 | The New Magazine (UK) | The Angel of the Prison | Short Story | May 1927 |
| 117 | 1928 | Chums | The Return of “Jack-a-Lantern” | Short Story | 08 Mar 1928 |
| 118 | 1928 | Chums | The Night of the Swords | Short Story | 15 Mar 1928 |
| 119 | 1928 | Chums | The Lost Ones of the Lonely Chateau | Short Story | 22 Mar 1928 |
| 120 | 1928 | Chums | The Vengeance of the Blue Light | Short Story | 29 Mar 1928 |
| 121 | 1928 | Chums | The Executioner from Rouen | Short Story | 05 Apr 1928 |
| 122 | 1928 | Chums | The Outwitting of the Bloodhound | Short Story | 12 Apr 1928 |
| 123 | 1928 | Chums | The Secret Castle | Short Story | 19 Apr 1928 |
| 124 | 1928 | Chums | To Rescue the King | Short Story | 26 Apr 1928 |
| 125 | 1928 | Aldine Adventure Library | The Pirates of El Dorado | Novel | #16 1928 |
| 126 | 1929 | The Story-teller | The Raven | Short Story | Apr 1929 |
| 127 | 1929 | Cassell's Magazine | The Dancer and the Guillotine | Short Story | May 1929 |
| 128 | 1929 | The Story-teller | The Lonely Inn | Short Story | Oct 1929 |
| 129 | 1929 | Chums | Rogues of the “Roaring Glory” | Serial Story | 03 Dec 1929 |
| 130 | 1930 | The New Magazine (UK) | Red Dawn | Short Story | Apr 1930 |
| 131 | 1931 | Chums | Drake Goes West! | Serial Story | 27 Oct 1931 |
| 132 | 1934 | Chums | Nelson's Peril | Short Story | 19 Jul 1934 |
| 133 | 1935 | Chums | Near the Shadow of the Guillotine | Short Story | 19 Feb 1935 |
| 134 | 1935 | Chums | Bowmen of Sherwood | Short Story | 19 Apr 1935 |
| 135 | 1935 | Chums | Redskins on the War Trail! | Short Story | 19 Jun 1935 |
| 136 | 1935 | Chums | Marooned on Rover Island | Short Story | 19 Jul 1935 |
| 137 | 1936 | Chums Annual | Captain Crossbones’ Treasure | Short Story | 1937 Annual |
| 138 | 1936 | Chums Annual | The Decoy Ship | Short Story | 1938 Annual |
| 139 | 1936 | Chums Annual | In Quest of Black Solomon | Short Story | 1939 Annual |
| 140 | 1936 | Chums Annual | Red Falcon's Last Fight | Short Story | 1940 Annual |
| 141 | 1936 | Chums Annual | The Three Sea Wolves | Short Story | 1941 Annual |
| 142 | 1936 | Chums Annual | Three Skulls Island | Short Story | 1942 Annual |
| 143 | 1939 | Chums Annual | The Treasure of Pirates’ Island | Novella | 1943 Annual |

## Later life

Walkey's promotions at Lloyds had taken him from the West Country, but he returned there when he retired, settling at Westcliffe Road in Dawlish, Devonshire, England. Kathleen died first, on 15 June 1949. Walkey himself followed four years later, dying on 29 March 1953 in Teignmouth, Devonshire.

## Assessment

Turner states that Chums was chiefly remembered (when he was writing in 1948) for the pirate stories of Walkey and others. He notes that Walkey contributed his fast-moving tales of villainy for more than thirty years. Cullingford noted that writers like Walkey had a large and devoted following. The Cornishman noted that his stories were read with zest by the boys of England.
Thomas told how on a visit to a boarding school, he had asked the boys if they had ever heard of Walkey; A shout went up – "Rather!". Thomas said that his own reputation was increased merely because he could tell boys a little bit about Walkey. Perhaps Walkey is best assessed by his impact. Geoffrey Trease wrote that Walkey's Hurrah for Merry Sherwood! was his favourite story, and that it was therefore not surprising that the first boys' story he wrote was Bows against the Barons (1934). Trease's boyhood impression of the French Revolution were all gained from a Walkey story about the reign of terror. He re-read the story and concluded that Walkey wrote quite well. In a tongue-in-cheek review of Yo Ho! for the Spanish Main, Herbert advised boys not to buy the book as it would take away their appetite for cube root and the least common denominator and the pluperfect tense. He maintained that Mr. Walkey and his publisher were not sedate enough companions for the young not a sedate enough companion for the young.