John Walker (officer of arms)

John Riddell Bromhead Walker, CVO, MC (1913—9 September 1984) was a soldier and long-serving English officer of arms at the College of Arms in London.

Following graduation from Royal Military College, Sandhurst,^[1] he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the British Indian Army on 4 March 1934.^[2] He was promoted to Lieutenant on 2 May 1935.^[3] He was promoted to Major on 1 July 1946.^[4] He retired on 31 December 1947 and was granted the rank of honorary Lieutenant-Colonel.^[5] In 1949, he was transferred to the reserve list of the York and Lancaster Regiment.^[6]

His heraldic career began on 15 October 1947 when he was appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary.^[7] He held this position until 1954 when he was promoted to the office of Lancaster Herald of Arms in Ordinary to replace Archibald George Blomefield Russell, who had been advanced to the position of Clarenceux King of Arms. In 1968, Walker was advanced to this same office on the death of Sir John Dunamace Heaton-Armstrong.^[8] Walker served as Clarenceux for ten years until his retirement in 1978. He died in 1984 and was buried in the Church of St Benet Paul's Wharf, which has been the religious home of the officers of arms since 1555.