Samuel Walkey (10 July 187129 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 18281884), 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 187315 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 18983 February 1988), who was the executor of her father's will. Howarth Seymour (13 May 190020 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 19036 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.John was evacuated from the Empire Windrush just before she sank in 1954.
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 Notes 2 1897 In quest of Sheba's treasure : a perilous adventure by land and sea G. Hutchinson Frederick Warne, London 320, 32 p., plates plus 13 illustrations: ill., 20 cm. Available on-line at the British Library 1 1897 'Rogues of the Fiery cross' Paul Hardy Cassell & Co, London cm.18 Available on-line at the British Library. This book was part of the standard stock of Boots Circulating Libraries in 1903. 3 1899 For the sake of the Duchesse : a page from the life of the Vicomte de Championnet J.W. Arrowsmith, Bristol 409, p., 19 cm. Adult Fiction. Three versions of this book are available online at the HathiTrust, and one of these versions is also available at the Internet Archive . This book was part of the standard stock of Boots Circulating Libraries in 1903. 4 1901 At Britain's call : dramas of a memorable year Cassell & Co, London 127 p., 22 cm. Cassells Sixpenny Editions 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) Adult Fiction 7 1906 Kidnapped by pirates Paul Hardy Frederick Warne, London ix, 299 pages, 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 Cassell's empire library for boys and girls 11 1920 Hurrah! for Merry Sherwood, etc. C. E. Brock Cassell & Co, London 312 pages, (8º) Cassell's empire library for boys and girls 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., leaves of plates : ill. (1 col.), 19 cm. 13 1928 The Pirates of El Dorado Aldine, London (8º) Aldine Adventure Library. no. 16. 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. The work of famous painters was used to illustrate the book, rather than having an illustrator in the usual way. 15 1935 When the Vikings came Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd, London Publisher identity from Abe Books, as not in Jisc catalogue. 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. Makers of history no. 15
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 18961897 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:
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.