1. Wilfrid Denis Walker was a Rhodesian politician who was a cabinet minister in Rhodesia from 1974 to 1979.
17 Facts About Denis Walker
1. 2.
Denis Walker returned to the United Kingdom in 1982 following conflict with the government of Robert Mugabe and expectation that he would be arrested.
3.
Denis Walker was known for his monarchist activities, anti-communism and was company secretary, director and treasurer of the International Monarchist League and its UK subsidiary, the Constitutional Monarchy Association.
4.
Denis Walker went on to become a Methodist missionary in southern Africa, including time in the townships of Johannesburg.
5.
Denis Walker left the mission service and later settled in Bulawayo, Rhodesia, acquiring Rhodesian citizenship after the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965.
6.
Denis Walker was re-elected in the 1977 and 1979 elections.
7.
Denis Walker served as Minister of Education from 1977 in Ian Smith's government and held office under Abel Muzorewa.
8.
Denis Walker was to have been arrested on 10 December 1981, together with the MP for Bulawayo South, but had already left the country.
9.
When he returned in January 1982, he briefly re-attended Parliament before learning that the Mugabe government had stationed police around the building to arrest him on sight, Denis Walker fled the country and returned to Britain.
10.
On 10 February 1982, Denis Walker delivered a letter to Margaret Thatcher at 10 Downing Street highlighting the political situation in Zimbabwe.
11.
On 29 September 1986, Denis Walker was the guest-of-honour at a Conservative Monday Club Foreign Affairs Committee Dinner at Bailey's Hotel, Gloucester Road, South Kensington, chaired by Richard Stallabrass, who had previously served in Rhodesia.
12.
Denis Walker subsequently joined the club and joined the Executive Council as membership secretary in 1990.
13.
Denis Walker was a trustee of the Zimbabwe-Rhodesia Relief Fund, a charity that describes itself as assisting "Zimbabwe Rhodesians throughout the world".
14.
Denis Walker was introduced as an Ordinary Member onto the Grand Council of the International Monarchist League on 14 March 1990 by Gregory Lauder-Frost.
15.
Denis Walker administered the International Monarchist League, the Monday Club, and other business activities from an office at Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, and resided in the town until his death in January 2024.
16.
Denis Walker was married to Jill Denis Walker and had one son, Trevor Wilfrid.
17.
Denis Walker died on 8 January 2024, at the age of 90.