Brigadier Roderick "Rory" Muir Bamford Walker OBE MC was a British SAS Commander, best known for his heroism during the Oman Uprising and the Indonesian Confrontation.
12 Facts About Roderick Walker
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Roderick Walker is well remembered as a skilled bagpipe player.
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Roderick Walker grew up at the family home on Green Lanes, Wylde Green and was educated at Cheltenham College and RMA Sandhurst.
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Roderick Walker was then sent in command of two groups to deal with the rebels.
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Roderick Walker was later awarded the Military Cross for his bravery.
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On 16 September 1963, an organised mob of several thousand demonstrators formed in the city of Djakarta, they sacked the Malaysian Embassy before marching on the British Embassy where Becke and Roderick Walker were on guard, they tore down the Union Jack and burnt the Ambassadors car, then threw stones and pieces of concrete through the fence breaking all the embassy windows.
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In what is a legendary act Roderick Walker strode up and down in front of the building, dodging the missiles and relentlessly playing his bagpipes despite pleas from the police and the leader of the demonstrators, eventually the mob broke up and the battle was won.
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Roderick Walker later went on to command 23 SAS a service involving him in training potential "stay-behind" parties in northwest Europe in the event of a Warsaw Pact attack.
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Roderick Walker was appointed OBE on conclusion of his command.
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Roderick Walker returned to intelligence work and after promotion to brigadier became a deputy commander of a military district in England, before being promoted to Security Chief for the Army North of the Border, during this time he was convinced that Soviet Union Spetznaz operatives had carried out detailed reconnaissance of targets in Scotland in the guise of long-distance drivers.
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Brigadier Roderick Walker died peacefully on 15 October 2008 at the age of 76 after a long illness.
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Roderick Walker's funeral took place at Dunning Parish Church on 26 October 2008.