Alasdair Walker
{{Short description|British medical doctor and Royal Navy officer (1956–2019)}}
{{distinguish|Alisdair Walker (diplomat)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Alasdair Walker
|image= File:Surgeon Vice-Admiral Alasdair Walker.jpg
|image_size=
|alt=
|caption= Surgeon Admiral Walker in 2018 as a Surgeon Vice-Admiral
|nickname=
|birth_name=Alasdair James Walker
|birth_date= {{Birth date|1956|06|22|df=yes}}
|birth_place= Glasgow, Scotland
|death_date= {{Death date and age|2019|06|01|1956|06|22|df=yes}}
|death_place=
|allegiance= United Kingdom
|branch= Royal Navy
|serviceyears= 1978–2019
|servicenumber= C025111J
|rank= Surgeon Vice-Admiral
|unit=
|commands= Commando Forward Surgical Group 2
|battles= Falklands War
Iraq War
War in Afghanistan
|awards= Companion of the Order of the Bath
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
|relations=
|laterwork=
}}
Surgeon Vice-Admiral Alasdair James Walker, {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|CB|OBE|QHS|FRCS}} (22 June 1956 – 1 June 2019) was a British medical doctor and senior Royal Navy officer. He served as Surgeon-General of the British Armed Forces.
Early life and education
From 1965 to 1974, Walker was educated at the High School of Glasgow, then a grammar school in Glasgow, Scotland. From 1974 to 1979, he studied medicine at the University of Glasgow, and graduated with Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degrees.{{cite web|title=Alasdair Walker OBE QHS MB ChB FRCS(Glas & Eng) |url=https://uk.linkedin.com/in/alasdair-walker-obe-qhs-mb-chb-frcs-glas-eng-73185a18 |website=LinkedIn |accessdate=24 April 2016 }}{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
Military career
Walker deployed to the South Atlantic during the Falklands War in 1982 and led Commando Forward Surgical Group 2 during the Iraq War in 2003.{{cite web|url=https://rusi.org/sites/default/files/201506_stfc_serious_infectious_disease.pdf|title=Serious infectious diseases|publisher=RUSI|accessdate=3 April 2016|archive-date=16 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416084058/https://rusi.org/sites/default/files/201506_stfc_serious_infectious_disease.pdf|url-status=dead}}
Walker became Assistant Medical Director at the Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust in 2005, and after being deployed to Afghanistan, he was promoted to commodore and became Medical Director at Joint Medical Command in 2009.
Walker went on to be Director of Medical Policy and Operational Capability for the Surgeon General in 2011 and, promoted to rear admiral, he became Director Medical Policy and Operational Capability at the Ministry of Defence as well as Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff for Health in July 2014. He became Chief Medical Officer & Medical Director General (Navy) in December 2014. In December 2015, he was promoted to vice admiral and appointed Surgeon-General of the British Armed Forces.{{London Gazette|issue=61488|supp=y|page=1994| date=2 February 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/defence-medical-services|title=Defence Medical Services|publisher=Ministry of Defence|accessdate=3 April 2016|archive-date=21 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160421192448/https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/defence-medical-services|url-status=live}} He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2017 Birthday Honours.{{London Gazette|issue=61962|supp=y|page=B2|date=17 June 2017}}
Walker retired from the Royal Navy as a surgeon vice-admiral on 1 May 2019.{{London Gazette|issue=62662|supp=y|page=9893|date=4 June 2019}} He died on 1 June 2019, aged 62, having had brain cancer.{{cite web|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/announcements/deaths/deaths/17690169.Alasdair_James_Walker/|title=Alasdair James Walker|work=The Herald|location=Glasgow|accessdate=8 June 2018|archive-date=8 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608005529/https://www.heraldscotland.com/announcements/deaths/deaths/17690169.Alasdair_James_Walker/|url-status=live}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=Paul Evans}}
{{s-ttl|title=Surgeon General of the British Armed Forces|years=2015–2018}}
{{s-aft|after=Martin Bricknell}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Alasdair}}
Category:Royal Navy vice admirals
Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Category:People educated at the High School of Glasgow
Category:Alumni of the University of Glasgow
Category:Royal Navy personnel of the Falklands War
Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath
Category:Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
Category:Royal Navy Medical Service officers