Born in Stepney, London, Walker was the son of William James Walker, a brewery worker, drayman at Watneys brewery, and wife (Limehouse, April/June 1925) Ellen Louisa née Page (Southwark, October/December 1903).
A former prize-fighter, Walker was a keen amateur boxer becoming British amateur heavyweight champion in 1951. He turned professional and fought 14 professional fights winning 11 with eight knockouts. He was pitted unsuccessfully against Welsh champion, Dennis Powell for the British light-heavyweight title relinquished by Randolph Turpin.[1]
Crimeedit
Walker then drifted into crime, working for East Endgangster, Billy Hill, and eventually being convicted for theft and serving two and a half years in Wormwood Scrubs.
Businessedit
On release he became the owner of a motor garage and manager for his brother, Billy Walker a professional heavyweight boxer. Walker launched London's first discothèque, Dolly's in Jermyn Street, and a chain of cafes, Billy's Baked Potato, with his brother.
In 1970 Walker completed a reverse takeover of Hackney & Hendon Greyhounds Ltd. This meant his private company bought a public company and the new merger resulted in a new company called Brent Walker, the property and leisure empire. The company developed the Brent Cross shopping centre (the UK's first stand-alone shopping centre) on the site of Hendon Greyhound Stadium, during 1972.[2][3] Walker sold his equity in Brent Cross in 1979 netting £3.7 million in profit. Hackney Wick Stadium remained under the control of Brent Walker until 1991 when the bank took control of it.[4]
Brent Walker had a turbulent career through the 1980s, being worth about 250 million pounds at its zenith but eventually collapsing in 1990 after taking over William Hill Bookmakers in a leveraged buy out. Walker was accused of fraud after an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office but was cleared of all charges after a lengthy trial in 1995. He was however made bankrupt and moved to Russia where he ran a series of businesses selling cigarettes and perfume and later opening a chain of betting shops.
Marriage and issueedit
Walker was married in 1957 to Jean Maureen Hatton (West Ham, January/March 1936) who he had known since he was 16 years old, daughter of George (Georgie) James Hatton (West Ham, January/March 1907 - ?), a professional gambler and garage owner in Plaistow, and wife (West Ham, July/September 1929) Lilian Elizabeth née Attreed (West Ham, January/March 1908 - ?). Walker had two daughters and a son. Sarah Georgina Walker, their eldest daughter, was married secondly from 1989 to 1996 to the Marquess of Milford Haven. The younger daughter, Romla, was an actress, including in EastEnders.[5][6][7]
^"EASTENDERS STAR SUES HER DAD FOR pounds 7m. - Free Online Library".
^"Obituaries: George Walker. Boxing champion turned business tycoon. Died: March 24, 2011". 26 March 2011.
Sourcesedit
Obituary: George Walker, Daily Telegraph, 25 March 2011
David McKittrick "George Walker: Amateur boxing champion who went into business and made millions building the Brent Cross shopping centre", The Independent, 26 March 2011
April 09, 2024
george, alfred, walker, other, people, named, george, walker, george, walker, disambiguation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged. For other people named George Walker see George Walker disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources George Alfred Walker news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message George Alfred Walker 14 April 1929 22 March 2011 was a British businessman and founder of Brent Walker Contents 1 Early life 2 Boxing 3 Crime 4 Business 5 Marriage and issue 6 References 7 SourcesEarly life editBorn in Stepney London Walker was the son of William James Walker a brewery worker drayman at Watneys brewery and wife Limehouse April June 1925 Ellen Louisa nee Page Southwark October December 1903 Walker attended the Jubilee School in Bedford leaving at 14 to work in an aircraft factory He later worked as a salesman and a porter in Billingsgate Fish Market and did his National Service in the Royal Air Force Boxing editA former prize fighter Walker was a keen amateur boxer becoming British amateur heavyweight champion in 1951 He turned professional and fought 14 professional fights winning 11 with eight knockouts He was pitted unsuccessfully against Welsh champion Dennis Powell for the British light heavyweight title relinquished by Randolph Turpin 1 Crime editWalker then drifted into crime working for East End gangster Billy Hill and eventually being convicted for theft and serving two and a half years in Wormwood Scrubs Business editOn release he became the owner of a motor garage and manager for his brother Billy Walker a professional heavyweight boxer Walker launched London s first discotheque Dolly s in Jermyn Street and a chain of cafes Billy s Baked Potato with his brother In 1970 Walker completed a reverse takeover of Hackney amp Hendon Greyhounds Ltd This meant his private company bought a public company and the new merger resulted in a new company called Brent Walker the property and leisure empire The company developed the Brent Cross shopping centre the UK s first stand alone shopping centre on the site of Hendon Greyhound Stadium during 1972 2 3 Walker sold his equity in Brent Cross in 1979 netting 3 7 million in profit Hackney Wick Stadium remained under the control of Brent Walker until 1991 when the bank took control of it 4 Brent Walker had a turbulent career through the 1980s being worth about 250 million pounds at its zenith but eventually collapsing in 1990 after taking over William Hill Bookmakers in a leveraged buy out Walker was accused of fraud after an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office but was cleared of all charges after a lengthy trial in 1995 He was however made bankrupt and moved to Russia where he ran a series of businesses selling cigarettes and perfume and later opening a chain of betting shops Marriage and issue editWalker was married in 1957 to Jean Maureen Hatton West Ham January March 1936 who he had known since he was 16 years old daughter of George Georgie James Hatton West Ham January March 1907 a professional gambler and garage owner in Plaistow and wife West Ham July September 1929 Lilian Elizabeth nee Attreed West Ham January March 1908 Walker had two daughters and a son Sarah Georgina Walker their eldest daughter was married secondly from 1989 to 1996 to the Marquess of Milford Haven The younger daughter Romla was an actress including in EastEnders 5 6 7 References edit The Times Sports in Brief 7 January 1953 Genders Roy 1981 The Encyclopedia of Greyhound Racing Pelham Books Ltd ISBN 07207 1106 1 Genders Roy 1990 NGRC book of Greyhound Racing Pelham Books Ltd ISBN 0 7207 1804 X Barnes Sellers Julia John 1992 Ladbrokes Greyhound Fact File Ringpress Books ISBN 0 948955 22 8 Brent faces legal threat Independent co uk 25 October 1994 EASTENDERS STAR SUES HER DAD FOR pounds 7m Free Online Library Obituaries George Walker Boxing champion turned business tycoon Died March 24 2011 26 March 2011 Sources editObituary George Walker Daily Telegraph 25 March 2011 David McKittrick George Walker Amateur boxing champion who went into business and made millions building the Brent Cross shopping centre The Independent 26 March 2011 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title George Alfred Walker amp oldid 1211012886, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
