The onset of the Great War in the autumn of 1914 had immediate and far-reaching consequences, both for the Royal Technical College and for its academic community. By the end of December, more than 1,000 members of staff, students and alumni had volunteered for the services. A further thousand enlisted during the following year, and by October 1920, the Royal Technical College’s Roll of Honour numbered no fewer than 3,225 officers, non-commissioned officers and men, including one nurse and 19 personnel on ‘Special Service’. A permanent memorial to the 615 students, staff and alumni who were known to have died or been killed on active service was subsequently erected in the foyer of the Royal College Building.

One of the survivors, Ronald William Walker (1893-1984), qualified for the Royal Technical College’s Associateship in Civil Engineering in 1913, shortly before the outbreak of war. Walker entered the theatre of war in France on 2 December 1917 as a Sapper with the Royal Engineers, rising to the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Royal Garrison Artillery. He subsequently served in, and survived, the Second World War as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Engineers.

On his return from France, Walker forged a successful career in the field of civil engineering, his College training allowing him to make a practical contribution to the country’s post-war recovery. An Associate Member of the Institute of Civil Engineers and a Member of the Institution of Structural Engineers, he worked both in Scotland and England, holding a variety of posts (Assistant Civil Engineer with the firm of Formans and McCall, Glasgow; Resident Engineer with Surrey County Council, and Civilian Engineer with the War Office in London, amongst others). Walker also retained strong links with his alma mater. He was elected a Member of the Council of the Royal College of Science and Technology (RCST) - the successor body to the Royal Technical College - in session 1963-64. Following the RCST’s amalgamation with the Scottish College of Commerce to form the University of Strathclyde, Walker became a Member of the University Court until 1967. By virtue of the fact that he had been a serving Member of the Council of the RCST when the Royal Charter came into effect, Walker was also appointed a Life Member of the General Convocation of the University of Strathclyde.

Archives reference OP/4/210/1: Photograph of Ronald W. Walker (ARTC), Second Lieutenant, Royal Garrison Artillery, c.1918