Walker first commanded HMS Shikari, an S-class destroyer completed too late for the First World War. Shikari supported anti-submarine development and served as a target-direction ship during a varied interwar career, then became the last warship to leave Dunkirk on 4 June 1940. This general-purpose command let the Navy see where Walker's skills were strongest. He then moved through the Shoreham-class HMS Falmouth, the Bittern-class HMS Stork, and the modified Black Swan HMS Starling. The sequence presents his later escort-group success as the result of deliberate career management after the Navy identified an aptitude for anti-submarine warfare.
Chapter · 18:57-20:29
Shikari showed where Johnny Walker's skills lay
HMS Shikari gave the Royal Navy a general-purpose command in which to assess Frederic John 'Johnny' Walker before directing him through Falmouth and Stork to the modified Black Swan HMS Starling.