Luther Walker - Teacher at Somercotes Junior School 1913-1950
by Judith Fitzhugh on
Wednesday 30 January 2019
Born in Pinxton, Nottinghamshire in 1885 Luther Walker came from a coal mining family. He was the second child and the oldest son of Edwin and Ellen Walker. During their marriage his parents had 16 children born with 11 surviving. When Luther was growing up the family lived in Pinxton where his father was employed as a Hewer in a local colliery. In 1901 Luther was aged 15 and employed as a Pupil Teacher in a Board School. He married Annie E. Smith in 1921 in Chesterfield.
Luther Walker taught for the majority of his teaching career at Somercotes Junior School which totalled thirty-seven years. When he began his teaching in the village, he taught only boys in a separate part of the school to where the girls were taught by female teachers. He was always very good at teaching sport and coached many of the school’s football teams with considerable success. During the course of his long career boys and girls were eventually taught together in classes and he was a popular teacher. In later life he lived in South Normanton and South Wingfield. He worked for three headmasters of Somercotes Junior School, Mr. Hicking, Mr. Bloxham and Mr Schofield finally retiring in 1950. His long service to the children of Somercotes was described as consisting if “inspired and devoted teaching”. After he retired Luther Walker served as a Parish and District Councillor. He died in 1966 at the age of 81.
In the photograph Luther Walker is the teacher on the right and Frederick Charlton is on the left.