THE KULTURKAMPF NEWSLETTERS
THE LEICESTERSHIRE CONNECTION : SAMUEL WALKER PRINTERS,
HINCKLEY
The printers, Samuel Walker of Hinckley,
Leicestershire, had strong links with the
Catholic
Church
and
proclaimed
themselves the leading Catholic printers in
the English language in 1939. They
maintained a London office at 23 Breams
Buildings,
London,
EC4.
Their
advertisement in the Ratcliffe College
Magazine, the Ratcliffian, of May 1939,
states: ‘The imprint that is known all over
the Catholic world. There is 36 years
experience
of
printing
for
Catholic
organizations in all parts of Great Britain
and abroad behind the imprint “Samuel
Walker, Printer, Hinckley”. It is a Catholic
Samuel Walker
imprint that is known and respected
(1877-1952)
among Catholics in all corners of the
globe.’ This advertisement appears also in Sept. 1938 (and with the
change to 38 years experience) in Jan. 1940, Jan. 1942 and May 1942.
Samuel Walker printers had commenced operations at 36 Castle Street,
Hinckley (1904 trade directory), but moved to 19 London Road, Hinckley
(1908 trade directory) and then to Station Road, Hinckley (1928, 1932,
1941 trade directories).
Dr. Peter Walker writes: ‘the company was
founded by my great grandfather, Samuel Walker,
in about 1900 when he was just 23 (he had been
a pupil at Hinckley Grammar School and had
worked as a journalist, I think, on the Hinckley
Times). I remember the office and factory on
Station Road, Hinckley. My great grandfather’s
brother, Fred, joined the Dominican Order and
became a priest. This presumably helped the
company forge links with the Dominicans and
other orders. A large proportion of the work they
did was for the Church, especially for missionary
orders, like the White Fathers, who are in Africa
and other far off places. My grandfather also
published the magazine the Catholic Fireside (now
defunct) but in more humble pre-Vatican II circles
it was quite popular; I believe that Flora
Thompson, of Lark Rise fame, used to contribute
to it. The full name of the company was Samuel
Walker’s, Printers and Publishers, Ltd – and the
reason I mention this is that it published many
Fr Luke Walker (Fred)
(1887-1936)
books over the years, mainly to do with the Catholic faith; as I remember,
pilgrimages, saints and shrines were the main subject. There was a fire at
the Station Road offices in about 1970, and my father, also Samuel, and
his cousin, Denis, who were then running the company, moved the
operation to a site on the edge of town. At its height the company probably
employed 40–50 people. My father retired in 1984 and the company folded
about 13 years later.’