The club is saddened to learn of the passing of former player, Phil Walker.
Phil Walker
29 August 1954 – 8 July 2022
Phil joined Gillingham on loan in November 1982 and played twice for the club that month. The midfielder’s first appearance came in a 1-1 home draw against Doncaster Rovers, with Bruce Beckett’s Evening Post match report including, ‘Walker, on a month’s loan from Charlton, had a quiet début, but it would be unfair to expect too much, too soon.’ He then came on as a substitute for Neil Grewcock, 13 minutes from time, in Wigan’s 2-0 victory at Priestfield a fortnight later.
Walker joined Millwall from non-league Epsom & Ewell in 1975, along with his team-mate Trevor Lee (who became our record buy when we paid the Lions £90,000 for his services in January 1981), the duo signing live on the Today programme on ITV. Phil left Millwall in 1979, moving to Charlton for £120,000, and he remained at The Valley until 1983. He subsequently had a brief spell with Hong Kong club Eastern AA, before stints in Portugal with Leixões, Boavista and Maia.
After retiring from playing at the age of 41, Walker, who was the uncle of Southampton defender Kyle Walker-Peters, spent a short time as coach at Maia and later returned to England and set up a soccer school in Wandsworth, south London.