Born at Sheerness, the son of James Samuel Walker of the Royal Naval Dockyard there. After his father’s death in 1865 he entered the Dockyard as an engineer apprentice and student. His subsequent career involved promotion to Chief Engineer on 2 April 1888, Staff Engineer on 2 April 1892 and Fleet Engineer on 2 April 1896. During this time he travelled extensively around the world . Following his retirement from the Navy in 1904 he moved to Oxford, where he became a constant visitor to the Hope Department.

Published a couple of notes on collecting and preserving Coleoptera in Zool., 1845 and 1858. Lived at Clifton, Bristol. 19 drawers of British and other insects, chiefly Coleoptera and Hymenoptera , collected by Walcot were given to Birmingham Museum (27.ix. 1912) by his granddaughter Miss A.H.Malcolm, who lived in Bath. They are now amalgamated into the general collection. FESL 1862-68. Gilbert (1977) lists an obituary by Edward Newman in Ent., 4, 1869, p.294, which I have not seen. (MD 12/04)

In a letter dated 7 November 1965, written when she was very elderly, to the RESL, Miss Wake-Wood states ‘I have been an entomologist for many years & have made big collections of Coleoptera etc’. She lived at that time in South Kensington (I am grateful to Eric Gowing-Scopes for this information). (MD 12/04)

Mainly a Lepidopterist but he also interested himself in Coleoptera and Diptera. Born in Newport on the Isle of Wight and became interested in entomology at an early age making the acquaintance of J. Lobb and H.G.Jeffrey who were to become life-long friends. Served in France during the 1914-1918 War with the Coldsteam Guards and on return lived at Tiptree in Essex where he worked as a printer. Later he moved to various parts of south London in the same trade. He was much involved with the SLENHS of which he was a Council member and President (1942).

This name appears on specimens in the collection of K.C.Lewis.. (MD 12/06)

Founder of the Swansea Field Naturalist’s Society in June 1906. His eldest daughter Elsie was Chief Mycologist at Kew for many years. Wakefield was an all-round naturalist but in his fifties turned principally to Coleoptera collecting mainly in Wales and particularly Breconshire on which he published a paper ‘Breconshire Coleoptera’ Proc. Swansea Fld nat Soc. (Information from John Bratton). His collection of some 10,000 specimens was donated by his daughters to Swansea Museum in 1951 (but not fully accessioned until 1985).

Mentioned by Stephens (1828) eg. pp. 175, 178, 179. At the time of his death he was living in Gateshead. An obituary in EMM., 19,1883, pp.211-12, suggests that he was mainly interested in Lepidoptera and these certainly formed the bulk of the 20 or so notes he published between 1832 and 1862. A collection of British insects was auctioned by Stevens on 14 May 1884 (Chalmers-Hunt (1976) p. 116) and his British Coleoptera are in the Mason collection at Bolton. FESL 1843, 1854-67. (MD 12/04)

These initials appear on specimens in the collection of Aberdeen University. (MD 12/04)

I have a note that Stevens auctioned a collection of exotic Coleoptera and Lepidoptera made by an H.V.Tebbs. It seems likely that this is Virtue-Tebbs who sold Minerals, Fossils, Birds, etc on 27 June 1900 although Chalmers-Hunt (1976) p.136 does not mention that insects were included in this sale. FESL 1853-56. (MD 12/04)

There are specimens bearing this name in the collection of K.C.Lewis. (MD 12/06)