AN Arnside man who fought against poverty and injustice has died at the age of 88.

Former director general of Oxfam, Brian Walker was a man of strong beliefs and became known for his high-profile achievements.

Born on October 31 1930, in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, Mr Walker attended Heversham Grammar School before returning to South Lakeland in retirement and becoming chair of the governors and chair of the Dallam Trust.

Known for making a difference in the world, Mr Walker was a man with a certainty that beliefs were of no value unless you acted on them.

In Northern Ireland, where he was one of the founding members of the Alliance Party, he fought religious bigotry and needless violence.

At Oxfam he was instrumental in establishing the first global seed bank for food crops, and for acting to break the political and humanitarian isolation of Cambodia after the fall of Pol Pot. Mr Walker was also president of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and Earthwatch.

At IIED he wrote the Brundtland report that inaugurated the sustainability movement.

In 1995 Mr Walker accepted an honorary Master’s degree from Oxford University.

In his memoirs, Mr Walker recalled 1952 as a pivotal year in his life.

He wrote: “It was a cold, dark November evening when I plucked up the courage to ask Nancy if I could marry her.

“She said ‘yes’ without hesitation, and we have been a very happy husband and wife ever since. It was the single most important decision of my life: I was, and remain, the proudest man on the planet.”

They married on April 4 1954 in the Quaker Friends Meeting House, in Kendal.

Sadly, Nancy died on Christmas Day in 2018.

All his life, Mr Walker had a passion for gardening and walking, and that meant that he would always return to the Lake District.

Moving from Oxford and settling back in Arnside with his wife, they had views which looked directly across the Kent estuary to Heversham Head, a famous scene of a victorious school fell run.

It was a view that delighted him and his wife every day of their lives.

And with a fascination for local history, Mr Walker managed to trace his family routes, who were based in the Lakes, back to 1582.

Mr Walker died peacefully at home on Sunday, September 8, and his funeral took place on Saturday, September 5, at Yealand Quaker Meeting House.

He is survived by his children Peter, Clare, Dorcas, Gráinne, Siobhan and Sarah.