Walkden Fisher (1913 - 1979; Birkdale, Southport, UK)
Walkden Fisher was born in Birkdale in 1913, the grandson of Alderman Thomas Fisher, a freeman of the borough and one of Southport's civic fathers. He was educated at King George V School and then studied at the Victoria School of Art, Southport, for five years. An early hobby of his art school days was making puppet theatres and, after building a theatre in his cellar, he and other students performed plays.

Walkden Fisher might be best known as as a cutaway artist in Eagle, as a modelmaker for the “Dan Dare” strip and as a contributor to Eagle: for instance, a 12-part series on "Running a Model Railway", to the Eagle annuals (Number 3) and the spin-off books (Trains, Modern Wonders and Hobbies).

Fisher was involved with the Bakehouse group of artists under Frank Hampson as a model maker, producing models of spaceships like the Anastasia and other items associated with Dan Dare, including a table-top model of Space Fleet Headquarters. When the studio moved south to Epsom, Fisher would often make the trip with his models.

Walkden Fisher also contributed a double-page feature on underground trains in Swift Annual 4 (1958).

But he was also a talented cartoonist, his distinctive signature in the shape of a fish instantly recognisable.

In his detailed biography on Bear Alley, Steve Holland notes Fisher began his artistic career illustrating books written by Ellison Hawks, a Hull-born journalist and photographer who had worked as advertising manager for Meccano Ltd. and then as a general editor for Amalgamated Press and editor of The Dog Owner. Hawks had been producing dozens of books on science, astronomy and aircraft since around 1910 and Fisher's association with him lasted for over a decade.

Fisher joined the R.A.F. as a draughtsman, spending two years in charge of the drawing office of 231 Group South-East Asia Command in Calcutta, where he also painted security posters for the USAF.

In addition to his work for Eagle, he also contributed freelance illustrations for many brochures and advertisements and is also remembered as a pioneer in slot car racing, who later became art editor of Model Car magazine and a technical editor of the American magazine Model Car and Track.

Walkden, who lived in Stockport where Eagle was first created, played a major role in the early success of the Automobile Road Racing Association slot car racing group, preceded by the Southport M&EC in which Fisher also played a role, which is still running today.

Walkden played a huge part in the building of the club's first main layout, which featured in an article he wrote and illustrated for Eagle Annual Volume 8 and also appeared in articles in Model Maker and Meccano Magazine.

"Walkden was a stickler for having everything look realistic and had as much scenery as he could fit in", recalls one former Automobile Road Racing Association member in a discussion thread on the International Slot Car Forum about the history of the Stockport-based club, which features many pictures of the layout and club members.

In the 1970s he was semi-retired and a one-man exhibition of his work was held at Southport's Atkinson Gallery in April 1973. A year later, Fisher was elected to be a life Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. In later years he also contributed cartoons to the Salvation Army magazine War Cry.

For many years Fisher, who was married and had a son, lived in Princes Street, Southport. He died in 1979, aged 66. Some of his artwork was subsequently published as fine art prints by a local firm, Hesketh Publishing.