A personal tribute to Tony Walker, HonFInstSCVE, who passed away on 6 August 2023, just a few weeks short of his 86th birthday.

That Tony became – and remained for a long time – a very significant figure in our British PA manufacturing industry, is definitely beyond dispute.

Anthony Edward Walker was born in 1937, and some years after the end of WW2, was accepted for a sound engineering apprenticeship at Electric and Musical Industries [EMI] based in Hayes, Middlesex, under the tutelage of one of their senior Engineers, Dr. Dutton. 

Tony recalled that he spent several days a week during his training at the company’s famous Abbey Road recording studios in London. [This was, of course, some time before the era of the Beatles].

He was subsequently employed by Pamphonic Reproducers, [part of the Pye of Cambridge Group], where he worked on the development of Line Source Column Loudspeakers. These became an industry standard throughout the world for numerous PA applications. One of the systems he designed was installed in the rebuilt Coventry Cathedral of 1962.

It was at this time that Tony became a Member of the ISCVE (formally the APAE).  He went on to became a Fellow in 1985 and an Honorary Fellow in 2018.

The middle of the sixties found Tony in partnership with others in a company called Sound Coverage Ltd, based in East Grinstead, Sussex. My first encounter with him was around 1966 or 1967, when I purchased a pair of that company’s line source speakers, which were required for an installation at a school in London.

However, anxious to be totally ‘his own boss’, Tony soon branched-out and set-up Millbank Electronics. Initially, it was run from his home in Hartfield, on the edge of Ashdown Forest in Sussex, and then from premises in Forest Row, just south of East Grinstead. At this time, most of the production was sub-contracted out.  I believe that on Saturday mornings, the staff members – there were only a handful – would be ‘volunteered’ [!] to go-in and help to pack the goods in readiness for despatch to customers. 

The company’s main product line consisted of amplifiers and sound mixers, which were aimed at the Public Address and Sound Reinforcement market. Much of the design and development was the work of David Boxall – who was destined to become Millbank’s Technical Director – and incorporated some novel features such as plug-in interchangeable input modules, locking DIN and  XLR-type connectors, optional sequential priority and advanced solid-state  design with full  circuit protection – all of which were ‘cutting-edge’ at that time on British-made equipment. To complement these, speakers were bought-in from Safidel, a French manufacturer, whilst microphones were sourced in the USA, from a company by the name of Turner.

A move to more spacious premises on the Bellbrook Estate in nearby Uckfield soon followed, and full-scale manufacture commenced, of what would evolve into a very comprehensive range of industry-leading equipment.

Complete rack-mounted systems, ‘oven-ready’ for installation on customers’ sites, were constructed, a dedicated department having been established for this purpose. Many special ‘one-offs’ were also produced, to cater for a multitude of non-standard applications required by customers.

Something I particularly remember, was the quality of Millbank’s literature, both technical and promotional publications. It was evident that considerable time and thought had gone into their design and content, much of which I believe was the work of Tony himself.

The company was, by now, supplying some very high-profile customers, including the Rank Organisation, which purchased a large amount of Millbank equipment for use in their many Dance Venues and Bingo Halls.

During the early and mid-seventies, I found myself working for several other Bingo Hall operators, including Granada, Ladbrokes and Mecca – as well as some smaller, privately-owned companies – for whom I carried-out many installations throughout the length and breadth of the UK, including Scotland and Wales. 

This came about because one of their requirements at the time was for special equipment to enable several sites to be linked-up to enable large ‘jackpot’ games to be played. This was achieved using dedicated telephone lines.  Full–duplex [open-line] working was an essential requisite. The technical complexities involved in achieving this were considerable, and thus required much experimentation and ‘tweaking’ in order to achieve coherent, reliable and consistent howl-back-free operation, at sufficient volume levels.

Millbank was at the forefront of this technology – due once again to David Boxall’s ingenuity – and it was because of a chance remark made by Tony Walker that I spent much time during the next few years working in this particular field.

I must here acknowledge the debt of gratitude which I have always owed to Tony for his encouragement and ‘pointing me in the direction’ of this specialised work.  I was ideally placed to do this, because of my familiarity with the basic principles and practices of telephony, [having started my career as a trainee technician with Post Office Telephones, forerunner of  today’s  British  Telecom], together with a good working knowledge of  installed sound systems.

By now, the Millbank Electronics Group – as it had become known – was burgeoning. Ever keen to expand into overseas markets, Tony Walker set-up sales operations for Europe and North America. Staff were trained to process the large amount of complicated export documentation required.

Over time, Millbank evolved into one of the principal and most highly-regarded UK manufacturers of PA, Sound Reinforcement and, ultimately, Voice Alarm equipment. 

In 1987, a huge fire at Kings Cross Railway Station in London claimed the lives of many people. Other major incidents, such as the Hillsborough Football Stadium disaster in 1989, eventually resulted in the introduction of mandatory regulations, requiring sophisticated Voice Alarm systems to be installed in all public venues. These have to comply with very strict specifications and must be able to broadcast fully intelligible warning and evacuation messages, as and when necessary, without fault or failure, ‘24/7’.

Being well-positioned to serve this emerging market, Millbank secured a number of significant contracts, including one worth around £6.5m, for the supply and installation of a mammoth system for London Underground stations, in the aftermath of the King’s Cross catastrophe.

This proved to be one of the last major projects started before Tony Walker relinquished control of the company and sold it on to an American consortium. He subsequently bemoaned the fact that it did not continue to prosper under its new ownership – due, he always claimed, to poor management.  

Tony had already established another venture, Scarecrow Bio-Acoustics Ltd., to specialise in the design and manufacture of bird-scaring and dispersal systems. This initially came about as a result of an enquiry from the Operations Manager at London Gatwick Airport.

At the time, they were using analogue recordings of bird-calls, played from tape machines and reproduced   through speakers mounted on their vehicles, to keep birds away from jet engines. They wanted to upgrade to digital recordings, which of course are more robust, flexible and reliable.

Possessing a life-long fear of birds, Tony rose to the challenge and instigated the development of what became dubbed the ‘Digiscare’, the first in a range of products specifically intended for this unique application.

These have been adopted by many airports world-wide. Further users include the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the Royal Air Force, Italian Air Force, the Eden Project, Hull Docks and the Sovereign Harbour at Eastbourne, amongst many others at home and overseas.

The equipment is state-of-the-art, software-controlled and was created by some of the industry’s leading engineers, in collaboration with prominent ornithologists.  As with all such apparatus, it has been subject to continuous development over time since its original inception.

Having grown the Scarecrow business into a successful company, Tony decided to step back after reaching the age of seventy-five. In 2012, he ‘handed-over the reins’ to Lee Pannett, who continues to direct operations to this day. Ownership of the company – now known as Scarecrow Group Ltd. – has, however, passed to a Netherlands-based organisation, Robin Radar. 

Tony spent the last few years quietly in a retirement home, well out of the limelight and away from the industry which had been such an integral part of his working life for so long. I continued to remain in touch and enjoyed meeting-up with him on a couple of occasions whilst holidaying on the south coast.

Someone who could justifiably be described as being definitely ‘larger than life’, Tony Walker was undeniably a ‘mover and a shaker’ – extremely far-sighted and a consummate achiever. He always possessed great drive, imagination, and very considerable commercial acumen throughout his extended and distinguished business career.

Without doubt, our industry has become impoverished by his passing, and I’m sure he will be much missed by all those who knew him – customers, employees past and present and industry colleagues – alike. 

Tony Clayden  MInstSCVE

August 2023