Walter Russell Crocker was born on 25 March 1902, the eldest son of Robert Crocker and Alma Bray. In 1951 he married Claire Ward, with whom he had two sons. He was educated at the University of Adelaide, Balliol College, Oxford and Stanford University in the United States.

Crocker's diplomatic career began when he entered the Colonial Administrative Service (Nigeria) in 1930, he transferred to the League of Nations in 1934, and then to the International Labour Organisation. Crocker served in the Second World War, then joined the United Nations Secretariat as Chief of the Africa Section (1946-49) then became Professor of International Relations at the Australian National University (1949-52). Crocker was High Commissioner for Australia to India (1952-55); Ambassador of Australia to Indonesia (1955-57); High Commissioner to Canada (1957-58); High Commissioner for Australia to India and Ambassador to Nepal (1958-62); Ambassador of Australia to the Netherlands and Belgium (1962-65); Ambassador to Ethiopia and High Commissioner to Kenya and Uganda (1965-67); Ambassador to Italy (1967-70) and Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia (1973-82). Crocker retired in the 1970s and died in 2002.

Crocker's publications included "The Japanese Population Problem" (1931); "Nigeria" (1936); "On Governing Colonies" (1946); "Self-Government for the Colonies" (1949); "Can the United Nations Succeed?" (1951); "The Race Question as a factor in International Relations" (1955); "Nehru" (1965); "Australian Ambassador" (1971); "Memoirs" (1981) and "Sir Thomas Playford" (1983).