Service Details
- Branch of Service
- Air Force
- Conflict
- World War II (1939-1945)
- Date of Enlistment
- 09/12/1940
- Place of Enlistment
- Sydney NSW
Personal Details
- Gender
- Male
- Date of Birth
- 06/04/1921
- Place of Birth
- Surabaya, Java (Indonesia)
- Address (at enlistment)
- Canberra ACT
- Occupation
- Public servant
- Next of Kin
- Son of Harry Reginald Barker and Doris Eugenie Barker of Elwood, Victoria
- Burial Place
Heliopolis Military Cemetery, Egypt: Grave 6, N.3.
Unit and Rank Details
- Service Number
- 403148
- Final Rank
- Flight Lieutenant
- Final Unit
- 10 Torpedo Maintenance Unit
Fate
Died accidentally 7 August 1944, Middle East aged 23 years
Commemoration
AWM Roll of Honour Memorial Panel 118, Canberra ACT
Awards and Honours
Distinguished Flying Cross (Commonwealth of Australia Gazette: 14 October 1943, p.2267)
Notes
Barker came from Tatura, Victoria and worked with the Superannuation Board in Canberra for three years prior to enlisting in the RAAF in December 1940. He attended Canberra University College and played Australian Rules football.
On completion of training he was sent to the Middle East as a pilot. On one occasion his plane was shot down over the Mediterranean Sea and, despite his parachute failing to open, managed to survive the 1000 foot fall with only a dislocated arm. A report in The Canberra Times in January 1943 refers to a similar incident happening to 'Roy' Barker of the coast of Mersa Bregna. Barker baled out at 3000 feet and landed in the sea. He inflated a rubber dinghy and was rescued 30 minutes later, suffering only an injured arm.
Barker was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his "eagerness to engage the enemy and devotion to duty" when engaging enemy planes over Tripoli, Libya. He was killed in an accident when testing a Typhoon aircraft on 7 August 1944 and was buried in Heliopolis Military Cemetery, Egypt.
Description - height 5 feet 6.5 inches, weight 143 pounds, chest 32.5 inches, ruddy complexion, brown eyes, brown hair, Catholic.
Sources
WWII Nominal Roll http://www.ww2roll.gov.au
AWM Roll of Honour Database
AWM Roll of Honour Circular
AWM Honours & Awards
The Canberra Times - 25 April 1940, 4 January 1943, 15 October 1943, 16 October 1943, 16 August 1944