Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthSeptember 12, 1894
Place of BirthMelita, Manitoba
CountryCanada
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinMrs Mary Barker, mother, 852 Mason Street, Victoria, BC
Trade / CallingLogger
ReligionMethodist
Service Details
Regimental Number476585
Service Record Link to Service Record
Battalion2nd Brigade
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Field Artillery
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Address at Enlistment852 Mason Street, Victoria, BC
Date of EnlistmentNovember 11, 1915
Age at Enlistment21
Theatre of ServiceEurope
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathJuly 12, 1979
Age at Death85
Buried AtPinecrest Cemetery, Ottawa, Ontario

Barker, Frederick Charles

Frederick Charles Barker was born on 12 September 1894 in Melita, Manitoba. His father Frederick (Fred Sr) Joseph Barker was from Shoreditch, London, England and had immigrated to Canada in 1873 with his parents who settled in the Faraday/Dungannon area in Ontario. His mother Mary Lydia Allcock was born in Faraday to recent English immigrants. Fred Sr and Lydia married on 20 January 1885 in Faraday. They first farmed in the area, giving birth to children Bertha Lydia (1886), Frank (1887), Henry Herbert (Harry) (1888), and Joseph Stephen (1890). By the time of the birth of Fred the family was living in Melita, Manitoba and by 1897 had relocated to Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora) in northwestern Ontario. Lydia’s parents and some of her siblings had previously moved to Rat Portage. While in Rat Portage Fred Sr found work as a teamster. Children born in Rat Portage were Amy Maud (1897), Albert Wesley (1899), Hazel Olive (1900), Lenora Elsie (1901), Inza Kenora (1905), and Ernest Chester (1907). The family next moved to Regina, Saskatchewan where daughter Regina Bernice (Bessie) was born (1912) and then on to Victoria, British Columbia a short time later.

Fred was the first of the Barkers to enlist, signing his attestation papers on 11 November 1915 in Esquimalt, BC. His father Fred and brother Frank enlisted the next day while brother Joseph enlisted on the 17th, the three going overseas with the 88th Battalion (Victoria Fusiliers). At the time of his enlistment Fred was living at home with his parents and working as a logger. He gave his mother Lydia as next of kin and previous military service as 3 years with the 5th Regiment Canadian Garrison Artillery and three years with the 95th Regiment.

As a Gunner with the 2nd Reinforcing Draft, Canadian Garrison Artillery, Fred arrived in England on 27 December 1915 aboard the Missanabie. He was taken on strength with the 3rd Reserve Battery, Canadian Field Artillery. On 22 February 1916 Fred was admitted to Moore Barracks Hospital at Shorncliffe with what was listed as deformity of both great toes (ingrown nails requiring excision). He was transferred to the Canadian Convalescent Hospital Monks Horton, discharged on 15 April. That September Fred was struck off strength to the 1st Divisional Ammunition Company in France, arriving on the 29th. In October he was posted to the 7th Battery 2nd Canadian Field Artillery Brigade, taken on strength on the 3rd. In December Fred spent time at the No 14 General Hospital in Wimereux (severe fever of unknown origin) and then the No 25 General Hospital Hardelot (scabies). He was discharged to Base Details Boulogne on 30 December. Into the spring of 1917 Fred continued to have outbreaks of scabies and fevers, admitted to various field ambulances, hospital trains, and casualty clearing stations. In late November he was granted a leave, returning on 7 December. On 29 December 1917 Fred was awarded a Good Conduct Badge. On 30 November 1918 he was granted a fourteen day leave to the UK, returning on 27 December. In mid March of 1919 Fred was appointed Acting Bombarder, returning to England a few days later. He embarked for Canada from Southampton aboard the Olympic on 15 April and was discharged from service on the 23rd at Montreal.

After the war Fred returned to Victoria where he married Mary Ann Leckie on 11 August 1920. Born on 14 August 1899 in Belfast, Ireland, Mary Ann was the daughter of George and Alice (née McCleave) Leckie. By 1901 the family had relocated to England and Mary Ann, along with her mother and siblings, immigrated to Canada in September of 1908 to join her father George. At the time of Fred and Mary Ann’s marriage Fred was working as an auto driver and Mary Ann as a ladies tailor. The 1921 census found the couple, along with Mary Ann’s father George, living in the Mission Polling Division, Fraser Valley, where Fred was driving truck. In 1922 they gave birth to son George Francis (Bud). They were eventually to make Port Angeles, Washington, USA their home where Fred worked at various jobs, latterly as a mill worker at a fibreboard production company. According to his obituary Fred served during WW2, details unknown. It appears that after retirement Fred and Mary Ann moved to Ottawa.

Fred died on 12 July 1979 at the National Defence Medical Centre in Ottawa. He was predeceased by his wife Mary Ann in 1973, his parents Mary Lydia (1935) and Fred Sr (1944) and siblings siblings Bertha (bef 1891), Amy (1898), Ernest (1907), Albert (1909), Joseph Stephen (1951), and Frank (1963). At the time of his death he was survived by his son Bud and wife Mildred, three grandchildren, and siblings Hazel (William) Edwards, Lenora (Thomas) Appleby, Inza (Harold) Nuttall, and Bessie (Basil) Kendall, all of Victoria. Fred and Mary Ann are interred in Pinecrest Cemetery in Ottawa.

By Judy Stockham

Photo of Fred and his brothers: courtesy of great niece Kris Fernando
Grave marker photo: provided by Darrell on findagrave.com

Barker brothers Barker-Frederick-Charles-4


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