William George Barker
| Billy Barker | |
|---|---|
Official photograph of Lieutenant Colonel Billy Barker
|
|
| Born |
3 November 1894 Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada |
| Died | 12 March 1930 (aged 35) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Allegiance | Canada United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
Canadian Army (1914–16) Royal Flying Corps (1916–19) Royal Canadian Air Force (1922–30) |
| Years of service | 1914–1919 1922–1930 |
| Rank | Wing Commander |
| Unit |
No. 28 Squadron RAF No. 66 Squadron RAF No. 201 Squadron RAF |
| Commands held | No. 139 Squadron RAF |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
Victoria Cross Distinguished Service Order & Bar Military Cross & Two Bars Mentioned in Despatches (3) Croix de guerre (France) Silver Medal of Military Valor (2, Italy) |
| Other work | President Fairchild Aircraft of Canada Limited |
William George "Billy" Barker, VC, DSO & Bar, MC & Two Bars (3 November 1894 – 12 March 1930) was a Canadian First World War fighter ace and Victoria Cross recipient. He is the most decorated serviceman in the history of Canada.
Born on a family farm in Dauphin, Manitoba, "Will" Barker grew up on the frontier of the Great Plains, riding horses, shooting, and working as a youngster on his father's farm and sawmill. He was an exceptional shot, using a lever-action Winchester that he had modified with his own peep sight. He was particularly adept at shooting on the move, even while on horseback. One biographer has suggested that he could have been a trick shooter in a circus. He was physically poised, emotionally intense, with wide-ranging interests, and had an innate flair for the dramatic act. He was a very good student in school, but had frequent absences due to farm and sawmill life; he was the hunter providing food for the workers in the sawmill while still a young teenager, and missed classes because of this obligation.
Barker fell in love with aviation after watching pioneer aviators flying Curtiss and Wright Flyer aircraft at farm exhibitions between 1910 and 1914. He was a Boy Scout at Russell, Manitoba, and a member of the 32nd Light Horse, a Non-Permanent Active Militia unit based at Roblin, Manitoba. He was in Grade 11 at Dauphin Collegiate Institute in the fall of 1914, just before his enlistment.
In December 1914, soon after the outbreak of the First World War and the subsequent call to arms in the Dominion of Canada, Barker enlisted as No 106074 Trooper William G. Barker in the 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles. The regiment went to England in June 1915 and then to France on September 22 of that year. Barker was a Colt machine gunner with the regiment's machine gun section until late February or early March 1916, when he transferred as a probationary observer to 9 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps, flying in Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 aircraft.
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