Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A rare Great War D.S.C. group of six awarded to Squadron Leader E. R. Barker, Royal Air Force, late Royal Naval Air Service, who was decorated for his part in a daring Handley Page 0/100 bomber raid against Zeebrugge in July 1917 - subsequently posted missing, believed drowned, he turned up in an internment camp in Holland

Distinguished Service Cross, G.V.R., hallmarks for London 1914, the reverse privately engraved, ‘E. R. Barker, Zeebrugge, 15-16 July 1917’; British War and Victory Medals (Capt. E. R. Barker, R.A.F.); France and Germany Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, nearly extremely fine (6) £2500-3000

D.S.C. London Gazette 11 August 1917:

‘In recognition of his services on the occasion of an air raid on Solway Works at Zeebrugge on the night of 15-16 July 1917 when bombs were dropped on the objective with good results.’

Edward Robert Barker, who was born in April 1898, joined the Royal Naval Air Service as a Temporary Flight Sub. Lieutenant direct from Shrewsbury School in July 1916.

His preliminary pilot training complete, he was posted to Manston in November 1916 where, among fellow pilots, was Charles Bartlett, whose wartime diary was later published under the title Bomber Pilot 1916-18, in which Barker receives due mention:

‘4 March 1917: The first Handley Page arrived from Manston at 3.30 p.m., piloted by our C.O., Spenser Grey, with St. John, Barker, Polly and a gun-layer as passengers. Weight three and a half tons empty, powered by two 250 h.p. Rolls Eagle VI engines. Armament three Lewis guns and 14 x 112lb. bombs. Speed 75 knots. Later models are to be fitted with 300 h.p. Sunbeams.’

‘15 March 1917: Feeling very rotten so cut breakfast and stayed in bed, lunching only on milk. Weather improving so took up N5222 for 55 minutes with Barker as passenger. Did some verticals, several steep spirals and steep stalls, so much so that poor Barker felt quite ill in the back seat. He would sit backwards and watch the tail most of the time, which he said vibrated like mad on steep turns and quite put the wind up him!’

And Bartlett shortly had occasion to experience combat conditions in a newly arrived “Bloody Paralyser”, for in the following month he joined No. 7 Squadron, No. 5 (R.N.A.S.) Wing at Dunkirk, where he would remain actively employed until November 1917. Going operational on the last day of May, with Petty Officer Dixon and Air Mechanic 1st Class Carter as his gun-layers, he attacked Ostend, where he noted the ‘searchlights were very active but could not hold me and the A.A. fire was very wild’.

And over the coming weeks and months, as confirmed by squadron records, he flew similar missions against the St. Denis Westrem Aerodrome (3 June - ‘One direct hit at least was made on one of the hangars’); Ghistelles Aerodrome (3 July - ‘Got caught by two very powerful searchlights and was shelled heavily by A.A. fire, which was very accurate’); a return visit to St. Denis Westrem (6 July - ‘Caught by searchlights when over objective but soon got out of them’); Ostend (11 July - ‘Searchlights at Ostend were very numerous and held the machine for several minutes’); his D.S.C.-winning exploits against the Solway Works at Zeebrugge (15 July - ‘Several hits were observed on the Mole and a fire was started which lasted three to four minutes’); the Brugeoise Works at Bruges (29 July); a return visit to Ghistelles Aerodrome (10 August); Bruges Docks (19 August); a return visit to the Brugeoise Works at Bruges (20 August); a return visit to Zeebrugge (22 August); Thourout Railway Junction (17 August), and another trip to St. Denis Westrem Aerodrome (26 August).

Advanced to Acting Flight Commander in February 1918, Barker next joined No. 214 Squadron and was posted missing, believed drowned, in another attack on Zeebrugge on 11 April 1918 - in fact his aircraft H.P. 0/100 3119 had crashed soon after take-off and he and his crew, Lieutenants H. H. Hudson and D. C. Kimmond. were interned in Holland.

Transferred to the Unemployed List in the rank of Captain in July 1919, Barker was recalled on the renewal of hostilities in September 1939, when he was appointed a Flying Officer. Advanced to Squadron Leader in March 1942, he was demobilised in October 1945, having recently participated in the North-West Europe operations - his single entitlement to the France and Germany Star being indicative of a short period of employment in that theatre of war.