Born near Dauphin, Man., in 1894, Barker was a skilled shooter. His high school education was cut short by the First World War, when he joined the First Canadian Mounted Rifles and then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, where he was awarded such honours as the Military Cross and the Distinguished Service Order.
One of his most impressive feats came with 201 Squadron in France in October 1918. Seeing little combat during his 10 days there, Barker was flying a Sopwith Snipe back to England when he was swarmed by over 15 German fighters.
Despite stacked odds, he shot down three aircraft while sustaining several injuries and fainting multiple times from blood loss. Awarded the VC, Barker remained a pilot and businessman after the war. Barker died on March 12, 1930, when he lost control of a Fairchild KR-21 trainer while performing a demonstration in Ottawa for the Department of National Defence.
Advertisement
