BARKER, John Lindsay (#307)

For most of 1944 Barker was a member of the War Cabinet Plans team making preparations for the forthcoming invasion of Normandy, for which his expertise as an Army co-operation pilot was invaluable. Offered the chance at the end of his tour of duty in London to select his next appointment, he returned to operational flying.

Barker was given command of No 625 Squadron, flying Lancaster heavy bombers from RAF Kelstern in Lincolnshire; this was a remarkable position for a man who had previously flown only single-engine aircraft. Barker arrived on the squadron in November 1944 after completing a one-hour flight to familiarise himself with the Lancaster; but he immediately endeared himself to his men by insisting on flying on the next operation over Germany with a junior crew.

As squadron commander, he was expected to fly on operations occasionally; but that was not Barker’s way, and he attacked many heavily defended targets. A fellow pilot recalled that “he was incredibly brave, and always put himself on the most dangerous sorties”.

By the end of April 1945, a large pocket in western Holland was still occupied by the Germans, and the Dutch population was close to starvation. A truce was arranged, and the squadrons of Bomber Command mounted Operation Manna to drop food supplies. Barker, with his air officer commanding as co-pilot, led his squadron on the first drop on April 29. Shortly afterwards, he was awarded the DFC for “his keenness to operate and setting an inspiring example to all under his command”.

As the war in Europe drew to an end, Barker joined the staff of Tiger Force, the Bomber Command contingent earmarked for operations against the Japanese. He was immediately promoted group captain to command Shield Force; the advance party, with which he sailed for the Pacific, consisted of a force of 3,000 men.

On approaching the Admiralty Islands in the Empress of Australia, he received a signal from the Joint Chiefs of Staff in London ordering him to go immediately to Hong Kong. He thus commandeered a USAAF Dakota, and flew to the Philippines, where he boarded Anson.

When the Royal Navy task force arrived on August 29, Rear Admiral C H J Harcourt took the Japanese surrender of Hong Kong on Victoria Island, and sent Barker to the former RAF airfield at Kai Tak. There he took the surrender of the Japanese forces occupying Kowloon, hoisted the white ensign and set about restoring the runways.

On his return to England six months later, an administrative officer rebuked him for not hoisting the RAF ensign. Barker replied: “I am not in the habit of carrying one in my personal kit when on operations.” For his services in the Far East, he was appointed CBE.

The son of a doctor who had served at the Battle of Jutland, John Lindsay Barker was born at Hull on November 12 1910. He was educated at Trent College, Nottingham, and Brasenose College, Oxford, where he read Law and joined the University Air Squadron. After gaining his degree, he entered the RAF in February 1934.

On completing his advanced pilot training, Barker joined No 26 (Army Co-operation) Squadron flying Atlas and Audax bi-planes before converting to Lysanders. With war imminent, he was told to write the squadron’s mobilisation plan, and on September 2 1939 he found himself implementing it when he took his flight of aircraft to France, where he took photographs for the British Expeditionary Force. In January 1940 he returned to England to be chief instructor at the School of Army Co-operation at Old Sarum.

Barker returned to operational flying in August 1941 with No 241 Squadron, operating in the tactical reconnaissance and fighter-bomber roles with the Hurricane. The next year he was appointed the commanding officer as No 241 prepared to move to Algeria following the successful Operation Torch landings. Re-equipped with the Spitfire, he led his pilots on intensive operations against enemy tanks and convoys as the Allied army advanced towards Tunisia.

When General George Patton, the US Army commander, asked Barker to attack a target near the Kasserine Pass, Barker annoyed him by pointing out that it was too heavily defended for light fighter-bombers, and should be attacked by medium bombers flying above the heavy and accurate German flak.

The fiery Patton questioned Barker’s resolve when he refused to sacrifice his squadron on a fruitless mission; but Air Marshal Tedder’s swift intervention, endorsing Barker’s decision, defused an unpleasant incident. For his services in North Africa, Barker was mentioned in dispatches.

Returning from the Far East in February 1946, Barker embarked on a series of appointments that kept him overseas for most of the next 17 years. Appointed to the staff of Air HQ Levant in Jerusalem at the height of the conflict in Palestine, he was responsible for all personnel matters, and was heavily involved in preparing the withdrawal plans. He was again mentioned in dispatches.

Barker next assumed command of RAF Ismailia in the Suez Canal Zone in August 1950, a time when Anglo-Egyptian relations were tense. Egypt’s abrogation of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty in 1952 resulted in serious rioting in Ismailia, and Barker lost most of his large Egyptian civil labour force. Living conditions on the airfield deteriorated rapidly, though his boundless energy limited the effect until reinforcements were able to arrive from England.

After three difficult years in Egypt, Barker moved to the tranquillity of Rome as air attaché. His success in this appointment resulted in the Italian government appointing him a Cavaliere of the Italian Order of Merit.

In 1958 Barker was appointed to command the embryonic Royal Ceylon Air Force. When two senior Army officers attempted to stage a coup d’état, the Prime Minister, Mrs Bandaranaike, ordered Barker to arrest them, which he did, accompanied by his former ADC, Squadron Leader Samarasinghe.

A disciplinarian, though also an understanding man, Barker was a very popular commander who attracted the nickname “Bouncer” because of his energy. Mrs Bandaranaike was impressed by him, and invited him to extend his tour beyond the normal four years; but Barker decided to retire after spending almost five years in Ceylon, during which time he steered the Air Force into the jet age to become an effective force. For his services in Ceylon, he was appointed CB.

Barker worked in the City before retiring to Dartmouth, where he sailed his own boat. In his younger days he had represented the RAF at rugby and cricket, and played rugby for Oxford Greyhounds and Leicester Tigers; in later life he took up golf. He never forgot his formative years with No 26 Squadron, and was the squadron association’s president.

Until shortly before his sudden death on May 7, Barker was still able to unnerve his neighbours by driving down the narrowest of Devon lanes, just inches from craggy outcrops of rock, with a degree of speed and verve that was the envy of those many years younger. His clarity of memory and insight, coupled with a ready humour and wit, made him a most engaging personality.

John Barker’s first marriage was dissolved in 1942, and six years later he married Eleanor Richards; she died in 2001, and he is survived by their son.” (Obituary courtesy of the Daily Telegraph)