Barker, George Charles
Private.
Regiment number: 7120
George served with the 1st Battalion (Western Ontario Regiment) in Belgium. He enlisted, and signed his attestation papers in September 1914 in Valcartier, Quebec when he was 19. He listed himself as a member of the Church of England.
George was born on January 12, 1896 in Brentwood, Essex, England to Henry and Mary Barker. She was noted as his next of kin, living at Crookston Park, Blair, Ontario, as he was unmarried. On enlistment, he worked as a Buffer and Polisher at the Galt Brass Works, and had served for a year in the 29th Waterloo Regiment.
There is some confusion about the details of his death, but he was listed as missing and presumed dead as of April 22, 1915 near Ypres (Vlamertinghe), Belgium. The Battalion had just arrived in Belgium when the Second Battle of Ypres began. The Germans attacked with the first large-scale use of chlorine gas. George is commemorated on page 4 of the First World War Book of Remembrance, as well as on the Menin Gate (Ypres) Memorial, Belgium (panel 10-26-28), and the Galt War Memorial in Cambridge, Ontario.
Copyright Status
Public domain: Copyright has expired according to Canadian law. No restrictions on use.
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Source Organization
Kitchener Public Library
Collection
Soldier Information Cards - World War One
Transcription
Barker, George Charles
Private.
He was employed by the Galt Brass Works, Ltd. Galt.