ABLE SEAMAN WILLIAM (BILL) JOHN BARKER 2126 RAN
Bill Barker was born in West Ham England in October 1896, the child of George and Alice Barker. The family, at this stage consisting of George, Alice and four boys, emigrated to Australia in 1909, moving to Devonport in Tasmania. In 1911 a fourth child a girl would be born, however in 1912, Alice would lose twins shortly after their birth in April. Six months later Bill would enlist in the RAN in September as a Boy Seaman on HMAS Tingira.
In June 1913 he was advanced to Boy 1st Class and he was posted to the Battle Cruiser HMAS Australia in October 1913, and was rated Ordinary Seaman 2ndClass the following month on his 17th Birthday. Just before the outbreak of the Great War, Bill transferred to the Light Cruiser HMAS Melbourne which would become his home for the next four years. He was advanced to Ordinary Seaman in October 1914 and rated as an Able Seaman in July 1915. He would serve on Melbourne in the New Guinea Campaign, in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean and in the North Sea. His elder brother George Henry Barker served in the 12th Battalion AIF, landing on Gallipoli on the 25th of April 1915. George was wounded in the left leg on Gallipoli on the 5th of May and after treatment in the UK repatriated to Australia where he became a military instructor.
Bill managed to keep out of trouble until March 1918 when he received 15 days in Detention, losing his Good Conduct Badge for six months. In December 1918 he posted off Melbourne for repatriation to Australia and after a period at HMAS Cerberus he drafted to HMAS Suva in July 1919. The Suva was a special service vessel commissioned purely to transport Admiral of the Fleet Jellicoe on an inspection tour of Australian and New Zealand Ports. Embarking on Suva with Jellicoe were a large contingent of staff officers, so high standards were set for the crew. Bill must have run foul of the law as his character was downgraded from Very Good to Fair, he lost his Good Conduct Badge again, and he was posted to the Light Cruiser HMAS Encounter, and then to HMAS Sydney for the last ten months of his naval career. He discharged to shore in October 1921.
Bill initially returned home to Devonport, but later moved to Hobart where he married Veronica Webster in 1927. He worked as a publican and as a victualler in Hobart. By 1939 his marriage had clearly broken down as he sued his wife for the return of furniture and medals.
William John Barker passed away in New Town Tasmania on the 31st of May 1974. He was cremated and his ashes were interred in a niche at Cornelian Bay Cemetery in Hobart, Derwent Gardens, Niche Wall 13, Number 18, Row G.
