war hero

Description

William George Barker VC (1894-1930) Most decorated war hero in the history of Canada, British Empire, and the Commonwealth of Nations Awards: Victoria Cross, Distinguished Service Order (twice), Military Cross (three times), mentioned in Dispatches (three times), Medaglia D’Argento Al Valor Militare (Italy - twice), Croix De Guerre (France) Born in a log cabin in Manitoba, he entered the Great War as a simple soldier. He soon joined the Royal Flying Corps, first as observer, then as pilot. He rose in rank and fame, and became so skilled that during his last twelve months of combat not one pilot under his command or aeroplane under his escort was lost to the enemy. By war’s end he had downed fifty enemy aircraft. His fellow ace, William Avery Bishop VC, would call him, “THE DEADLIEST AIR FIGHTER WHO EVER LIVED†After he died in an aviation accident, his state funeral was the largest ever held in the history of Toronto. From the plague attached to his wife’s family crypt, where Barker is interned, Mount Pleasant Cemetery mausoleum. Mount Pleasant Cemetery is designated as a Canadian National Historic Site.

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Taken On

November 24, 2013

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mount pleasant cemetery toronto ontario canada