BARBER, George Walter
| Service Numbers: | Not yet discovered |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Colonel |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Stationary Hospital (AIF) |
| Born: | Lancashire, England, 20 November 1868 |
| Home Town: | Kalgoorlie, Kalgoorlie/Boulder, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Whitgift Grammar School, London |
| Occupation: | Doctor |
| Died: | Kalamunda, Western Australia, 24 July 1951, aged 82 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Crawley University of Western Australia Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 14 Dec 1914: | Involvement Major, 2nd Stationary Hospital (AIF), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '23' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Kyarra embarkation_ship_number: A55 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Dec 1914: | Embarked Major, 2nd Stationary Hospital (AIF), HMAT Kyarra, Fremantle | |
| 20 Feb 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Colonel | |
| 8 Apr 1918: | Promoted AIF WW1, Colonel, Promoted Deputy Director of Medical Services, Australian Corps |
Help us honour George Walter Barber's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Simon Doyle
Simon Doyle and Jenny Mills, 'Sailor, Soldier, Surgeon. The life of George W. Barber', Hesperian Press, 2020
Biography
Born in Lancashire, George Walter Barber initially went into the Merchant Navy before compromised eyesight meant he had to leave. Barber chose to pursue a career in medicine and, after immigration to Australia in 1895, he spent a number of years practicing in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. He was commission as a lieutenant in the West Australian (Volunteer) Medical Staff in 1900, before enlisting in the Australian Army Medical Corps, with a promotion to captain in 1905.
During World War One, Barber served with the 2nd Australian Stationary Hospital dealing with casualties from Gallipoli. As assistant director of the medical services with the 4th Australian Division, Barber served at Pozieres, Mouquet Farm, Bullecourt, Messines and Passchendaele, as well as making arrangements for the Hindenburg Line, Polygon Wood and Messines. He was mentioned in dispatches seven times from 1916 to 1919, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (1917), Companion of the Order of the Bath (1919) and the French Croix de Guerre (1919).
Barber continued to serve with the Australian Defence Forces until 1934, when he returned to civilian practice in Kalamunda.
For more information see William A. Land, 'Barber, George Walter (1868–1951)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/barber-george-walter-5123/text8567, published first in hardcopy 1979, accessed online 4 May 2016.
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