Poignant Military Memories By Nick Thompson, Militaria Specialist at Richard W<strong>in</strong>terton Auctioneers ............................... Just when you th<strong>in</strong>k you have seen everyth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the world of military medals, this First World War archive landed on my desk. It’s the story of Sergeant Charles Barker and <strong>in</strong>cludes one of the most personal and poignant letters I’ve ever encountered. Hav<strong>in</strong>g entered the war <strong>in</strong> France serv<strong>in</strong>g with the East Yorkshire Regiment, this brave soldier had transferred to the 31st Battalion Mach<strong>in</strong>e Gun Corps – aka the ‘Suicide Squad’ – and had already earned the Military Medal. What happened next powerfully demonstrates both the horror of war and the comradeship between soldiers. In April 1918, while command<strong>in</strong>g the battalion to retreat at Merris near the Belgian border, a German sniper managed to get Sgt Barker <strong>in</strong> his sights and shot him <strong>in</strong> the head. Barker’s pal, a Sergeant H Kyte, was stand<strong>in</strong>g next to his friend and, realis<strong>in</strong>g he would not be able to save the dy<strong>in</strong>g man, made his f<strong>in</strong>al m<strong>in</strong>utes as comfortable as he could before he passed away <strong>in</strong> his arms. Barker, orig<strong>in</strong>ally from St Helens, Merseyside, was just 29. Kyte then pulled his friend’s body from the battlefield <strong>in</strong>to a nearby field, buried him <strong>in</strong> the mist of gunfire – and later drew a detailed map which he sent with a poignant letter back to Barker’s family so they could locate him. The letter, addressed to the family of Sergeant C. Barker, of mach<strong>in</strong>e gun corps, provides a tear-jerk<strong>in</strong>g account of the soldier’s last m<strong>in</strong>utes. Handwritten <strong>in</strong> June 1918 and then later typed up – we have both copies <strong>in</strong> this archive – the document details how Barker was chok<strong>in</strong>g for breath say<strong>in</strong>g ‘my wife’ before succumb<strong>in</strong>g to his wound. In the letter, Sgt Kyte says: “I will do all I can to gather <strong>in</strong>formation about your late brother. “Your brother died <strong>in</strong> my arms and <strong>in</strong> his last moments he managed to gasp out ‘my wife, brother’. “As far as I can make out from his plead<strong>in</strong>g look he wanted to be remembered to his wife, brother, brother or relatives. “Of course, I do not know if he has a wife or not [but] these were his words.” Kyte then goes on to discuss what happened to Barker <strong>in</strong> detail as well as provid<strong>in</strong>g a pencil-drawn map of his rest<strong>in</strong>g place. This proved <strong>in</strong>valuable too as authorities used it to f<strong>in</strong>d Barker’s body for re<strong>in</strong>ternment <strong>in</strong> Meteren Military Cemetery a few miles away. A letter from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is part of the archive. This is all just such a special piece of history and hold<strong>in</strong>g the orig<strong>in</strong>al map and letter more than a century later br<strong>in</strong>gs that history to life <strong>in</strong> an <strong>in</strong>credibly powerful way. It really gives you a sense of just how horrific the war was – that this man dragged his fallen comrade and buried him while gunshots were fly<strong>in</strong>g over their heads. Many, many casualty groups of medals have passed through my hands over the years yet none have had quite such a poignant effect than this group. The collection <strong>in</strong>cludes Barker’s Military Medal, 1914-15 Star Trio and Memorial Death Plaque <strong>in</strong> its orig<strong>in</strong>al brown card holder and there are several orig<strong>in</strong>al portrait postcard photos of Barker <strong>in</strong> uniform plus other framed family portraits. Barker’s brother served <strong>in</strong> the Royal Eng<strong>in</strong>eers and survived the war, although we don’t know what became of him s<strong>in</strong>ce. His 1914-15 Star Trio of medals, named to 7569 Sapper F Barker Royal Eng<strong>in</strong>eers, is <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> the archive. There are also lots of WW1 era shell cases, badges, collar dogs, pieces of shrapnel and other items <strong>in</strong> a 1914 Pr<strong>in</strong>cess Mary T<strong>in</strong>. It’s an exceptional family group with much scope for further research, estimated to fetch between £500 and £800 <strong>in</strong> Richard W<strong>in</strong>terton Auctioneers’ onl<strong>in</strong>e-only Antiques & Home Sale start<strong>in</strong>g 9.30am on Monday 14th December. To book an appo<strong>in</strong>tment for a free valuation of medals or militaria with Nick Thompson, email office@richardw<strong>in</strong>terton.co.uk or telephone 01543 251081. Nick can also be contacted directly for virtual estimates via medals@richardw<strong>in</strong>terton.co.uk. 14
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