Barker VC: William Barker, Canada's Most Decorated War Hero

J.L. Granatstein, distinguished research professor emeritus of history
at York University, is the author of Who Killed Canadian History? and
co-author of The Canadian 100: The 100 Most Influential Canadians of the
20th Century and the Dictionary of Canadi

Billy Barker has scarcely been remembered in Canada, so powerful is the
long shadow cast by his contemporary and friend Billy Bishop. In fact,
though he achieved fewer kills than Bishop did, Barker was arguably the
more extraordinarily able pilot. Certainly his chestful of decorations
(Victoria Cross, Distinguished Service Order and bar, Military Cross and
two bars, plus French and Italian decorations) outshone Bishop’s own
remarkable gallantry awards. Then why has Barker been forgotten?

Wayne Ralph set out to answer that question. He traces Barker’s
emerging from humble origins, his wartime exploits, and their sad
postwar dénouement. Drink, marital difficulties, failure in business,
and an early death in an aircraft accident meant that Barker did not
have the opportunity, as Bishop did, to burnish his legend in print and
in World War II. All this was unfortunate, for Barker was a gallant
character, immensely skilled as a pilot and marksman. As much as any
man, Barker helped to create the reputation of Canadian pilots, and he
and Bishop deserve equal credit for their role in establishing the myth
that the true north produced airmen of especial competence.

Happily, Barker’s story is well told in good prose, and the
author’s diligence in ferreting out archival and printed sources
deserves great praise. This is a fine book that restores a Canadian hero
to the national pantheon.