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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Bernard Higson Barber

In memory of:

Warrant Officer Bernard Higson Barber

December 31, 1942

Military Service


Service Number:

R/101359

Age:

22

Force:

Air Force

Unit:

Royal Canadian Air Force

Division:

409 Sqdn.

Additional Information


Son of Alfred Higson Barber and Frances Barber, of Vernon, British Columbia, Canada.

Commemorated on Page 56 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.

Burial Information


Cemetery:

SCOPWICK CHURCH BURIAL GROUND
Lincolnshire, United Kingdom

Grave Reference:

Row 4. Grave 27.

Location:

Digby aerodrome was built towards the end of the First World War and after the war it functioned as a permanent unit of the Royal Air Force. In 1937 it became a member of No 12 Fighter Group in which it remained until the end of the Second World War.

Digby was one of the original sectors of Fighter Command and in the early days of the Second World War was very active in the defence of northern England. No 42 (Fighter) Squadron Royal Canadian Air Force (known as the Red Indian Squadron from the emblem which it carried) was formed there in April 1942. On September 16, 1942, the sector was taken over by the RCAF and until the end of the war was known as Royal Canadian Air Force Station, Digby.

The 37 Canadian airmen buried at Scopwick lost their lives while stationed at Digby. They include an American airman who served with the RCAF, P/O J G Magee, and author of the poem 'High Flight'.

Scopwick Church Burial Ground contains 50 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War and five German war graves. The graves form a plot in the top half of the burial ground. The Cross of Sacrifice in the corner of the plot was unveiled by the Air Member, Canadian Joint Staff on June 1, 1950.

Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Digital Collection

Send us your images

  • Newspaper clipping– From a World War 2 issue of the Vancouver Province c.1942. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Photo of Bernard Higson Barber– Bernard Higson Barber (Pilot) is shown in this photo taken by his wartime RAF Navigator Luther Donald Procter at Coleby Grange Airfield in 1942. Bernard was killed in an accident between two Beaufighters which collided over Gainsborough, Lincolnshire in 1942. He is buried at Scopwick Cemetery, Lincolnshire and additional photos of his grave and the cemetery are being forwarded. Bernard stayed with the Procter family at their home in Dorchester, Dorset on leave in the summer of 1942.
  • Photo of BERNARD HIGSON BARBER– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Document– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Attestation paper– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Attestation paper– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Letter of recommendation– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Letter of recommendation– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Birth Certificate– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Document– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Document– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Temporary Grave Marker– The first marking of the grave of Bernard Higson Barber at Scopwick Cemetery, Lincolnshire. This was later replaced with the standard head stone of the Commonwealth Graves Commission. A photo of that headstone is also being supplied
  • Cemetery– This is the view from the entrance gate at Scopwick Cemetery, Lincolnshire
  • Cemetery– This is a general view of the Scopwick Cemetery, Lincolnshire
  • Scopwick Church Burial Ground
  • Grave Marker– Marker stone of W/O II B. H. Barber in Scopwick Church Burial Ground, Lincolnshire, England.  Personal inscription reads:  He died for his country that we might live.  Gone but never forgotten.  Mother, Dad and Joan.
  • Grave marker– This is the headstone marking the grave of Bernard Higson Barber at Scopwick Cemetery, Lincolnshire.

Learn more about the Canadian Virtual War Memorial

To learn more please visit our help page. If you have questions or comments regarding the information contained in this registry, email or call us. For inquiries regarding the names and information found in the RCMP Honour Roll, please email the RCMP.

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