John Barker. Died 24 July 1917
John was born in Wokingham in about 1894 to Thomas Appleby Barker and Elizabeth Caroline, the second eldest of 5 brothers and 1 sister. The family lived at The Brickyard, Toutley where Thomas worked as a foreman. Alfred, the eldest brother was a tile maker and at 17 John was a brick maker and machine man.
He joined the Royal Berkshire Regiment 4th Battalion and transferred to the Royal Garrison Artillery, 161st Siege battery where he was a Gunner.
The role of the Siege Battery. Siege Batteries RGA were equipped with heavy howitzers, sending large calibre high explosive shells in high trajectory, plunging fire. The usual armaments were 6 inch, 8 inch and 9.2 inch howitzers, although some had huge railway- or road-mounted 12 inch howitzers. As British artillery tactics developed, the Siege Batteries were most often employed in destroying or neutralising the enemy artillery, as well as putting destructive fire down on strongpoints, dumps, store, roads and railways behind enemy lines. He died during the battle of Passchendaele on 24th July 1917 (or Messines, the battle that preceded this). He is buried in Croonaert Chapel Cemetery.
http://www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=10201&mode=1
