Eric Thomas Barnard
Memorial: Bitton - St Mary's Church
Regiment: Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
Medals: 1939–45 Star, War Medal 1939–1945
Rank and number: Sub-lieutenant
Parents: Frederick and Ethel Barnard
Marital status: Married
Home address: Homerville, Barry Road, Oldland, Bristol
Pre-war occupation: Aeronautical Engineer
Date of birth: 25/07/1914
Place of birth: Bitton, Bristol
Date of death: 13/04/1945
Buried/Commemorated at: No known burial site but commemorated Lee-On-The-Solent Naval Memorials Hampshire and Bitton Memorial
Age: 30
Further information:
Eric was the eldest of 4 brothers and the son of a Bath Engineer. He attended King Edward’s School Bath and was a keen cricketer. He gained his Aviator Certificate flying a Hornet Moth 130 at Ipswich Aero Club in September 1938 and married Yvonne who was from Felixstowe towards the end of 1939. He moved to Bedfordshire where his son Craig was born in 1943 and Craig was just 2 years old when Eric died. In 1943 Eric was stationed in Lee-on-Solent, then in 1944 Londonderry and Arbroath. Eric’s final posting was HMS Golden Hind Naval Barracks in Sidney where he died in an air accident just a few days after his arrival there. He was flying from Royal naval Air Station Bankstown, Sydney with Sub-Lieutenant Selwood and they failed to pull out of a long shallow dive while test firing guns in a Firefly Mk.1 DK440. The plane crashed into the sea off Malabar Point, Sydney and both men were killed.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/
http://www.unithistories.com/officers/RNVR_officersB.html