General Sir George Digby Barker (Chinese Translated Name: 白加; 9 October 1833 – 15 April 1914) was a British soldier and colonial administrator.

Military career

Barker was commissioned into the 78th Regiment of Foot in 1853. He served in Anglo-Persian War of 1856 and in the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

of 1857 and was present at

Siege of Lucknow The siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defence of the British Residency within the city of Lucknow from rebel sepoys (Indian soldiers in the British East India Company's Army) during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After two successive relief att ...

.Armorial families : a directory of gentlemen of coat-armour
/ref> He went on to become

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of his regiment in 1859. He was then made assistant adjutant and quartermaster-general in 1884. Then in 1874 he was made a Professor at the Staff College and in 1877 Assistant Director of Military Education at Headquarters. He became Commander of British Troops in China and Hong Kong in 1890. Under his command, the size of the garrison increased by 50 per cent in response to Governor Des Voeux's concerns about the defence of the colony. Barker was briefly the acting administrator of Hong Kong between May and December 1891. Upon Sir William Robinson's arrival to serve as Governor in December 1891, Barker recommended an extension of Hong Kong's northern frontier. The proposed new frontier would extend from Deep Bay to Mirs Bay, and encompass offshore islands within three miles of Hong Kong. This new frontier would eventually be realised in the 1898 Second Convention of Peking in which Britain leased the New Territories. Barker was then appointed Governor and General Officer Commanding of the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda, with its large

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

, in 1896 and retired in 1902. He was colonel of the North Staffordshire Regiment from 1905 to 1911 and of the

Seaforth Highlanders The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw servic ...

from 1911 to 1914. In retirement he lived at Clare Priory in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

Memory

Barker Road, where the Residence of the Chief Secretary is located (Victoria House – 15 Barker Road), on The Peak was named after him.

Family

Barker married twice. In 1862 he married Frances Isabella Murray, daughter of George Murray, of Rosemount, Ross-shire. She died in 1900. They had a son and two daughters. One of their daughters, Helena Barker, married in 1891 Francis Henry May, who would become Governor of Hong Kong from 1912 to 1919.

The Helena May The Helena May main building is a declared monument of Hong Kong home to the Helena May, a private member club located at No. 35 Garden Road, in Central of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The present-day building structure remains largely unch ...

Institute was named after her. General Barker remarried on 30 September 1902 Katherine Weston Elwes, daughter of Edward Golding Elwes, of London.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, George Digby 1833 births 1914 deaths Academics of the Staff College, Camberley Governors of Hong Kong Governors of Bermuda Commanders of Hong Kong British Army generals Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath 78th Highlanders officers British military personnel of the Anglo-Persian War British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 Military personnel from Suffolk People from Clare, Suffolk