Richard Raymond-Barker, MC (6 May 1894 – 20 April 1918) was a British aviator and

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

, credited with six aerial victories in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was

Manfred von Richthofen Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of ...

's penultimate victim.

Family background and education

Richard Raymond-Barker was the third son, one of nine children, born to Edward Raymond-Barker and his wife Rose Mary (née Crawford) of

Bisley, Gloucestershire Bisley is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bisley-with-Lypiatt, in the Stroud district, in Gloucestershire, England, about east of Stroud. The once-extensive manor included Stroud and Chalford, Thrupp, Oakridge, Bussage ...

. He was born in

Forest Gate Forest Gate is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England. It is located northeast of Charing Cross. The area's name relates to its position adjacent to Wanstead Flats, the southernmost part of Epping Forest. The town ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

(now in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

), lived in

, and was educated at

Wimbledon College Wimbledon College is a government-maintained, voluntary-aided, Jesuit Roman Catholic secondary school and sixth form for boys aged 11 to 19 in Wimbledon, London. The college was founded in 1892 "for improvement in living and learning for the g ...

Early service

Raymond-Barker was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 30 November 1914, serving in the 12th Battalion,

Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution ...

. In mid-1915 he learned to fly at the Hall Flying School at

Hendon Aerodrome Hendon Aerodrome was an aerodrome in London, England, that was an important centre for aviation from 1908 to 1968. It was situated in Colindale, north west of Charing Cross. It nearly became a central hub of civil aviation ("the Charing Cros ...

, and was granted Royal Aero Club Aviators' Certificate No. 1460 on 18 July. Raymond-Barker transferred to the Royal Flying Corps on 6 August 1915, completing his pilot training, and being appointed a flying officer on 19 October. He was posted to France on 22 November. On 1 April 1916, he was appointed a lieutenant in the RFC, and on 17 June was appointed a flight commander, with the temporary rank of captain. During this time, he served with No. 6 Squadron RFC and No. 16 Squadron RFC, transferring on 29 December 1916.

Victories

On 12 May 1917, Raymond-Barker was posted to No. 48 Squadron RFC as a flight commander, flying the Bristol F.2b two-seater heavy fighter. He gained his first victories on 20 May, driving down a pair of

Albatros D.III The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service ('' Luftstreitkräfte'') during World War I. A modified licence model was built by Oeffag for the Austro-Hungarian Air Service ( ''Luftfahrtruppen''). ...

s out of control over Brebières. On 26 May he destroyed another D.III, and on 5 June drove down an enemy reconnaissance aircraft near Bullecourt. On 1 July 1917, he was promoted to the substantive rank of lieutenant. He scored his final two triumphs soon after, on the 8th (with Sergeant

Jack Mason John Richard Mason (26 March 1874 – 15 October 1958), known as Jack Mason, was an English amateur cricketer who played first-class cricket for Kent County Cricket Club between 1893 and 1914, captaining the team between 1898 and 1902. He pla ...

as his observer) and 17th, bringing his total to two Albatros D.IIIs destroyed and four enemy aircraft driven down out of control. He was subsequently awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

, which was

gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

on 14 September 1917.

Command and death

On 17 September 1917, Raymond-Barker was appointed a squadron commander, with the temporary rank of major. He took command of No. 3 Squadron, flying

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the ...

s. On 20 April 1918, it ran into a patrol of

Fokker Triplane The Fokker Dr.I (''Dreidecker'', "triplane" in German), often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918. It became famous as the ...

s of the

Flying Circus Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in ...

, and Raymond-Barker was shot down and killed by

. As Richthofen reported it: "With six planes of Jasta 11, I attacked a large enemy squadron. During the fight I observed that a Triplane was attacked and shot at from below by a Camel. I put myself behind the adversary and brought him down, burning, with only a few shots. The enemy plane crashed down near the forest of Hamel where it burned further on the ground." Three minutes later Richthofen shot down the aircraft of 2nd Lieutenant David Lewis, who survived. These were Richthofen's 79th and 80th aerial victories. The following day he was shot down and killed. Raymond-Barker's body was never recovered, and so he is commemorated at the Arras Flying Services Memorial.

Honours and awards

;Military Cross :2nd Lieutenant (Temporary Captain) Richard Raymond-Barker, General List and RFC. ::For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when leading a fighting patrol. He attacked a large hostile formation, destroying two of them. He has also done excellent work in leading distant photographic reconnaissances, notably upon two occasions when his skilful leadership enabled photographs to be taken of all the required hostile area in spite of repeated attacks from enemy aircraft. He has helped to destroy seven hostile machines, and has at all times displayed conspicuous skill and gallantry.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Raymond-Barker, Richard 1894 births 1918 deaths People educated at Wimbledon College Royal Northumberland Fusiliers officers Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross British World War I flying aces British military personnel killed in World War I Aviators killed by being shot down People from Forest Gate People from Bisley, Gloucestershire