In December 1914, soon after the outbreak of the First World War and the subsequent call to arms in the Dominion of Canada, Barker enlisted as No
106074 Trooper William G. Barker in the
1st Canadian Mounted Rifles. The regiment went to England in June 1915 and then to France on 22 September of that year. Barker was a Colt machine gunner with the regiment's machine gun section until late February or early March 1916, when he transferred as a probationary observer to
9 Squadron of the
Royal Flying Corps, flying in
Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 aircraft.
Western Front 1916–1917 He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in April and was given five days' leave in London to acquire an officer's uniform and equipment. On his return, he was assigned to
4 Squadron and on 7 July transferred to
15 Squadron, still flying in the B.E.2. On 21 July Barker claimed a
Roland scout "driven down" with his observer's gun, and in August claimed a second Roland, this time in flames. He was
mentioned in despatches around this time. He officially qualified as an Observer on 27 August, and on 15 September he worked for the first time with Canadian troops, including his old regiment. On 15 November, Barker and his pilot, flying very low over the
Ancre River, spotted a large concentration of German troops massing for a counter-attack on
Beaumont Hamel. The crew sent an emergency
Zone Call which brought to bear all available artillery fire in the area onto the specified target. The force of some 4,000 German infantry was effectively broken up. He was awarded the
Military Cross (MC) for this action in the concluding stages of the
Battle of the Somme. In January 1917, after spending Christmas on leave in London, he commenced pilot training at
Netheravon, Wiltshire, flying solo after 55 minutes of dual instruction. On 24 February 1917, he returned to serve a second tour on Corps Co-operation machines as a pilot flying B.E.2s and
R.E.8s with 15 Squadron. On 25 March, Barker claimed another scout "driven down". On 25 April 1917 during the
Arras Offensive, Barker, flying an R.E.8 with observer Lt. Goodfellow, spotted over 1,000 German troops sheltering in support trenches. The duo directed artillery fire into the positions, thereby avoiding a counter-attack. After being awarded a bar to his MC in July, Barker was wounded in the head by anti-aircraft fire in August 1917. After a short spell in the UK as an instructor, Barker's continual requests for front-line service resulted in him being transferred to become a scout pilot, being offered a post with either 56 Squadron or
28 Squadron. He chose command of C Flight in the newly formed 28 Squadron, flying the
Sopwith Camel that he preferred over the
S.E.5s of 56 Squadron. Although Barker was reportedly not a highly skilled pilot – suffering several flying accidents during his career – he compensated for this deficiency with aggressiveness in action and highly accurate marksmanship. The unit moved to France on 8 October 1917. Barker downed an
Albatros D.V on his first patrol, though he did not claim it as the patrol was unofficial. He claimed an Albatros of
Jasta 2 (Lt. Lange, killed) on 20 October, and two more, of
Jasta 18, on 27 October (Lt. Schober killed, Offstv. Klein, force landed).
Italian Front 1917–1918 On 7 November 1917, 28 Squadron was transferred to Italy with Barker temporarily in command; most of the unit, including aircraft, travelled by train to Milan. One of his most successful, and also most controversial raids – fictionalized by
Ernest Hemingway in the short story "
The Snows of Kilimanjaro" – was on 25 December 1917. Catching the Germans off guard, he and Lt.
Harold B. Hudson, his wingman, shot up the airfield of
Fliegerabteilung (A) 204, setting fire to one hangar and damaging four German aircraft before dropping a placard wishing their opponents a "Happy Christmas." Lt. Lang of
Jasta 1 was killed by Barker on 1 January 1918, and two balloons, two Albatros fighters (one flown by
Feldwebel Karl Semmelrock of
Flik 51J) and a pair of two-seaters fell to Barker during February. Awarded the
Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in March, he also claimed three more Albatroses and an observation balloon. Owing to his tendency to ignore orders by flying many unofficial patrols, Barker was passed over when the post of Commanding Officer of 28 Squadron became vacant. Dissatisfied, he applied for a posting and joined 66 Squadron in April 1918, where he claimed a further 16 victories by mid-July. Having flown more than 900 combat hours in two and a half years, Barker was transferred back to the UK in September 1918 to command the fighter training school at
Hounslow Heath Aerodrome. Barker ended his Italian service with some 33 aircraft claimed destroyed and nine observation balloons downed, individually or with other pilots. , 1918. He preferred flying the Camel over the standard aircraft flown by his squadron.
Victoria Cross In London at RAF HQ, he persuaded his superiors he needed to get up to date on the latest combat techniques in France and he was granted a 10-day
roving commission in France. He selected the
Sopwith Snipe as his personal machine and attached himself to
No. 201 Squadron RAF, whose commander, Major Cyril Leman, was a friend from his days as a Corps Co-operation airman. He was awarded the
Victoria Cross for his actions on Sunday, 27 October 1918, day 10 of his roving commission. While returning his Snipe to an aircraft depot, he crossed enemy lines at 21,000 feet above the
Forêt de Mormal. He attacked an enemy
Rumpler two-seater which broke up, its crew escaping by parachute (the aircraft was of
FAA 227, Observer Lt. Oskar Wattenburg killed). By his own admission, he was careless and was bounced by a formation of
Fokker D.VIIs of
Jagdgruppe 12, consisting of
Jasta 24 and
Jasta 44, in a descending battle against 15 or more enemy machines. The dogfight took place immediately above the lines of the
Canadian Corps. Severely wounded and bleeding profusely, Barker force-landed inside Allied lines, his life being saved by the men of an RAF Kite Balloon Section who transported him to a field dressing station. The fuselage of his Snipe aircraft was recovered from the battlefield and is preserved at the
Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Ontario. He is credited with shooting down the Rumpler and three Fokker DVIIs; German reports acknowledge a casualty: "27/10/18 Jasta 44 Ltn. Hinky is WIA and to hospital". A possible related casualty was Jasta 24 Vfw Schymik, killed in action, while Barker may have been shot down by Js 24's Ostv
Friedrich Altemeier. At a hospital in
Rouen, France, Barker clung to life until mid-January 1919, and then was transported back to England. He was not fit enough to walk the necessary few paces for the VC investiture at
Buckingham Palace until 1 March 1919. Barker is officially credited with one captured, two (and seven shared) balloons destroyed, 33 (and two shared) aircraft destroyed, and five aircraft "out of control", the highest "destroyed" tally for any RAF, RFC, or RNAS pilot during the conflict. The Overseas Military Forces of Canada recognized Barker as "holding the record for fighting decorations" awarded in the First World War.
Most decorated hero Barker returned to Canada in May 1919 as the most decorated Canadian of the war, with the Victoria Cross, the
Distinguished Service Order and
Bar, the
Military Cross and two Bars, two Italian
Silver Medals for Military Valour, and the French
Croix de guerre. He was also
mentioned in despatches three times. The
Canadian Daily Record, a publication of the Overseas Military Forces of Canada, wrote in December 1918 that William Barker of Dauphin, Manitoba was the Canadian holding the record for "most fighting decorations" in the war. No other Canadian soldier, sailor or airman has surpassed this record, and the Canadian War Museum exhibit, located in Ottawa, Ontario, states: "Lieutenant Colonel William G. Barker, one of the legendary aces of the war, remains the most decorated Canadian in military service". A plaque on his tomb in the mausoleum of Toronto's
Mount Pleasant Cemetery, officially unveiled on 22 September 2011, describes him as "The most decorated war hero in the history of Canada, the British Empire, and the Commonwealth of Nations". Only two other servicemen in the history of the Commonwealth or Empire have received as many British medals for gallantry. These were
Mick Mannock and
James McCudden and, like Barker, both were "scout pilots" in the First World War. Barker, Mannock, and McCudden each received six British medals, including the Victoria Cross. McCudden was also awarded a French Croix de Guerre. But with his three foreign medals and three mentions in despatches, Barker received a total of 12 awards for valor. ==Post-war==