Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Alfred, named after his father Alfred Leonard, was one of three boys born to Dorothea May Barker on the 29th November 1918 at Balaklava (originally spelt as Balaclava), just east of Port Wakefield in the mid-north of South Australia. Alf had two brothers, Ernest and Leonard.
The boys grew up in Port Wakefield, which at the time was a bustling seaport that catered for the transport of grains from surrounding farms as well as ore from the Burra mines. He attended the local, well established Port Wakefield School before becoming a butcher.
WWII was initially expected to be a comparatively short war, it wasn’t. Consequently, aged 22 Alfred enlisted in Adelaide on the 14th January ‘41. He was given the number SX11134 and immediately allocated to the 2/48th Battalion reinforcements. Alf’s early training was undertaken in country he was reasonably familiar with, at Terowie, before he embarked for overseas. Arriving in the Middle East on the 14th May ’41 he immediately marched out to a staging camp but the less than sanitary conditions contributed to him developing a boil on his thigh, causing a few days to be spent in hospital.
Back home, Alf’s younger brother, 20-year-old Ernest decided to also enlist. He chose the navy and on the10th October at Port Adelaide became PA2413.
Alf was extremely fortunate to survive a gunshot wound to his neck, sustained in July ‘42 in the fierce battle for Tel El Eisa. It was a frenetic time. John Glenn in Tobruk to Tarakan shared that ‘there was little rest for the tired men. New positions were dug, well forward, wired and mined. Active patrolling was maintained every night, deep into No Man’s Land, and a tremendous amount of valuable enemy equipment was salvaged.’ This was undertaken with Aussie bravado, with the ruse that the gathering vehicles had ostensibly come from the German direction. However, when a few exploratory shots were made ‘the party decided not to overdo their luck’ and returned with a healthy load.
Alf was to come to be admired as one of the Rats of Tobruk. Originally the term was designed by the Germans as a derogatory term that the troops were living like rats underground in their sandy dugouts. Instead, in typical Aussie style, the men proudly adopted the term, a Rat of Tobruk, as a badge of honour and camaraderie.
On the 22nd July over 100 of the 2/48th were killed or wounded fighting for the Tel El Eisa ridge. Glenn recounts that ‘This was to be a daylight show, and the troops did not like it.’ He continued that ‘when the troops were well forward of the start-line they came under terrific fire from shells and mortars from the front and left and suffered heavy casualties. With the slow, deliberate movement of perfectly trained soldiers both companies continued the advance in perfect formation, over ground that trembled and erupted with vicious explosions… as they advanced, leaving behind the still shapes of fallen men among the camel bush and sand.’ There was a continual call for stretcher bearers including for Alf, who was evacuated to the British General Hospital. However, the enemy subsequently abandoned the ridge, ending the 2/48th’s large scale involvement.
In August the Advertiser published on-going lists of those men, killed and wounded, which included fellow soldiers from the 2/48th Battalion. They included CASUALTIES FOR THE FIRST TIME ABROAD Killed In Action SX2895 Lt. George T. Gill. Prospect. Lt. Lance H. Heffron. Goodwood Park. Wounded In Action And Placed on Seriously Ill list SX9377 Lt. Oswald D. Gooden. Fullarton Estate. Dangerously Ill list SX11134 Pte. A J. Barker. Port Wakefield. As that month progressed, Alf remained on the seriously ill list until the 20th August, while the list of those injured or killed in action continued to grow.
Over a month later, Alf was able to return to the Training Battalion. The severity of his injury meant that Alf was assessed as being unfit for ‘active service with field formations.’ He returned to Australia via Sydney at the end of February ’43, then returned to South Australia where he married Pearl Melva in March.
Unfortunately, Alf’s poor health continued with dyspepsia and appendicitis, eventually leading to his discharge ‘medically unfit’ on the 27th August ’43. Younger brother, Ernest was discharged in April ’46.
Sadly, Alf’s marriage was not to last with him being granted a divorce in February ’50.
Living at Richmond, 47-year-old Alf died on the 16th April ’66. He was buried at Centennial Park Cemetery, General E Path 16, Plot 224. His service is also remembered on the Wall of Memory at Centennial Park.
Researched and written by Kaye Lee, daughter of Bryan Holmes SX8133, 2/48th Battalion.