Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From How We Served
 
The final resting place for;- V1110 Private Sydney Douglas Barker of Newcastle, England and Fitzroy, Victoria, had already served in the trenches of Northern France and Flanders during the ‘Great War’ with the 6th (Service) Battalion, York & Lancaster Regiment of the 1st British Expeditionary Force.

Following the Armistice, and the end of World War One, Sydney received his official discharge from the British Army, and immigrated to Australia like so many to start a new life.

By the outbreak of the Second World War, Sydney was self-employed as a hawker. With the commencement of a Second World War, Sydney presented himself for enlistment with the Australian Military Forces on the 28th of June 1940, and was accepted for full time duty within Australia.

Sydney was allocated to the 12th Garrison Battalion, and his service with this Unit would be continuous until he was evacuated to the 115th Australian General Hospital (Heidelberg) due to illness on the 12th of January 1942, and following his recovery and a short period of convalescence, he returned to his Battalion to resume duties on the 26th of May.

In the following year, whilst he was on Leave from his Unit, Sydney suffered fatal head injuries due to a tram accident on the 19th of April 1943. Sydney was aged 45 at the time of his premature and sudden death.

Following his passing, Private Sydney Barker, a ‘Great War’ veteran of the British Army, and who had chosen to serve with the Australian Military Forces during this, a Second World War, was formally laid to rest within Springvale War Cemetery, Victoria.