“he was incredibly brave,
and always put himself on the most dangerous sorties”

Spitfires at Sawbridgeworth, Herts by Eric Ravilious © IWM 22479
“Air Vice-Marshal John Barker had the rare distinction of commanding in action both a Spitfire squadron and a four-engine heavy bomber squadron; later he took the surrender of the Japanese forces in Kowloon, served during the Palestine conflict and arrested the ringleaders of an attempted coup in Ceylon.