Born St Pancras. Private. Killed in action, France and Flanders, 3/3/17, aged 26. Pte Barrett has no known Commonwealth war grave and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, Pas de Calais, France.
Our colleague Andrew Behan has researched this man: Douglas Walter Barrett was born on 16 July 1890 and his birth was registered in St Pancras. He was the elder son of Douglas Walter Barrett and Caroline Ellen Barrett, née Edhouse and his father was a Brass Finisher. He was baptised on 4 January 1891 at Holy Trinity Church, Haverstock Hill, Camden and the family were living at this time within the parish at 13 Dickinson Street. The 1901 census shows the family living at 24 Litcham Street, Kentish Town and the 1911 census records the family at 16 Haverstock Street, Chalk Farm Road, with his occupation as a Beer Brewer at Reads Brewery. On 20 December 1914 he married Lillian Esther Holt at St John the Baptist Church in Kentish Town and his occupation was shown as a Storeman, living at 11 College Lane, Kentish Town. They went on to have one child, also called Douglas Walter Barrett, who was born on 4 January 1916.
He enlisted into the King's Royal Rifle Corps, service number R31920, on 11 December 1915, giving his occupation as a Warehouseman and his address as 12 College Lane, NW, but was not mobilized until 12 August 1916 and was transferred to the 208th Company, Machine Gun Corps, service number 65465. He proceeded to join the British Expeditionary Force in France on 25 February 1917 and was Killed in Action on 3 May 1917, aged 26 years. He has no known grave and is commemorated on Bay 10 of the Arras Memorial, in the Faubourg d'Amiens Cemetery, Arras. He was posthumously awarded the British War Medal 1914-18 and the Victory Medal. His widow received his back pay of £2-4s-6d on 6 October 1917 and was awarded a weekly pension of 18s-9d with effect from 10 December 1917. On 4 November 1919 she received a war gratuity payment of £3. There would appear to be some confusion over his address. Their marriage records and those of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission list him at 11 College Lane, Kentish Town, but all his army records show him and his family at 12 College Lane.
Andrew points out that Barrett and Biggs (also on the College Lane plaque) were married to two Holt sisters and were both earning a living in connection with the Brewing industry.
