Evelyn Barker

General Sir Evelyn Hugh Barker (22 May 1894 – 23 November 1983) was a British Army officer who saw service in both the First World War and the Second World War. During the latter he commanded the 10th Brigade during the Battle of France in 1940, and the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division and later VIII Corps in the Western Europe Campaign from 1944 to 1945.
After the war Barker was the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the British Forces in Palestine and Trans-Jordan from 1946 to 1947 during the Palestine Emergency and is remembered for his antisemitism and his controversial order, in the wake of the King David Hotel bombing in July 1946, where he declared: "[We] will be punishing the Jews in a way the race dislikes as much as any, by striking at their pockets and showing our contempt of them."
Early life and First World War.
Born in Southsea, Hampshire, England, on 22 May 1894, Evelyn Hugh Barker was the son of Major General Sir George Barker, a British Army officer of the Royal Engineers, and Hon. Clemency Hubbard, daughter of John Hubbard, 1st Baron Addington, as the youngest of two children and the only son. He was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire, later entering the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, where, on 5 February 1913, he passed out and was commissioned into the King's Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC) of the British Army. He was posted to the 4th Battalion, KRRC, which was then serving in Gharial, British India.
Barker, had by now gained the nickname "Bubbles", was still in India with his battalion when the First World War began on August 1914. In November, the battalion was dispatched back to the United Kingdom, and joined the 27th Division. On 27 November, Barker was promoted to the temporary rank of lieutenant. The following month, the 27th Division was deployed to the Western Front, in France. Barker was wounded in March 1915, during the actions of St Eloi Craters. In November 1915, after having recovered from his injury, dispatched to the Salonica Front along with his battalion, where he would remain for the rest of the war. On 10 April 1916, Barker was promoted to captain, and became the battalion's adjutant. He remained in this role until August 1917, when he became a General Staff Officer Grade 3 (GSO3) on the headquarters of the 22nd Division. He relinquished this appointment on 11 January 1918, upon becoming a brigade major with the 67th Brigade. By the end of the war, he had been wounded twice, awarded the Military Cross, the Italian the Silver Medal of Military Valor, and was twice mentioned in despatches. On 3 June 1919, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. 
In 1919, Barker took part in the British military expedition in the Russian Civil War.
Between the wars.
Barker remained in the army during the interwar period, and was promoted to captain on 19 August 1920. He later returned to the United Kingdom, and served as a GSO3 at the War Office and later at Southern Command. In 1923, he married Violet Eleanor. They had one son, George Worsley Barker. Barker then served on regimental duties for a several years, before he attended the Staff College, Camberley from 1927 to 1928. After graduation, he assigned back to the KRRC. On 1 July 1929, he was promoted to brevet major. Then on 4 December 1929, he returned to the to the War Office as a GSO3.
On 1 July 1934, Barker was made a brevet lieutenant-colonel and assigned to the 8th Infantry Brigade, part of the 3rd Infantry Division. In June 1936, Barker became Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion, KRRC.
The battalion was dispatched to Palestine on internal security duties, during the 1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine. In 1937, the battalion was converted into a motorised infantry formation and returned to the United Kingdom to become part of the Mobile Division (later the 1st Armoured Division).
In late July 1938, Barker relinquished his battalion command. On 1 August, he was promoted to brevet colonel and also given the temporary rank of brigadier for his new command, the 10th Infantry Brigade (part of the 4th Infantry Division). Barker, who was 44, had been 
selected over those who had seniority, and indicated that Barker's superiors regarded him highly. This move did cause some resentment with other officers, who had been passed over.
Second World War.
France and Belgium.
In October 1939, one month after the start of the Second World War, Barker took his brigade to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The 10th Brigade formed part of the 4th Division.
After many months of relative inactivity (the "Phoney War" period), on 10 May 1940, Germany launched its assault on the Western Front. Barker was on leave in England and immediately returned to France. The division advanced to Brussels but following a strategic reverse in the campaign, was forced to retreat soon afterwards. On 27 May, Barker's brigade was briefly transferred to the 5th Division and fought to hold the Ypres-Comines canal against an assault by three German divisions. The day after, Barker and his brigade were ordered to retreat to Dunkirk. His brigade sustained heavy losses during the campaign, and was evacuated to England on 31 May. The historian Peter Young, then a platoon commander in Barker's brigade, was impressed by Barker during this period, and wrote he was "the coolest man you could wish to see under fire. He seemed to like it; indeed I feel sure that he did. He liked to observe his officers and men in times of stress, because it helped to weigh them up. After so many years I am not ashamed to confess that I always felt braver when he was present".
Home front.
In England, he retained command of the brigade until 5 October 1940. He then spent the next two months as member of a Transportation Committee, which saw him temporarily reduced to the rank of colonel. He was mentioned in despatches on 26 July, and made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 20 August for his services in France and Belgium.
On 11 February 1941, Barker was promoted to the acting rank of major-general and made General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division. During his tenure, Barker trained the division to prepare them to repel a potential German invasion. On 30 April 1943, Barker became GOC of the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division.
The 49th Division had previously garrisoned Iceland, and adopted a polar bear as its insignia. Barker believed the original design looked too timid, and had the polar bear redeaigned into a more aggressive-looking animal. By the time Barker became GOC, the division had been selected to join the British Second Army to take part in the Allied invasion of Normandy. It was initially assigned to be an assault division in the opening of the invasion, and as a result Barker had his men undertake amphibious warfare training. On 1 January 1944, Barker was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath. In early 1944, the invasion plan was updated and the 49th Division assigned to a follow-up role rather than being an assault division.
Northwest Europe.
The 49th Division landed in Normandy, as part of Operation Overlord, on 12 June 1944. Barker was confident about the ability of his troops, and wrote in his diary on 2 June "I have a first class party to go with − I am satisfied that my chaps are in as good, if not better shape, than any others... It will be a grim business but what fun when we see the Boche start to crack. After all these years of waiting I wouldn't miss this for anything."
The division's first contact with German forces came near Tilly-sur-Seulles on 16 June. Barker"s division led Operation Martlet, an attack to support a larger offensive codenamed Operation Epsom. The division eventually secured its objective, and fended off repeated German counterattacks over four days and inflicted heavy tank losses. Barker's direction of the division during this action impressed his superiors.
The division played a minor role in the rest of the campaign, and helped capture Le Havre during Operation Astonia.
On 21 September, the division moved into Belgium and liberated Turnhout. Barker's division undertook defensive duties, and also captured the Dutch town of Roosendaal on 30 October after ten days of hard fighting. By the month's end the division was at Willemstad.
In November, Barker's division was assigned to clear the west bank of the River Maas on the Dutch-German frontier. On 28 November, Barker met Montgomery and Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey, GOC Second Army. Both had been impressed with Barker's handling of the 49th Division, and assigned him to command of the VIII Corps. As part of taking the new command, Barker was promoted to the acting rank of lieutenant-general on 2 December. His first action as Corps GOC was to oversee the Corps role in the final stages of Operation Nutcracker.
VIII Corps saw further action during the final push into Germany, between March and May 1945. Barker's corps captured Osnabrück, Minden, Celle, and Lüneburg. It also liberated the survivors of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
After the German capitulation and the end of World War II in Europe, Montgomery appointed Barker to head the Schleswig-Holstein Corps District of the British occupation zone. Barker was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 5 July 1945. During the entire campaign, Barker was twice mentioned in despatches.
Post War.
On 31 December 1945, Barker was made an Honorary Colonel of the Duke of York's Own Loyal Suffolk Hussars. He held this position until 1 September 1950. He was also made Colonel commandant of the KRRC, from 11 February 1946 until 10 February 1956. On 5 May 1946, his rank of lieutenant-general was made permanent. 
Palestine.
Barker was dispatched to Palestine, and appointed GOC of the British Forces in Palestine and Trans-Jordan.
Relationship with Katie Antonius.
Soon after arriving in Palestine, Barker became a frequenter of the Jerusalem haute societe gatherings in the mansion of Katie Antonius, who was the widow of George Antonius. The evening dances in the Karm al Mufti mansion, the Shepherd Hotel, were attended by diplomats, artists and British officers. Barker engaged in an affair with Katie.
Advocating the death penalty.
Barker saw capital punishment as an effective discouragement against resorting to arms, and argued for a wide application of the death penalty against Zionist guerillas. That it was never applied in the preceding years, he considered among the major causes of the failure to suppress the insurgency. Barker would later express his position in this way:
In his position on the death penalty, Barker was strongly supported by the military. On 18 June 1946, Zionist militants abducted five British officers to be held as hostages for recently condemned militants. Montgomery, now Chief of the Imperial Staff, travelled to Palestine and met with Barker. Montgomery recalled:
Operation Agatha.
In June 1946, Barker planned a large-scale police operation throughout the Yishuv. Having the long-awaited order to arrest the leaders of the Jewish Agency, which was now strongly believed to be complicit in terrorism, Barker organised Operation Agatha in great secrecy and with the hope of delivering a strong blow to the guerillas. The operation began on 29 June, with tens of thousands of soldiers and policemen employed in a cordon-and-search action in almost every Jewish settlement. By the end of the day, over 2,700 Jews were detained, including some leaders of the Jewish Agency. Dozens of weapon caches were found, including one in the Great Synagogue of Tel Aviv.
The order prohibiting social interaction with the Jews.
On 22 July 1946, the King David Hotel in Jerusalem was bombed. The hotel housed Barker's office and British headquarters for the Palestinian mandate. Barker was present, but was not among the injured. Afterwards, Barker drafted an order that placed "out of bounds to all ranks all Jewish establishments, restaurants, shop, and private dwellings." The order forbade British soldier from having "social intercourse with any Jew", and note "I appreciate that these measures will inflict some hardship on the troops, yet I am certain that if my reasons are fully explained to them they will understand their propriety and will be punishing the Jews in a way the race dislikes as much as any, by striking at their pockets and showing our contempt of them."
Barker later regretted issuing this order, and recollected:
Operation Shark.
With information that the Irgun ring responsible for the King David Hotel bombing was hiding in Tel Aviv, Barker organised a massive police operation in the city. His instructions were short: "I want you to search Tel Aviv, every single room and attic and cellar in Tel Aviv. Is that quite clear?"
The police action in Tel Aviv, codenamed Operation Shark, began on 30 July and achieved several successes. However, the most important figure of the Zionist underground, Menachem Begin, slipped through British hands. Barker later recalled: "We should have caught him, but the men did not search his house properly. This is one of the problems of search operations. You have to rely on very junior people, and, if they make a mistake, the whole operation can be damaged."
On 24 January 1947, Barker confirmed the death sentence of the Irgun fighter, Dov Gruner. Barker later said in an interview:
Assassination plots.
Barker was the target of several assassination efforts, which included explosive devices placed around his Palestinian residence. The future President of Israel, Ezer Weizman, was one of Barker's several attempted assassins. After Weizman's effort was revealed in 1977, Barker commented:
Last years of military service, and retirement.
Barker left Palestine in February 1947, and returned to the United Kingdom. Despite controversy surrounding his command in Palestine, Barker was largely unknown to the public. On 15 November 1948, he was promoted to a full general (with seniority backdated to 3 October 1946). On 2 January 1950, he was made Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. From 6 July 1949 until 18 March 1950 he was aide-de-camp general to the George VI. On 18 March 1950, Barker retired from military service. 
On 1 January 1951, he was made the Honorary Colonel of the 286th (Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Regiment, Royal Artillery, and held that post until 31 December 1962. He was Deputy Lieutenant for the county of Bedfordshire from 12 July 1952 until 20 April 1967.
Antisemitism.
Barker's letters to his mistress, Katie Antonius, contained overtly antisemitic passages. For example, he described his feelings towards the Jewish people in Palestine in an April 1947 letter: "Yes I loathe the lot – whether they be Zionists or not. Why should we be afraid of saying we hate them. Its time this damned race knew what we think of them – loathsome people".