Lieutenant D F Barclay


David Frederick was born on 11 Sep 1894, the second son of Lieut.-Colonel Hubert Frederick Barclay late Commanding 6th Bedfordshire Regiment, and Edith Noel Barclay of Orchards, Letty Green, Hertford. He was educated at Harrow School. He was in British Columbia when the War broke out, came to England with Strathcona's Horse and was given a Commission in the 4th Bedfordshire Regiment. He served through the Cameroon Campaign in West Africa, and was then given a regular Commission in the Queen's Bays, with eighteen months' seniority. He went to France in March, 1917, and fought at Cambrai and during the retreat towards Amiens. He was killed by a sniper in front of Hamel on 2 April 1918 and buried at Fouilloy Communal Cemetery. He was 23 years old.

Colonel Lawson, Commanding 2nd Dragoon Guards, wrote to his Father, "The loss of your son is a great sorrow to us -- a magnificent fighter and a loyal gentleman. , . . You have lost a son you can be proud of; we are the poorer for a companion and a trustworthy leader, whose personality was marked. Such an Officer, combining so many valuable qualities, was marked out for great things. The fine example he has left behind will not be forgotten."

A Sergeant in his Troop wrote, "Death was absolutely instantaneous, and he met it in his dear old, happy-go-lucky way, his hands in his trouser pockets, and whistling one of his many songs. . . . He died a soldier's death, loved and liked by all who knew him : his loss is much mourned by A Squadron."


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by Stephen Luscombe