Personal Details | |
Date of Birth | February 11, 1885 |
Place of Birth | Paisley, Ontario |
Country | Canada |
Marital Status | Single |
Next of Kin | William Barnett, father, Paisley, Ontario |
Trade / Calling | Bank Clerk |
Religion | Methodist |
Service Details | |
Regimental Number | Can 151617 |
Service Record | see images below |
Battalion | Royal Air Force (Canada) |
Force | Air Force |
Branch | Royal Air Force |
Enlisted / Conscripted | Enlisted |
Address at Enlistment | Paisley, Bruce, Ontario |
Date of Enlistment | October 27, 1917 |
Age at Enlistment | 22 |
Theatre of Service | Canada |
Prisoner of War | No |
Survived War | Yes |
Death Details | |
Date of Death | August 12, 1963 |
Age at Death | 68 |
Buried At | Garry Memorial Park Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba |
Plot | Section 18 Plot 157 |
William Stanley (Barney) Barnett was born on 11 February 1885 in Paisley, Bruce, Ontario. His father William Barnett was from Walkerton and mother Sarah Nelson from Bruce Township, the couple marrying on 13 June 1892 in nearby Kincardine. They made Paisley their home, with William Sr working as a tailor in the early years and latterly as the postmaster. Children born to William and Sarah were Ethel Irene (1892), William, Herbert Charles (1897), and Robert Wilmer (1901).
Along with his brother Herbert, William attested with the Royal Flying Corps on 27 October 1917 in Toronto, giving his father William in Paisley as next of kin. At the time he was working as a clerk in the Standard Bank. On 11 March 1918 William was posted to the Cadet Pilot headquarters. In July and October he attended two training schools. On 1 April 1918 the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service were amalgamated to form the Royal Air Force and he was transferred to the RAF. Having served in Canada, he was discharged in consequences of being surplus to RAF requirements on 4 January 1919. In 1920 William was granted a honourary commission of 2nd Lieutenant with effect dated back to demobilization.
After the war William moved west, settling in Winnipeg, Manitoba where he found work with the Workmen’s Compensation Board (1923-1963). On 5 June 1923, in Winnipeg, he married Eleanor Mary Stewart. Born on 25 September 1898 in Winnipeg, Eleanor was the daughter of Alexander Stewart and Elizabeth McLean. William and Eleanor gave birth to three sons, William Alexander, Stewart Alan, and Herbert. William was very active in the Winnipeg Winter Club, serving on the Board of Governors and during the 1940’s producing the Winter Ice Shows. In later life William and Eleanor maintained a summer home on McKenzie Portage Road in Keewatin, Ontario.
William died on 12 August 1963 in Keewatin. At the time he was survived by his wife Eleanor, his mother Sarah in Paisley (died 1972), his three sons William of Winnipeg, Stewart of Vancouver, and Herbert of Montreal, his brothers Herbert of Paisley and Wilmer of Brantford, and eight grandchildren. He was predeceased by his father William in 1931 in Paisley. Eleanor died on 21 February 1968 in North Vancouver and is interred with William in Garry Memorial Park Cemetery (later renamed Thompson in the Park Cemetery) in Winnipeg.
By Judy Stockham