Colin Muir Barber
Lieutenant General Sir Colin Muir Barber KBE , CB , DSO (* 27. June 1897 in Wallasey in the county of Cheshire in the United Kingdom ; † 5. May 1964 ) was a British officer.
Life
Colin Muir Barber was born the fifth son of John Barber of Little Hayes. After finishing school in Uppingham , he was promoted to lieutenant on January 25, 1916 at "The Liverpool Scottish" and on June 1, 1916 to first lieutenant . In 1917 he distinguished himself in France with the Cameron Highlanders, for which he received an honorable mention (Special Commendation).
In 1919 he embarked with his battalion for India and served there in Rawalpindi , Calcutta and Rangoon, among others . On January 31, 1925, he was promoted to captain . During this time he caused a stir as an excellent athlete. After his time in India, he attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and in 1937 was promoted to staff officer with the rank of major . His next use was on the General Staff in the 51st (Highland) Division .
The division was relocated to France at the beginning of World War II . In April 1940, Barber became deputy commander of the 1st Battalion. He distinguished himself through strategic skill and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his services and was Mentioned in Despatches . After returning from France he became battalion commander . With his battalion he went to Aruba , ( Netherlands Antilles ), where he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on November 4, 1940 . In 1941 he returned to England and was appointed First General Staff Officer in the 53rd (Welsh) Division . In the same year he became commander of a brigade in the 15th (Scottish) Division , from June 30, 1943 with the rank of Colonel . In June 1944 he took part with the division in the fighting in Normandy ( Operation Overlord ); a short time later, Barber became the division's commanding officer. He was able to excel in this function in the further course, which is why he has received several awards: He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB), received a bar as a supplement to his DSO (= Distinguished Service Order) , which corresponds to a second award, the 1939-1945 star, the France-Germany star, defense and war medals, the Silver Palm of the Order of the Crown (Belgium), the Croix de guerre with palm and various honorable mentions and recognitions, among others after the liberation of Breda on October 28, 1944. On November 14, 1944, he was finally promoted to Major General .
After the war, he signed as a representative of the headquarters of the British Army of the Rhine , together with the peer Soviet officer Nikolai Grigorievich Ljaschtschenko (Agent of the commander in chief of the Red Army) on 13 November 1945 in Gadebusch a Soviet-British agreement on the border adjustment between Mecklenburg and Schleswig-Holstein , the later named after both Barber-Lyashchenko agreements . Areas in the Ratzeburger See and Schaalsee areas were exchanged . In this way, Mecklenburg areas came to the British zone of occupation , and previously British-occupied areas east of the Schaalsee were transferred to the Soviet zone of occupation .
After the war he was appointed commander of the 51st Highland Division. He remained in this position until 1949. He was then appointed Chief of Staff in West Africa. Shortly afterwards, however, he had to return to the UK because his wife, Mary Nixon, fell ill and died that year. In the following years Barber became Director of Military Training in the War Department . On February 27, 1952, he was promoted to Lieutenant General and General Officer Commanding of the Scottish Command and Governor of Edinburgh Castle . Elizabeth II raised him to the British nobility in 1952 as Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) ; henceforth he was allowed to use the suffix "Sir". In 1953 he was awarded the "Coronation Medal". He retired on March 28, 1955.
After his first marriage to Mary Nixon, with whom he had three children, he married Vera Milburn in 1953. He died on May 5, 1964, after a game of golf. The funeral took place on 11 May in the Cathedral of Ripon in Yorkshire instead. His widow, his son James and his daughter Sheena (the second daughter had died before her father) and his sister Elspeth mourned.
Sir Colin Muir Barber was eight feet tall, the tallest officer in the Allied Forces. Ironically, he was nicknamed "Tiny Barber" (in German: "Winzling Barber"). He was a talented commander and is said to have been very humorous, a loyal friend and therefore very popular with his comrades.
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Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Barber, Colin Muir |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British officer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 27, 1897 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wallasey , Cheshire |
| DATE OF DEATH | 5th May 1964 |