Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Plymouth Naval Memorial, Devon | 24 | |
| 2. Book: | De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour | Vol III. Pg 15 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 37B GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Early Life :
The majority of this legend is courtesy of Geoff Cuthill of the Province of West Lancashire, to whom the project is grateful.Charles was born at Everton on 23rd August, 1858 to Benjamin James and Mary Anna Barnard in Liverpool. Benjamin was an Examining Officer with H.M. Custom and Excise, born 1836, at Rochester, Kent, while Mary was born 1835, at St. Helier, Jersey. Charles was baptised on 12th September 1858 at the Christ Church whilst living with family at 79 Tarlton Street, Everton; as were his younger siblings in later years, George William (b.1860-d.1910), Emily Harriet (b.1862-d.1932), and Mary Ann Emma in (b.1863-d.1912). At the time of the 1871 census the family reside in Heyworth Street, Everton, but by the 1880's, the family are at 37 St. George’s Hill, Everton, with Charles’s younger sisters Emily, Mary A., and new addition Ada (b.1869-d.1911).
In 1879, Charles had completed his apprenticeship with the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, and qualified as a Pilot, his younger brother, George W. Barnard, qualifying in 1884. This is the same year on 28th May that Charles marries Alice Coulthurst of Preston at Fylde, at the Parish Church, South Shore, Blackpool. In 1891 they are living with their two daughters Edith and Nancy at 20 Alroy Road, off Anfield Road, along with Alice’s widowed mother Eliza. Although from the Preston area, Alice and her mother, who was of independent means, had previously lived at 103 Arundel Street, Toxteth, and by 1901 Charles and the family had moved back to that area, at 44 Mulgrave Street.
Education & Career :
It is clear that Charles spent his life on the water in and around the Port of Liverpool. His father too was employed by HM Customs. Pilot (1884-1890) to the Booth Steamship Company for the Port of Liverpool; Mariner (1898)
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: HM Mersey Examination Vessel No. 1 |
The No.1 Pilot Boat (Mersey Examination Vessel), the S.S. Alfred H. Read was deployed by the Liverpool Lighthouse and Pilotage Authority and engaged in examining incoming neutral vessels for contraband cargo. Pilots, with their local knowledge, would assist in the safe navigation of the Mersey estaury to dock. The ship was named after a former chairman of the Liverpool Marine and General Insurance Company, Sir Alfred Henry Read. She had been a recently built (1913) steam driven cutter of the Murdoch and Murray shipyard, Glasgow. |
| Action : Sinking of S.S. Alfred H. Read, |
Dubbed the "greatest disaster in the history of the Liverpool Pilot service."
In the early morning of 28th December, 1917, No. 1 Pilot Boat was on duty south of the Bar Lightship. It was an extraordinarily fine morning for the time of the year, and most of the pilots and crew, not required for duty, had retired to rest. The 457 ton vessel was carrying pilots in addition to her twenty-five crew.
No. 3 Pilot Boat was in close proximity, and at 3.15 a.m. the pilots on board the vessel were startled by a load explosion, and at once notices that the lights of No. 1 Pilot Boat had disappeared. They hastened to the spot with all the boats ready for launching, to find that No. 1 Boat had sunk, only the top of a mast being visible, but hearing cries of help from the water, they lowered two boats, and picked up three survivors - a Marconi Operator and two Pilot Apprentices, one of whom expired on reaching the deck of No. 3 Pilot Boat. The cause of the explosion was determined to be a mine which had been laid nearly a year earlier by UC-75 (Johannes Lohs).
In all thirty-nine persons perished, of whom nineteen were pilots, the remainder being examination officers, boathands, engine-room staff, and signallers. At least 7 aboard were Freemasons, and others believed to either have previously been Freemasons or had relatives that were. There was probably not a Lodge in Merseyside which hadn't been shocked by this tragic loss.
Three crewmen were picked up alive and landed at Liverpool, along with several bodies' ADM 137/2963 - LR 1915-16 No.649 (A) No 1 pilot boat, S.S. Alfred H. Read struck a mine at the Bar Station The mine that sank her was laid by the submarine UC-75. A similar event occurred on New Years Eve 1916 when virtually the entire complement of Tyne pilots was wiped out in a "jolly-gone-wrong" on the Pilot Boat - Protector"
This terrible event cast a gloom over the Port, for the pilots were well known to the shipping fraternity, and expressions of sympathy were received from all quarters. The disaster caused heavy claims to be made upon the Pilots' Benevolent Fund, and the Chairman of the Pilotage Committee, supported by the other members, came to the rescue, and were instrumental in obtaining such generous subscriptions from the Shipowners that they were not only able to reimburse the Pilots' Benevolent Fund but also to provide some additional assistance for those lost, other than pilots.
On the termination of the war the sinker of the mine (the box & mine tether) which it was believed was struck by No.1 Pilot Boat was handed over by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to the Pilotage Authority, and placed on the Canning Pierhead, in front of the Pilotage Office.
A brass memorial plaque naming all the pilots who lost their lives used to be attached to a wall inside the Williamson Museum, in Slatey Road, Birkenhead, above a scale model of the "Alfred H Read." before moving to the Museum in Birkenhead Town Hall. When the Town Hall Museum closed the plaque was taken into the care of the Merseyside Galleries and Museums.
Detail :
Charles, who worked for the Booth Steam Ship Company of Liverpool, had been commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on 23 September 1914, when he lost his life on Friday, 28th December, 1917, aboard H.M. Mersey Examination Vessel No.1. This was the Liverpool No.1 Pilot vessel, the “Alfred H Read”, which was lost at the Mersey Bar with only two survivors from the forty three onboard, including nineteen pilots. The return sheet for Princes Lodge in 1918 simply states, Charles Barnard, H.M. Forces, died December, 1917.
He is listed in De Ruvigny’s Book of Honour on page 15 of Volume 3 as the second son of the late Benjamin Barnard of H.M. Customs. Born 23 August 1857 (incorrect date, it was 1858. He was Pilot to the Booth Steamship Company for the Port of Liverpool for 30 years, and on the outbreak of war was gazetted Lieutenant in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve as Senior Examinating Officer. Was lost at sea 28 December 1917 at the Bar, Liverpool when Pilot Boat No 1 was sunk by a mine.
The Index of Wills gives Charles Henry Barnard of 44 Mulgrave Street, Liverpool, pilot lieutenant Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, died 28th December 1917 at sea. Probate Liverpool, 12th February 1918 to Alice Barnard widow. Effects £270.9s.
A brass memorial plaque to the River Mersey pilot’s, naming each one in order of seniority and service is now under the care of the Merseyside Galleriess and Museums. He is further commemorated within the Booth Line Roll of Honour Book (from which a uniformed photograph can be found), and on Panel 24 of the Plymouth Naval Memorial in Devon.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Anfield No. 2215 E.C. | West Lancashire |
| Joined : | Princes No. 2316 E.C. | Lancashire |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
26th November 1890 | 25th February 1891 | 23rd April 1891 |
Charles was initiated into Anfield Lodge No 2215on 26 November 1890 age 32, Pilot (River) and residing at 20 Alroy Road, Liverpool. He was passed to the second degree on 25 April 1891, raised to the third degree on 20 April with his Grand Lodge certificate issued on 29 July 1891. He became a joining member of PRINCES LODGE, No. 2316, at the meeting of 17 January, 1898 held at the Deaf and Dumb Institute on Princes Road, Liverpool. He had been proposed for joining at the previous meeting of 20 December 1897 by W Bro J Holmes, seconded by W Bro George A Harradon, Worshipful Master and Past Provincial Grand Treasurer. The same night that he joined Princes Lodge there were also four candidates being initiated, so it would have been quite a busy evening. Charles became a Steward of Princes Lodge in 1913 and by 1917 headed the Stewards list. He was a member of Walton Mark Mason’s Lodge No 161, possibly a founder, along with John Houlding who was the first Worshipful Master of Anfield Lodge 2215 and founder of Liverpool Football Club.
Princes Lodge stood in a token of respect at the meeting of 8th January, 1918 as well as sending messages of sympathy to his family.
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley