Henry Alwyn Barker CBE (1898 - 1966)

Born 13 Mar 1898 in Alexandria, Egypt

Ancestors

Descendants

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Biography

Henry Alwyn Barker known as Alwyn, was born in Alexandria in 1898. He is the son of SirHenry Edward Barker (Harry) and Emmeline Mary (Lena).

He married Sybil Cumberbatch in 1922 and they had a son Henry Michael Barker, known as Michael.

Alwyn served in the First World War as Staff Captain in the Alexandria area. He rejoined the Army in 1939 at the outbreak of the Second World War and served as Garrison Adjutant. He later became D.A.A.Q.M.G. [district adjutant assistant to the quarter master general], in Alexandria. After the war ended in 1945, British goods were in demand and Barker and Company's shipping agency did well. Alwyn appointed Tim Ellis as manager in Alexandria and he established Barker and Company in Cyprus, acquiring a 1,000 ton diesel engine ship which had been sunk by a bomb in Mombassa, Kenya during the war. The ship, the “Pahang”, was salvaged, and towed to Suez for repair before being used to ship mainly tobacco between Alexandria, the eastern Mediterranean ports and the Black Sea.

Alwyn was widowed in 1947 and he was remarried in 1948, aged 50, to Haydee Giraud from Izmir, Turkey.

Alwyn's son Henry 'Michael' Barker took over Barker & Co in 1951, after being given a controlling share in the company.

In 1956, Barker & Co Cyprus was on the verge of bankruptcy due to the increase in competition in shipping and a lack of shipping management skills, and the ship was sold. That same year, as a result of the Suez crisis, the Barkers and all other British nationals were expelled from Egypt, and Barker and Co was sequestered.

In 1959, the sequestration was lifted and compensation was sought. In 1962, the Egyptian government banned private companies from acting as shipping agents and established government shipping agencies. Barker and Co went into liquidation as a result.

Alwyn passed away in 1966 and compensation was finally received the following year in 1967. After creditors outside Egypt were paid 50%, the partners received about 50% of the value of the company as agreed by the British Compensation Committee. The company was not wound up in Alexandria until 1978 after lengthy negotiations with the Egyptian Maritime authority and completion of redundancy payments to staff members.

Sources

• Source: S-799024943 Repository: #R-1199855110 Title: Public Member Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006.Original data - Family trees submitted by Ancestry members.Original data: Family trees submitted by Ancestry members. Note: Page: Ancestry Family Tree Data: Text: http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=56322831&pid=938
• Repository: R-1199855110 Name: Ancestry.com
• http://gramstedt.com/getperson.php?personID=I30305&tree=all
• http://www.levantineheritage.com/barker.htm
• http://www.levantineheritage.com/book5.htm

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Brigitte Theuma for creating WikiTree profile Barker-3054 through the import of Family Tree.ged on Jul 1, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Brigitte and others.