Maurice Barber

Maurice Barber was one of Herbert Graham Barber’s younger brothers. Born in 1892, he did not follow Graham to Leighton Park School but was sent to Oundle, a public school in Northamptonshire, where he was a cadet in the Oundle School Officer Training Corps.

After he left school in 1910, Maurice went first to Tours in the Loire valley to learn French, and then to Lausanne. On his return, he worked in the engineers' shops of Burgon and Ball, joining joined Daniel Doncaster and Sons, Ltd, in June 1914. In his leisure time, he was a member of Chesterfield Golf Club.

It seems likely that Maurice, like Graham, had served in the Territorial Force as a member of the 4th (Hallamshire) Battalion before the outbreak of war as, on 2nd November 1914, he became a Second Lieutenant in that Battalion. However, he was not sent to the Western Front until 14th January 1917. He later became captain and adjutant of the 2/4th York and Lancaster Regiment. He appears, like Graham, to have been an outstanding soldier. His medal card notes that he was eligible for the Victory and British War Medals with one emblem, indicating that he had been mentioned in despatches.

Maurice was killed in action in Belgium on 25th November 1917, and is commemorated on the Cambrai memorial at Louverval, France. He was 25. His Commanding Officer wrote: "I have lost a friend, but I am glad that I was privileged to know such a gallant, modest gentleman as he was, and shall never forget him." His Chaplain wrote: "Always quiet and somewhat reserved – always working hard and spending himself for the welfare of his battalion ... - he was what I like to think a typical British gentleman should be."

Like Graham, the Probate Calendar gives Maurice’s address as 1 Oak Park, Manchester Road, Sheffield, but his military record card gives his father’s address as Elmfield, Sheffield. However, like Graham, Maurice’s name is included on the memorial plaque in Dore Church, and also on the War Memorials in Edensor church and St John’s Church, Ranmoor.