page_title: Evelyn Barker
section_title: Northwest Europe
hierarchical_section_title: Evelyn Barker / Second World War / Northwest Europe
caption_attribution_description: English: Kiel Harbour, Germany, 19 May 1945 The Commander of the 8th Army Corps, Lieutenant General E H Barker; the Flag Officer in Charge, Kiel Harbour, Rear Admiral H T Baillie-Grohman; and the Commander of the 2nd Army, Lieutenant General Sir Miles Dempsey on the Admiral's barge during a tour of Kiel Harbour.
context_page_description: General Sir Evelyn Hugh Barker KCB KBE DSO MC was a British Army officer who saw service in both the First World War and the Second World War. During the latter he commanded the 10th Brigade during the Battle of France in 1940, and the 49th Infantry Division and later VIII Corps in the Western Europe Campaign from 1944 to 1945.
  After the war Barker was the General Officer Commanding of the British Forces in Palestine and Trans-Jordan from 1946 to 1947 during the Palestine Emergency and is remembered for his antisemitism and his controversial order, in the wake of the King David Hotel bombing in July 1946, where he declared: "[We] will be punishing the Jews in a way the race dislikes as much as any, by striking at their pockets and showing our contempt of them."
context_section_description: The 49th Division landed in Normandy as part of Operation Overlord on 12 June 1944, six days after the initial Normandy landings (more commonly known as D-Day). Barker was confident about the ability of his troops, writing in his diary on 2 June, "I have a first class party to go with − I am satisfied that my chaps are in as good, if not better shape, than any others.... It will be a grim business but what fun when we see the Boche start to crack. After all these years of waiting I wouldn't miss this for anything." On 7 June he wrote, "News so far seems decidedly good especially that John Crocker's chaps are fighting in Caen.... The Boche seems to have re-acted slower than I expected but his two Panzer Divs appear to be on the move.... It's quite impossible to realise that we are going into battle."
  After landing in Normandy he wrote, on 12 June, "The last two or three days have been v. sticky as the Boche has had time to deploy his initial Panzer Divisions. Bobby [Erskine, GOC 7th Armoured Division] and his chaps are getting going again and made splendid progress. The whole thing is to keep this battle fluid and not allow it to crystallise. My guns were in action this pm firing their first shots in anger. The Boche are fighting well but with little support from guns and their air is simply non existent. The country here is frightfully enclosed − typically English country with thick hedges and ditches and their infantry are taking every advantage of it. They are lobbing grenades into the tank turrets and putting sticky bombs on, which Bobb[y] found most disconcerting.... Altogether things have gone really splendidly and everyone is in great heart." Two days later he wrote, "Had breakfast with Andrew Dunlop [CO 146th Brigade] and hatched future plots. The Boche have dug in in front of him and are going to be difficult to move. They lie doggo in the ditches and then appear in the rear shooting everyone up. Bobby [Erskine] finished up last night having retained nearly all the ground he made during the pm."
  The division's first contact with the enemy came around Tilly-sur-Seulles on 16 June, where the 6th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment (6th DWR), of the 147th Brigade, sustained very heavy losses. The division's next engagement, intended to protect the right flank of the newly-arrived VIII Corps taking part in Operation Epsom, was during Operation Martlet on 25 June, with the objective of seizing the Rauray bridge. The first day of the operation went well, with the village of Fontenay, the initial objective, being captured, although Rauray itself was more difficult, eventually falling on 27 June and holding against repeated German counterattacks for four days. The division performed well, although the 6th DWR was later disbanded due to its heavy casualties (and replaced by the 1st Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment), but the defence of Rauray against two SS panzer divisions had impressed Barker's superiors.
  The division was withdrawn from the front line a few weeks later, transferring to Lieutenant General Crocker's I Corps, which was then part of the First Canadian Army, on 25 July and played a minor role in the advance towards Falaise. The division, now with the 56th Brigade replacing the 70th Brigade (disbanded due to the British Army's manpower shortage), advanced on the far left of the First Canadian Army towards the Seine, arriving there in late August. The division then, after crossing the river, turned towards the French port Le Havre, capturing it in conjunction with the 51st (Highland) Division while sustaining light casualties in a set-piece assault.
  The 49th Division was then temporarily grounded, due to a shortage of supplies such as fuel and transport, with priority being given to XII and XXX Corps, now commanded by Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks, in their pursuit of the retreating German armies into Belgium and for Operation Market Garden. On 21 September the division concentrated in Belgium and liberated Turnhout after crossing the Antwerp-Turnhout Canal. It was during this period that Corporal Jo
caption: From left to right, Lieutenant General Evelyn Barker, Rear Admiral H. T. Baillie-Grohman, and Lieutenant General Miles Dempsey on the Admiral's barge during a tour of Kiel Harbour, Germany, 19 May 1945.
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