Plaque to Recognise Bridlington WW2 Lifesaver

A plaque has been unveiled at Bridlington Railway Station this morning honouring the heroic actions of Ernest Barker.

During an air raid on Bridlington on 11th July 1940 a train loaded with ammunition caught fire in a bomb blast and could have exploded with devastating consequences but for the selfless actions of the humble ticket collector from Bridlington who attacked the fire and succeeded in extinguishing the blaze.

A German air raid on the town hit Hilderthorpe Road and the railway yard killing several pedestrians, destroying buildings and setting a train on fire that was loaded with ammunition. Barker ran to hose down the fire and did not stop until the job was done, his colleagues working on putting fires out elsewhere.

Ernest Barker's actions meant that he was awarded the George Medal in January 1941. Ernest died in 1967, there is no mention of what he did on his gravestone and very little mention in the papers of the time compared to that of Thomas Alderson who was the first to be awarded the George Cross for actions taken a month later, he had a street named after him and the British Legion rest home.

Earlier this year a poster was put up at Bridlington Station by Northern Rail to highlight Barker's heroism in the hope that relatives would come forward to tell the story of what he did and allow local historian, Richard Jones, to write about his life in a book on wartime Bridlington. Northern's poster said:

"The Second World War had been going on for less than a year when the air raids started over Bridlington.

Preparations had been made across the country for the influx of terror from the skies and soon residents of the town had suffered the loss of family, homes, businesses and infrastructure.

On 11 July 1941 an unexpected raid by a German bomber caused devastation on Hilderthorpe Road, five people died as blasts destroyed buildings and caught a number of people waiting at a bus stop. But just a few hundred yards away another bomb was aimed for absolute carnage.
Bridlington railway station yard was hit and fire broke out on a train carriage full of ammunition. At this point most people would think of evacuating the station and getting everybody as far away as possible, but LNER ticket collector Ernest Barker he ran to the scene of the fire and fought the blaze while his colleagues worked on the other fires nearby.

Thanks to the bravery of Barker, the train did not explode and the fire was extinguished, saving many lives of the people in the nearby buildings.

Ernest Barker became one of the first people to receive the new George Medal on 24 January 1941. He was married and lived in Bridlington,  passing away on 26th August 1967 at the age of 76. His grave in Bridlington Cemetery makes no mention of the medal or his heroic act during the war.

This is hoping to be something we can all change. Very soon a plaque will be placed at Bridlington railway station to honour this forgotten hero and finally give him his place in history he so rightly deserves."

Today a plaque commemorating Ernest's heroic actions has been unveiled at Bridlington Station in a ceremony attended by Bridlington Mayor Cllr John Arthur and local school children who are working on a project looking at what it was like being Bridlington in World War 2

It's the second commemorative plaque to be unveiled in Bridlington this year. in May a plaque was installed at Bridlington harbour in honour of George Medal recipient Kenneth Cooke who was rescued 50 days after his cargo ship 'Lulworth Hill' was sunk by an Italian submarine in 1943.