ForeverMissed
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William George was born to George William Barnes and Sarah, April 15, 1926 in Alberta  He was the 3rd in his family of Dorothy, John, William (Bill),  Andrew (Buddy), Mary Agnes and Florence.
He was known as Bill.
He married Reta in Medicine Hat on September 07, 1946.
They had 4 children: Pat, Rob, Don and Mary Anne
Reta died of cancer October 17, 1997 at 68 years young
Bill died on July 12, 2007.

May 26, 2020
May 26, 2020
Grandpa was a kind, patient and firm man when needed. I remember one time I tried to put food down his drain when washing dishes and he said, "What are you doing! I dont have a garburator! None of that." His patience was great as well, I remember we would always go to Burger King. One time they screwed up his order and I asked are you going to say anything and he said, "No need, I like this one too." We often went for little drives after school on half days (Thursdays). I also remember doing chores with him and he would always make it fun with humor and treats. Always had a peppermint on hand! I also remember his love for birds. I admire grandpas great care to all his belongings. What a great stand-up man. Rest easy grandpa! 
Posted by Nicho Jaedicke
May 26, 2020
May 26, 2020
Grandpa, you are truly missed and I think about you often. You always had a jacket for every season - spring/summer, summer/fall, fall/winter and were never without a hat. Your bucket hat with the all the pins is something I cherish, and I too share your love of pins (and jackets for every season). Love you. Posted by Marcie Jaedicke

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Recent Tributes
May 26, 2020
May 26, 2020
Grandpa was a kind, patient and firm man when needed. I remember one time I tried to put food down his drain when washing dishes and he said, "What are you doing! I dont have a garburator! None of that." His patience was great as well, I remember we would always go to Burger King. One time they screwed up his order and I asked are you going to say anything and he said, "No need, I like this one too." We often went for little drives after school on half days (Thursdays). I also remember doing chores with him and he would always make it fun with humor and treats. Always had a peppermint on hand! I also remember his love for birds. I admire grandpas great care to all his belongings. What a great stand-up man. Rest easy grandpa! 
Posted by Nicho Jaedicke
May 26, 2020
May 26, 2020
Grandpa, you are truly missed and I think about you often. You always had a jacket for every season - spring/summer, summer/fall, fall/winter and were never without a hat. Your bucket hat with the all the pins is something I cherish, and I too share your love of pins (and jackets for every season). Love you. Posted by Marcie Jaedicke
His Life

Childhood

May 26, 2020

 Father, George William Barnes was born February 21, 1900 in Muskoka Co., Ontario.  He came to Alberta in the spring of 1906, first living near Gull Lake and later in the Nebraska District near Tees.  In 1918 he got a job in Edmonton with the C.P.R. in their shops on the south side.  He met Sarah Begley born is Scotland on December 04, 1892. They were married in St. Anthony's Cathedral in Edmonton on November 29, 1922. Their 2 oldest children were born in Edmonton.  when George was laid off about 1925 they moved to the Clive and Morningville districts where he farmed, blacksmithed and was an auctioneer.  This was for many years until on night their house caught fire.  They were unhurt but lost all their belongings in the fire.  In 1931 they moved north and took out a homestead near Grassland, Alberta, not far from George's folks.
Sarah suffered with Postpartum depression with all her childbirths,  She had 6  babies in 10 years.  She lost her 2 year old son Andrew by accidental poisoning on the farm and became very depressed.  These years in the dirty thirties were hard on Sarah and George; they were not unlike many of these times barely getting by.  After these tragic 10 years, around 1933 Sarah became institutionalized and lived the next 48 years in hospitals and died in Rosehaven, Camrose on December 4, 1981.
Around 1936 George made the decision to leave Grasslands.  he gathered up his four oldest children from the convents where they had spent the last 3 years and moved to Grindrod, BC.  His youngest child, Florence remained with his parents in Canoe, BC.  George sold farm equipment and stayed in Grindrod for 3 years.  It was there he met his second wife, Rose Bilyk.  Rose had 2 children from her previous marriage, George 5 children and together they had Ronald and Kathleen; making a family of 11.
In 1940 George returned to Alberta to join the Canadian Army(29th Edmonton Reg.) and went to London, England December that year.  Suffering from an elbow injury, asthma and stomach ulcers he was invalided home in 1942.  While George was away Rose looked after the children and when he returned home they moved to Dawson Creek and 5 years later to McLennan where they lived until 1966.  In 1966 they moved to Abbortsford, BC where George died January 19, 1974. Rose died in January 1982.  They are both buried in Haney, BC. 
This story is taken from the Barnes Family Album ccompiled by Phyllis Alcorn


Till Death Do Us Part

May 26, 2020
William George and Reta May married on September 7, 1946. Dad was 20 and Mom was 17. Being as it was right after the war; there was a shortage of lace and fabric.  White wedding gowns were not that popular hence a short blue dress accompanied by black gloves and hat.  Their union celebrated 50 years.

A Military Family

May 26, 2020
From the start I know Great Grandpa William James was in the Army and served in the 1st WW.  As the stories go he was gassed while in a trench and was never the same.  It effected his mind. 
Grandpa George William served in WW2
Brother, John Francis served as a Flight Sergeant, a gunner who was shot down April 30, 1943, age 20 years.  Buried in Keil, Germany
Sister, Dorothy joined the R.C.A.F.(W.D.) in 1943 and was stationed at Guelph, Ontario
William joined the army in 1944,  He was waiting to be deployed overseas when the war ended.  He was posted to a POW prision in Medicine Hat and retired in 1979 from Nameo, Edmonton.

POW Camp 132 in Medicine Hat, Alberta - Article by Editing Luke
It depends on who you talk to, but there are many people (including a surprising amount of local residents) who aren't aware that Medicine Hat, Alberta was home to a prisoner of war camp during World War II. It was located at the site of what is now Medicine Hat's Exhibition and Stampede grounds. Perhaps lesser known however, is that Camp 132 (officially known as the Medicine Hat Prisoner of War Facility) was one of the largest P.O.W. camps in North America and brought thousands of Nazi prisoners into this remote southeast corner of Alberta.

Opened in 1943, Camp 132 spanned 50 hectares and was supposedly capable of holding over 12,000 prisoners. This is especially incredible when you realize that the population of Medicine Hat in 1943 was about the same. With Britain fearful of a German invasion, they sent over 37,000 prisoners of war to remote camps across Canada. The two largest camps were in Medicine Hat and Lethbridge. Camp 132 was noted for holding many high ranking Nazi officers, and remained in operation until 1946.

Many of the P.O.W.'s were able to work outside of the camp doing farm labour and assisting local businesses. Medalta Potteries was one of the factories noted for their role in employing P.O.W.'s from Camp 132. Despite these agreements, there was still a lot of conflict inside the camp between hard-line Nazis and lesser members of the SS. Two prisoners were murdered here at the hands of fellow inmates for speaking out against Nazism and Hitler. With such a large inmate population, much of the camp still operated under the hierarchy of the officers.

Treatment of inmates from the guards within the camp was fair, and some of the inmates even returned to Medicine Hat after the war because they found the conditions and opportunity favorable. Many of the P.O.W.s who worked the fields developed a close bond with the families who were desperate for strong farm hands during those years. Naturally, many of these relationships carried on after the war had ended.

With exception to the armoury, today the most recognizable remnant of Camp 132 is the drill hall (also known as Rhine Hall). It is visible in a number of the archival images I posted below, and I enjoyed photographing the location with glimpses of the prison camp in mind. Rhine Hall now holds commercial booths every year during the Exhibition and Stampede. It's certainly a stark contrast to what the location would've been like in the 1940s. Despite the decades gone by, there's no question that the story of Medicine Hat's P.O.W. camp remains a captivating point in our local and provincial history.  
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My parents made many friends in the military, the last being a group of I guess about 16 who called themselves the Black Feather Gang.
During his retirement Bill hosted Remembrance Day celebrations at his residence at Shepard's Care at Kensington.  For him it was a very formal event including his dress uniform and the duty of polishing buttons, medals and shoes.  Though proud to wear this uniforms he admits it is not a comfortable option and in these days he much preferred his jeans and a t-shirt.

I have followed in his footsteps and have hosted a Remembrance Day celebration for 10 years at SEESA.

My mother and father are buried in the Field of Honor at the Northern Lights Cemetery in St Albert.  Every year he and all the other military graves are honored by No Stone Left Alone, one of my charities of choice.

We had a full military service when he passed.  His casket was draped in the Canadian flag and carried in by veterans with white gloves.  Everyone was given a poppy upon entering and these poppies were put in as we were lowering his casket.  The bag pipes played a lament.  One of the veterans stood and said when Chief Warrant Officer Barnes was in the room you knew who was in charge..

Recent stories

Wheeling and Dealing

May 29, 2020
I can't count how many trucks my dad owned. He made a hobby of wheeling and dealing trucks and trailers.

Bill's Moped

May 29, 2020
It must of been around 1978 that my dad decided to buy a moped sale/repair business. He ran it out of the shed in the back yard. With his mechanical skills he was good with small engines. He made friends with his customers and it gave him joy to help them out by supporting their moped needs.

Black Feathers

May 29, 2020
Mom and Dad had a tight group of friends here in Edmonton.  The Black Feather retirement club. I want to say there were about 8 couples.  The common thread was that all the men served and worked at the Nameo base.  It was once a week for breakfast at the casino.  Birthday celebrations and every new Year's Eve together. Grey Cup parties every year.  Golfing once week at Terrae Pines.  There were many camping trips, some exotic vacations and a few winters as Snowbirds in Arizona. My mom and Dad had a park model home at the Sun Vista Resort; they enjoyed swimming, cycling and playing golf.  A quick trip to the border towns in Mexico often.

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