Brethren Archive

Harold Primrose Barker

Born: 10th August 1869
Died: 18th April 1952



From http://www.thegloriousgospel.ca/baker-h-p/



Facts
Death Location
Jamaica

Intro, Biographical Information, Notes etc:

Bio piece by Cecil Howley: https://www.bruederbewegung.de/pdf/howleybarker.pdf







Comments:
Tom said ...

From Letters of Interest, June 1952.

Saturday, Sep 1, 2018 : 02:02
Michael Schneider said ...
What is the source for 2 August being Barker's birthday? An article in the "The Witness" 1968, p. 186 says 10 August.
Sunday, Aug 4, 2019 : 01:59
Marty said ...
Harold Primrose BARKER {UK} (M: 1869 Aug 2 - 1952 Apr 18)
From Start To Finish [?]
Review And Reward [?]
Canadian Incidents [?]
Christ In The Minor Prophets [n|?]
From: http://www.authorandbookinfo.com/ngcoba/ba3.htm
Dates and initials are sometimes all over the board.
Sunday, Aug 4, 2019 : 02:43
Michael Schneider said ...
OK, thanks. Is that a trustworthy website? More trustworthy than the "Witness" I mean?
Sunday, Aug 4, 2019 : 03:57
Marty said ...
It's as trustworthy as the typesetter in any venue.
Sunday, Aug 4, 2019 : 07:18
Timothy Stunt said ...
Forgive me, Marty, if I seem a bit sceptical. Although http://www.authorandbookinfo.com has an astonishing fund of information, the compiler doesn't indicate his sources and in the Barker entry gives only four titles with no dates of publication. The article in the Witness appeared over the name of 'Touchstone' which was the nom-de-plume of Cecil Howley, the editor of the magazine in 1968. Mr Howley was a very precise person and it would be unlike him to have been careless. On the other hand a random google search at https://www.myheritage.com/names/jessie_mais suggests that HPB was born in July 1869!
The favourite recollection of HPB in our family was connected with his deafness. When he asked my brother what his name was, my brother timidly (and scarcely audibly) replied: "Christopher." "Oh" replied HPB, "Hmm...Nebuchadnezzar... funny name for a small boy?!" A reply which reduced my brother to tears... Timothy Stunt
Tuesday, Aug 6, 2019 : 02:14
Michael Schneider said ...

10 August is correct. I've ordered a copy of Barker's birth registration:

Thursday, Aug 8, 2019 : 23:07
Marty said ...
HOME-CALLS: September 26, 1941.
Ida Winifred Barker, age 43, daughter of Donald Edwin Reeves; wife of Eric Harold Barker, of Foz do Douro, Portugal, the eldest son of H. P. Barker, her daughters, Kathleen Maud, Ruth Helen, Sheila, Elizabeth Grace and Margaret Eileen and her sons Donald John, Norman Eric and Alan David, all perished with her, when the SS. Avoceto was sunk by a German U-boat.
Rosalie Lucy Adela Cassels, age 35, of Spain, daughter of H. P. and Jessie Barker, Eric's sister and her three daughters, Primrose De Havilland, Hazel Jessie Wynne and Beryl Rosalie, were on the same ship and were also lost. Her son, Derek, travelling by a different ship, arrived safely.
Eric Barker was a missionary from England. For over 50 years he had lived in Portugal where he had preached the Gospel. Indeed, Eric Barker planned on raising his family and finishing his life where it had been spent in the cause of the Gospel. Eric's plans were changed when, during the critical days of World War II, he was told that it would be wise for him to send his wife and eight children to England for safety. There were tears all around as Eric's wife, his little ones, along with his sister, Mrs. Cassels and her three children, got on the ship which would take them to safety.
As for Eric, from the first, he had known he would stay behind to continue the work to which he had been called. It was on a Sunday, the Lord's Day after their leaving, that he stood before his congregation and announced, "I've just received word that my family has arrived safely home." The congregation breathed a sigh of relief. The hymns were sung, the sermon was preached, and the pastor greeted his people at the door as they left for Sunday lunch.
It was only later in the day that the full meaning of their Pastor's words, "my family has arrived safely home" was understood by the small congregation. They found out what you may already have guessed. Just before the worship service, Pastor Barker had been handed a telegram which told him a German submarine had torpedoed the ship on which his family had booked passage. There were no survivors. Not one. It was then, and only then, that Barker's congregation understood their pastor's family had truly gone home. Not to England, which would, at best have been a temporary home. No, they had gone home to their Lord. Although torn by grief, by God's grace, Pastor Barker had managed to preach the Savior's story of salvation to his congregation. Overwhelmed by earthly sorrow, Barker was able to rejoice that his family, every one of them, had stood before their Savior's open and empty tomb. He was comforted because they had believed Jesus' resurrection promise: "Because I live, you shall live also." He was able to go on because they had trusted in the Savior who had redeemed them on the dark and bloodied timbers of His Calvary cross
Eric married again, and the Lord gave him another large family.
Wednesday, Oct 2, 2019 : 03:27


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