Kenneth Barrett MBE, Legion D'Honneur (23 Apr 1924 - 8 Feb 2018)

In loving memory of Kenneth John Barrett MBE, Legion D'Honneur 23/04/24 - 08/02/18

Funeral Details
1200
15th March 2018
Grantham Crematorium
Harrowby Road,
Grantham
Lincs
NG31 9DT
https://www.dignityfunerals.co.uk/crematoria-and-cemeteries/crematoria/find-a-crematorium/grantham-crematorium/
01476 590905

Wake
1330
Solo Club
6 Market Street
Sleaford
NG34 7SF
http://solobarsleaford.co.uk/
01529 303 200

The wake is about 30mins (traffic allowing) from the Crematoria. If anyone is coming to Grantham by train and wants to come to the wake then please let me know as I can organise taxis/transport. There is a train service from Kings Cross to Grantham and a less frequent service to and from Sleaford.

Stephen
barres03@outlook.com
07881 975 652

Ken was born to Sydney and May in Datchet, a small village right next to Eton in Berkshire on the 23rd April 1924, entering the world 15mins ahead of his twin brother Doug. Both were later joined by Cecil and then June.
His childhood was brief by modern standards but he recalled that he and his friends from the village school used to really enjoy heading over to Eton and trying to knock the students’ top hats off with their catapults.
Sydney moved the family to Langley in Bucks where he began building housing and Ken, who had left school that year, started his apprenticeship with Civil Engineering Firm A&B Hansons whilst also helping his father by driving lorries on his various building sites.

When WW2 broke out the following year, Sydney who had served in WW1, was exempt from service but Ken was keen to serve and in 1941 he volunteered for the Royal Navy and was accepted despite lying about his age. He had wanted to join the Submarine service but said he failed to blow a column of mercury to the required height and was diverted to Portsmouth to train for the surface fleet. Over the next 4 years he served on a number of ships but spent the latter years of the war on mine sweepers of the Algerine class, mostly notably on HMS Canton. War service was a series of desperate times and great times. He was part of the hunt for the feared German battleship the Bismark, he endured the hell of the artic convoys that were sending supplies to Russia, he served in the Pacific where he survived being torpedoed three times and was part of the fleet that supported the D Day landings – for which he received the Legion D’Honneur, France’s highest award for bravery. He was demobbed in 1945 having achieved the rank of Chief Petty Officer but he was almost as proud of having been the boxing champion on a couple of ships he had served on.

Having spent the money he received when he was demobbed on fast cars and motorbikes, a lucky escape from a collision with a lorry persuaded him to attend night school and he qualified as a civil engineer. Although Britain was being rebuilt, it was still suffering the same harsh wartime system of rationing and, having seen the world during his time in the navy, he joined the Colonial Service in 1950 and was sent to Sierra Leone, a country he had first visited during the war whilst transferring from the Atlantic to the Pacific theatre. As a result of falling out with the higher echelons of the local Colonial Administration he was sent up country, ostensibly to build roads but also as a punishment. At that time, the life expectancy of a European away from the coast was 3 months. Despite catching a host of tropical diseases he always said that period was when he fell in love with the country and the people.

After a few years in Sierra Leone, in 1956 he was transferred to Hong Kong, where he became a buildings inspector, a job that required him to learn Cantonese. This was a skill he retained throughout his life and the surprise on the waiter’s face was a great source of fun for the family every time we went to a Chinese restaurant. After several years in Hong Kong, his first marriage collapsed and due to circumstances out of his control he was denied access to his sons David and Nigel, his only solace being sitting in his car outside the school gates just to get a glimpse of his boys.

After a stint in Nigeria where his major achievement was the building of the first major hospital in Kaduna, in 1964 he was back in Sierra Leone, now an independent country. He was now the Civil Engineer Superintendent at the Marampa Iron Ore Mine, a job that he held until the mine closed in 1975. It was during this time that he met Kaddie, his wife and at the time the favourite daughter of the Imam of Lunsar. In 1967 their first daughter June was born, followed by Stephen in 1970. Life on the mine was good with a strong social scene based around the mine club and regular sporting competitions; golf, tennis and badminton, all of which they both excelled in.

The closure of the Marampa mine saw the family relocate to Watford, where Ken discovered he could no longer bear the British weather. He soon accepted a job in Oman building the Guards School, before going on to become responsible for the Sultan’s main palace in Seeb. His job largely revolved around the yearly renovations which were so extensive that they included taking up the marble floors and replacing the gold fittings. After three happy years Ken and his family returned to the UK and when a job in Angola fell through, in 1979 he took up a post with the UK’s Medical Research Council in the Gambia, West Africa.

The Gambia was the site of the MRC’s main research into tropical diseases like malaria and yellow fever and Ken’s job was to oversee the large expansion of its research facilities in the country. Due to his extensive experience of building in the tropics, he was certain that the plans that had been drawn up by the Crown Architects in London would lead to serious problems and having taught himself the basics of architecture he set about redesigning them. His fears were borne out when 4 houses that he had to build to the original plans completely flooded when the rainy season started. As a result his designs were adopted and in the process he saved MRC several millions.

Life in the Gambia suited Ken and the family and many happy years were spent in No1 House whose garden commanded a majestic view of the Atlantic Ocean. The happiness was reinforced when Kaddie used her considerable negotiating skills to purchase a couple of acres of beachfront on a beautiful bay called Sanyang. In true Ken fashion he managed to construct a two-bedroom beach house, with electricity and running water, on his weekends. Ken and Kaddie planned to retire in the Gambia and he designed and built their incredible retirement home next to the main MRC compound in Fajara. At this time Ken’s service to Africa was recognised by the UK government when he was awarded the MBE, something that was an enormous source of pride for him and all the family.

Despite retiring he took up several consulting jobs, including the refurbishment of the main hospital in the capital Banjul and a job on the UK High Commission compound in Sierra Leone, a trip that allowed him the pleasure of revisiting many of the projects that had marked the start of his long and distinguished career. However, it was after retiring that he could indulge his main passion, sea fishing on board his much-loved boat, Charisma, purchased on one of his trips back in the UK. Like most things in his life he was quite a success as a fisherman and many tasty barracuda, with their fearsome teeth, found their way in to the family’s freezers. However, the political situation in the Gambia began to decline and reluctantly Ken and Kaddie sold up relocated to Javea in Spain, where Ken’s language skills came to fore again as he quickly picked up a decent amount of Spanish. However, life is Spain couldn’t compare to life in West Africa, so the decision was taken to return to the UK and this is how Ken came to be in Lincolnshire.

When he was just into his 80s Ken was informed that his eyesight, always problematic after catching river blindness during his early years in Sierra Leone, was rapidly deteriorating and he would eventually go blind. Once again Ken approached this potentially traumatic event with the same strength and spirit he had shown throughout his life. Rather than disappearing down a well of despair, he set about adapting to his new situation with a determination that is rare. He learnt how to use a computer with voice commands. He learned how navigate with just a white stick but the arrival of guide dog Wayne that ensured he remained independent right up to his final days.

His navy days, during which he had been in charge of gunnery, had damaged his hearing but despite being registered deaf and blind, nothing seemed to be able to put the brakes on Ken. It was during this period that Ken began to receive assistance from a number of amazing organisations; The Freemasons, SENSE, Blind Veterans, the Guide Dog Association and the British Legion. Although his health had deteriorated markedly since Christmas, the help he received from these organisations and friends and neighbours allowed him to remain independent.

Ken died peacefully in his sleep, secure in the knowledge that he had lived a good life and that his body of work continues to span the globe and will probably outlast all who read this. As a man he touched so many people with his humour, graciousness, cheek, integrity and simple decency. As his son, I can only hope to be half the man he was and as family we would like to send our deepest thanks to those people who were there for him over these last years as his medical needs escalated. You all know who you are and words can’t fully express our gratitude.

To summarise what he said in week before he died –
“I lived a full and life and think I did more good than harm and I hope people respect that and remember me with joy in their hearts.”