Bodmin Funeral Appeal for RAF Pathfinder Who Flew 80 Sorties Aged 104

Bodmin Funeral Appeal for RAF Pathfinder Who Flew 80 Sorties Aged 104

A Bodmin crematorium will host the funeral of a man who flew through some of the most dangerous skies of the Second World War. The problem is, almost no one knows he is going to be there.

A Pathfinder with 80 sorties behind him

Albert “Barney” Barnett has died at Bodmin Hospital at the age of 104. He was a Bomber Command pilot who survived 80 combat sorties over Germany during the Second World War, later flying as a Pathfinder, the elite force that flew ahead of the main bomber stream to mark targets.

To put 80 sorties in context, a standard Bomber Command tour was 30 operations. Pathfinder tours ran to 45. Survival rates across Bomber Command were among the worst of any Allied service in the war. Barney did nearly twice a Pathfinder tour and lived to 104.

He had no surviving family.

The appeal

Barney’s funeral will take place at Bodmin Crematorium on Wednesday 20 May at 11.30am. A friend of Barney’s, Gerry, has asked for help organising a proper send-off, and the call has now gone out to ex-forces veterans across Cornwall and beyond.

Veterans are asked to attend wearing blazers, medals and head dress. Members of regimental and service associations are asked to parade their Standards.

The man who has taken on organising the day put it simply in his appeal: “This man deserves a send off.”

Why this matters

When a 104-year-old Bomber Command pilot dies with no family left to bury him, the question of who turns up matters. The veterans community in Cornwall has a strong record of stepping up for funerals like this. Barney’s service took him through 80 trips over occupied Europe and home again. Twenty minutes at a crematorium in Bodmin is not much to ask in return.

If you are an ex-serviceman or ex-servicewoman, or a member of an association with a Standard, Bodmin Crematorium on 20 May at 11.30am is where you are needed.

📷Stock Photo