249248 AM. Sam Barrett Royal Flying Corps 27 Squadron from:Cowley, Oxford Sam Barrett was my grandfather. He was employed by the Post Office when war broke out in 1914, working on the telegraph. The Post Office and attached union actively encouraged their workers to join up; it even had its own battalion, the Post Office Rifles. This could partly explain why Sam enlisted on 27th October 1915 at the very tender age of 17, just days after his birthday. Sam, who at that age wasn't officially allowed to fight, joined the Royal Flying Corps as a wireless operator, PO telegraphers often became wireless operators in WW1. He was duly assigned to 27 Squadron, The Flying Elephants.
It is likely that he attended wireless operator training in Regent Street, London during the winter of 1915 and he was posted to France in March 1916 to join his squadron. From March to May 1916, 27 Squadron was attached to the First Army and undertook a number of patrols and photography exercises from Armentieres to Souchez and air combat over Vimy Ridge.
In June 1916, 27 Squadron was assigned to GHQ and over the coming months was involved in reconnaissance flights, attacks on enemy observation balloons and various bombing raids. After some 7 months in France, in October 1916, Sam was transferred to 3 Wing HQ. His transfer took place at a time when advances were being made in wireless technology and wireless operations were centralised. In the ensuing months, 3 Wing was made up of a number of different squadrons so it is difficult to identify Sam's exact movements and activities for the remainder of his time in France.
I do know he was injured the following September and hospitalised for a few days. Happily, Sam survived the war, returning home in February 1919. He went back to work in the Post Office and married my grandmother Sylvia in 1921. He died in 1972 when I was 12.
I remember Sam well, he was a loving and generous grandfather. He spoke very little of the war; only once mentioning the trenches. And as a wireless operator he would have had to run a terrifying gauntlet between batteries and must have experienced a multitude of horrors. He didn't even tell us which squadron he joined, all the above I have found from his service record and other sources. Our wireless operators were an integral part of the war effort. Like so many others, Sam was a very brave young man and I am so proud of him.
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