From March to October 1941 Lieutenant Colonel Barber served with the General Staff until he took command of the 46th (Highland) Infantry Brigade, leading it through the Battle of Normandy in 1944. In August 1944 he was promoted acting Major General and commanded 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division for the remainder of the war in Europe. He received a clasp to add to his Distinguished Service Order (DSO).

After WW2, Major General Barber commanded Highland District between 1946-1949. He was promoted to Lieutenant General in February 1952 and made General Officer Commanding Scottish Command and Governor of Edinburgh Castle. He retired from the Army in March 1955. There is a statue to Lieutenant General Barber in the Netherlands.

Reasearch by Neil Thompson-Burton

During World War One, Colin Barber served in the ranks of the Liverpool Scottish in France & Belgium. On the 29th of March 1919 he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders. He remained with the 1st Battalion in France & Belgium until the end of the war.

Barber continued to serve in the Army between the wars and was stationed in India. He was promoted to Captain in 1925 and Mentioned in Dispatches in March 1925 for service in Waziristan in Pakistan. Between 1929-1930 he graduated with distinction from the Staff College at Quetta.

On returning to UK, he had several staff appointments, mainly with Scottish Command. He was promoted to Major in 1937 and appointed to the General Staff. In 1940 he was with the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division in France, where he commanded the 4th Battalion Queens Own Cameron Highlanders; here he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Mentioned in Dispatches.

From March to October 1941 Lieutenant Colonel Barber served with the General Staff until he took command of the 46th (Highland) Infantry Brigade, leading it through the Battle of Normandy in 1944. In August 1944 he was promoted acting Major General and commanded 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division for the remainder of the war in Europe. He received a clasp to add to his Distinguished Service Order (DSO).

After WW2, Major General Barber commanded Highland District between 1946-1949. He was promoted to Lieutenant General in February 1952 and made General Officer Commanding Scottish Command and Governor of Edinburgh Castle. He retired from the Army in March 1955. There is a statue to Lieutenant General Barber in the Netherlands.

Reasearch by Neil Thompson-Burton

Orders, decorations and medals awarded to Lieutenant General Sir Colin Barber KBE, CB, DSO were plentiful. The photograph below shows the following awards: The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE), Neck Badge of the Belgian Order of the Crown with Palm, and Silver ‘Egypt, Waterloo, & Peninsula’ plaid brooch.