838010 A/Sgt. Albert Henry Barrett was born on July 4th, 1894, in London, England.
After emigrating to Canada at some point, Albert, living in Owen Sound, Ontario, working as a teamster. When hostilities broke out Albert attested to the 147th (Grey) Battalion on November 27th, 1915 and was assigned to "A" Company and attained the rank of Lance-Corporal prior to heading overseas.
Billeted locally over the winter of 1915/16, the 147th Battalion mobilized in Owen Sound in the spring of 1916 and left for training at Camp Niagara. As the conditions in the Camp were wanting the unit moved to the new training facility of Camp Borden in late June.
In September 1916 the unit received their orders to proceed overseas, but due to an outbreak of diphtheria they were detained in Amherst, Nova Scotia, for over a month. The unit finally sailed for Great Britain on November 14th, 1916, on the S.S. Olympic.
On January 1st, 1917, the 147th Battalion ceased to exist when it became the nucleus for the 8th Reserve Battalion. On September 23rd, 1917, Albert was taken on strength of the 4th C.M.R. and would serve with the unit through Passchendaele, the German spring offensive of 1918 and the last 100 days of the war. Obtaining the rank of Sergeant while overseas, Albert was struck of strength of the 4th C.M.R. on March 29th, 1919.
Biography details credit: George Auer