One of Guernsey's oldest WW2 veterans dies at 104
BBCOne of the longest surviving World War Two veterans in Guernsey has died at the age of 104.
John Barnes was born in London but moved to the island in 1961 for work.
The Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander shared the story of his service with BBC Radio Guernsey for the Island Memories Project in 2025.
He told Guernsey's Lieutenant-Governor Lt Gen Sir Richard Cripwell, who was doing the interview, that his biggest contribution to the war effort had been sinking a German U-boat.
JOHN BARNESHaving joined up as a naval airman second class in 1940, his basic training was followed by several months flying training in Canada.
From there, Barnes said he was assigned to flying Fairey Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers, protecting convoys in the Mediterranean and later the Atlantic.
During the war he said he met Winston Churchill, got lost in the Denmark Strait before being rescued from Iceland, and served on five aircraft carriers.
He told Sir Richard during his interview he had flown every aircraft possible during his 23 years of service.
When he left the Navy, he saw an advert for a job in Guernsey and started as the Bursar at Elizabeth College, an all boys school, on 1 January 1962, having moved to the island with his wife Anne and 3 sons.
Barnes died at Saumarez Park Manor residential home on 6 January.
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