Birth and Early Life
Barber was the third son of John Barber and his Danish wife, Musse. His birth was registered in Sculcoates, a suburb of Kingston upon Hull. Barber's unusual middle names arose from his mother, who contributed the "Lysberg", and French grandmother, who contributed the "Perrinott". His father was secretary-director of a Doncaster confectionery works. He had two brothers: Noel, who became a well-known journalist and novelist, and Kenneth, who became secretary of Midland Bank.
Barber was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School in Retford, Nottinghamshire. He became an articled clerk, but joined the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry shortly before the Second World War started. He was commissioned into the Territorial Army Royal Artillery in 1939 and served in France with a unit from Doncaster as part of the British Expeditionary Force. He was evacuated from Dunkirk in 1940, but later he became a pilot in the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit of the RAF. He ran out of fuel on a reconnaissance mission on 25 January 1942 and ditched near Mont St Jean, but was captured by the Germans. He was Mentioned in Dispatches for helping escapes from the prison camp at Stalag Luft III: he himself once escaped as far as Denmark. His POW experiences were recalled by his friend and fellow RAF pilot POW Thomas D. Calnan who met Barber at Oflag IX-A/H at Spangenberg in February 1942:
- "Complete uniforms were rare in our party, the one outstanding exception belonging to Tony Barber, who was resplendent in an Army lieutenant's uniform, complete with Sam Browne."
Barber is a prominent figure throughout Calnan's book:
- "It was natural that Charles Hall, Tony Barber and I should plot escape together. We had known one another at Benson, before being shot down and we still felt that we all belonged to the same unit."
Barber also wrote a brief foreword to this volume: "What has struck me most forcibly is how, after more than twenty years, he has recounted out adventures with such accuracy. He has managed to make a reality, once again, of the hopes and fears, the depression and the excitement which, for most of us who were there, now seems more like a dream."
While still a prisoner, Barber took a law degree with first-class honours through the International Red Cross. On his return to England, he was awarded a state grant to Oxford University, where he took a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics in two years at Oriel College, and a scholarship to the Inner Temple. He then practised as a barrister from 1948, and specialised in taxation. From 1967 to 1970 he was chairman of Redfearn National Glass, with which his wife Jean's family was connected.
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