Albert Barker was born in the village of King's Worthy on the
River Itchen in Hampshire, just a few miles upstream from the
dock where Titanic would begin its voyage 19 years later.
His father was a miller at nearby Abbot's Worthy, but young
Albert found his first employment with Mr Holdaway, the local
baker who also ran a general store and post office.

The miller's son became well-known to villagers as the boy who
delivered letters and telegrams on his bicycle. No doubt his round included the adjoining village of Headbourne Worthy and the Moore family, whose son Ralph, two years older than Albert, was another lad attracted to the bright lights and the docks of Southampton. Both young men went to work on the liners and eventually signed on to the Titanic, Albert as an assistant baker and Ralph as a trimmer. Both lost their lives in the disaster.

 

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