Interior view of the Airmen's Barracks, No 2 Air Observers' School (2 AOS) Edmonton, Alberta, ...

Interior view of the Airmen's Barracks, No 2 Air Observers' School (2 AOS) Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The caption on the reverse, written by 400393 Leading Aircraftman (LAC) Eliot Ralph Barnfather RAAF, for his family in Australia, reads: "This is where we sleep. That big tin thing on the roof is the heater - hot air comes out and the place is automatically kept about 70 degrees. You'll see all the kitbags are off the floor so that each morning the floor - covered with lino - is cleaned out. There are plenty of hooks on the wall to hang the clothes we also get boxes - as you can see - or suitcases to keep odds and ends in. This photo was taken before we arrived & altho' its not shown we get pillowcases. The door on the right goes straight into a bathroom. The beds are pretty good but inclined to rock a bit when the other chap gets in and out of bed."
A barrister and solicitor from Geelong, Victoria, prior to enlistment, LAC Barnfather trained initially at No 8 Elementary Flying Training School (8EFTS), Narranderra before being shipped to Canada to continue his training under the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) at 2 AOS. He received his 'wing' as an air observer on 22 June 1941. Commissioned after his training, Flying Officer (FO) Barnfather was a crew member of 218 Squadron RAF Stirling bomber N6071, radio call sign HA-G, which was shot down near Lyne, Denmark, on 18 May 1942. He was fatally wounded after parachuting from the aircraft. He was 27 years of age.