David Henry

“Barney Henry was born in Govan, Lanarkshire in 1882 and after serving his apprenticeship as a plumber, migrated to Western Australia prior to the First World War. He commenced his soccer career in Perth with Subiaco but transferred to Caledonians in 1914 where he became a regular first team member at centre-half. With the outbreak of war Barney enlisted in the famous Western Australian 16th Battalion. Like his team mate Jamie Simpson in the 48th Battalion, Barney Henry was with the 16th when the German fortifications at Mouquet Farm were attacked and like his team mate he was killed in the battle.” John Williamson adds an interesting note: “In researching Barney Henry’s career in the AIF I was surprised to find that he was in the same unit as my father and that he was killed on 30th August 1916, the same day my late father won a Military Medal in the attack. They would have known each other! My father was also from Lanarkshire. There is a sad final note to Barney Henry’s story. In trying to trace his descendants, to obtain a photograph, I found an In Memoriam notice in a newspaper on the anniversary of his death just after the War. It was from his sister and in it she remembers not only David but also her other brother William, who was also killed in 1914 while serving with the Highland Light Infantry. Unfortunately I have been unable to trace any photograph of Barney.”
Excerpted from John Williamson’s Soccer Anzacs: The Story of the Caledonian Soccer Club.