Richard Felix Raine Barker (7 May 1917 – 11 July 1997) was an English journalist, drama critic and
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...
. He is known for having been the youngest dramatic critic on Fleet Street.
Biography
Barker was born in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
on 7 May 1917, the son of
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
Anthony Raine Barker and his wife, photographer Patricia Russell. He was educated at
Felsted School
(Keep your Faith)
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding
, religion = Church of England
, president =
, head_label = Headmaster
, head = Chris Townsend
, r_head_l ...
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
as part of a student exchange program.Alumni Felstedienses 1930–2000 He married Anthea Francis Gotch in 1950. Felix Barker died on 11 July 1997.
Career
Barker began his career in his late teens reporting for the ''
Evening News Evening News may refer to:
Television news
*''CBS Evening News'', an American news broadcast
*''ITV Evening News'', a UK news broadcast
*'' JNN Evening News'', a Japanese news broadcast
*''Evening News'', an alternate name for '' News Hour'' in so ...
''. Two well-received pieces, one on school life and the other on the 1936 Crystal Palace fire, earned him a weekly column as the paper's amateur drama critic at the age of 19, making him the youngest dramatic critic working on Fleet Street. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
he served as private and later a sergeant in the
Gordon Highlanders
Gordon may refer to:
People
* Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters
* Gordon (surname), the surname
* Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War
* Clan Gord ...
where he helped run the theatrical entertainment group, the Balmorals. After the war he rejoined the ''Evening News'', becoming a
feature
Feature may refer to:
Computing
* Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch
* Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob
* Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing characteristic of a software item ...
writer in 1946, the deputy drama critic later that same year, and the chief critic in 1958.
In 1960, Barker expanded his work to include film criticism, making him one of the few critics at the time who was working in both theatre and film. He became the president of
The Critics' Circle
The Critics' Circle is the national professional body of British critics for dance, drama, film, music, books and visual arts. It was established in 1913 as a successor to the Society of Dramatic Critics, which was formed in 1906 but had become ...
in 1974. Throughout his career as a critic, Barker also established himself as an author and historian, publishing such works as ''The Oliviers'' (1953), ''The House that Stoll Built'' (1957), ''London: 2000 Years of a City and its People'' (1974, with Peter Jackson), ''London as it Might Have Been'' (1975, with Ralph Hyde), and ''The History of London in Maps'' (1990, with Peter Jackson). His final book was ''Edwardian London'', published in 1995. A posthumous publication was issued by the
London Topographical Society
The London Topographical Society was founded as the Topographical Society of London in 1880 to publish "material illustrating the history and topography of the City and County of London from the earliest times to the present day".Ann Saunders and Denise Silvester-Carr.
In retirement he lived in
Benenden
Benenden is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The parish is located on the Weald, to the west of Tenterden. In addition to the main village, Iden Green, East End, Dingleden and Standen Street settle ...
in Kent where he landscaped the grounds of the 15th century Wealden Hall house his father Anthony Raine Barker had extensively restored from the 1930s. He had two children, Kent Barker (1953–) and Maxine Barker (1956–1992).