Noel Holland Barlow was born in Denbeigh, Wales in December of 1912. His father was killed in the First World War and his mother remarried after the war. The family emigrated to Canada, and in 1932 owned and operated a farm near the small town of Carseland, southeast of Calgary. Barlow worked in the mining industry to pay for flying training at the Calgary Flying Club, where he earned his Canadian Private Pilot Certificate in 1937 and then at the end of the year, his Limited Commercial Pilot’s Certificate.
He saved for a one-way ocean liner ticket to England, but was devastated to learn at the Royal Air Force recruitment office in Great Britain that, at the age of 26, he was considered too old for military pilot training despite already having a license. He had no choice but to join as ground crew.
Shortly after the start of the Second World War, he was accepted on the newly formed 242 Canadian Squadron. During the Battle of France, he was part of the ground crew team that went to support the 242 Squadron pilots operating from the area south of the Seine River. Barlow was eventually evacuated to England to rejoin the squadron under the new leadership of then acting Squadron Leader Douglas Bader, the charismatic, capable and legless fighter pilot. Bader chose Noel Barlow as his personal fitter. Throughout the Battle of Britain, Barlow worked tirelessly to keep the squadron operational and to service Bader’s machine. A strong and lifelong bond was built between the two, based on mutual respect, the highest levels of performance and their shared experience. After the Battle of Britain, Bader and Barlow remained connected as 242 Squadron flew operations across the English Channel.
Shortly after Barlow had joined the Royal Air Force, the age limit for pilot trainees had been increased, but he stayed with 242 as a fitter until Bader’s departure to lead the new wing. After 18 months, despite a promised promotion to sergeant, Barlow requested a transfer to pilot training, something that was supported in by Bader himself. He soon found himself a lowly Leading Aircraftman crossing the Atlantic Ocean, bound for the all-through No. 3 British Flying Training School in Miami, Oklahoma. While Barlow was in Oklahoma, Bader was shot down on August 9, 1941, and taken prisoner.
Barlow did not receive his wings because of a dare and too much to drink, but he was not one to quit. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force back home in Alberta, was accepted for pilot training, and finished his Service Flying Training at No. 15 Claresholm, Alberta. Following his Wings Parade, Barlow was assigned to No. 5 Operational Training Unit at Boundary Bay in British Columbia.
Barlow remained close friends with Douglas Bader, and on Bader’s frequent trips to Calgary, he and his wife always stayed with Barlow and his wife Jeanne in the small farming town of Carseland. The story goes that when Bader was visiting Calgary on one occasion, the city leaders wanted to name a street in his honour, but Bader declined, suggesting that such an honour go to his Alberta-born fitter, a simple and unknown man named Noel Holland Barlow.