William John Barrett

William John Barrett was a British Royal Air Force sergeant, service number 580566, whose wartime career is traced through casualty and official award records. His decorations recorded here include the DFM, gazetted on 20 February 1940. The Gazette record confirms that his wartime service had been formally recognised before his death. He died on 23 June 1940, aged 23. He is commemorated or buried at Amsterdam New Eastern Cemetery in Netherlands. For many RAF casualties the surviving official trail is brief, but the combination of service number, CWGC commemoration and Gazette notices preserves the essentials of his story. Those records show not only the bare fact of his death, but also that his service had been formally recognised during the war itself. His name is therefore carried here with the service details needed to distinguish him from namesakes. This profile therefore keeps to the verifiable outline: who he was, the rank and number under which he served, how his service was honoured, and where he is remembered.