SWAIN, Barry Keith Gilles (1925-2015)Barry Swain was born in Neutral Bay in Sydney on 4 April 1925. He was the son of Arthur Keith Swain and Gwendoline Muriel nee Gilles who married in Sydney in 1923. His father worked for The Ford Motor Company.
Barry Swain (RAAF, 1944).
Award Bookplate Barry Swain, 1939.
Barry's education in Sydney at Barker College was interrupted by his father's posting to the Ford plant in Geelong in 1938 and it was in Geelong that Barry was enrolled as a day student at Geelong College on 15 September 1938 where he continued as a boarder until May 1940 At the time of his enrolment, the family were living at 58 Shannon St, Geelong. In 1939, he was awarded Dux of Form III at Geelong College at a ceremony attended by the Prime Minister of Australia, Robert Gordon Menzies, then leader of the United Australia Party.
Pegasus, in December 1939, noted that Barry had been awarded a Hitchcock Memorial Boarding Scholarship.
After the Ford plant was given over to vehicle production for the war effort in 1939, his father was transferred back to Sydney. Barry returned to Sydney in May 1940 to continue his schooling at the academically selective North Sydney Boys High School until December 1942. He sat the Leaving Certificate exam, overseen by Sydney University, in November 1942, and passed with excellent marks in Mathematics I & II, Physics, Mechanics, English and French.
On 17 June 1943, aged just 18, Barry was accepted into the RAAF as air crew and trained at 1 AOS Cootamundra for nine months, then in England at No 3 School of General Reconnaissance, and No 4 (C) OUT. He left for the United Kingdom in July 1944 as a qualified navigator. He was posted as a warrant officer to a Royal Air Force Operational Training Unit in Scotland and later, towards war's end, to RAAF No. 10 Squadron at Mt Batten (April-June 1945) and RAF Station Beak. (June-September 1945) He flew out of Plymouth Harbour in southern England. Both units were part of Coastal Command and involved flying Short Sunderland flying boats - huge, lumbering aircraft that flew out half-way across the Atlantic Ocean to provide air cover for the lifeline of merchant shipping coming to Europe from North America. He was discharged from the RAAF on 4 December 1945.
After World War II, Barry was accepted into The University of Sydney to study architecture from where he graduated in December 1950. He married Joy Cooper in October 1951 and set up home in the Mosman/Cremorne area where they would stay across three homes and 20 years whilst building a family of five children.
For much of Barry's professional life he worked with Peddle Thorp & Walker in Sydney and later with their associate firm of Peddle Thorp & Harvey in Brisbane. He worked with them for over 30 years and spent much of his time specialising architecturally in the medical and hospital fields. After retiring he spent many years consulting in this area particularly to St Andrew's Hospital in Toowoomba. While working with Peddle, Thorp & Walker he was also involved in some interesting renovations of historical buildings including the original ‘Big School’ at Sydney Grammar School and the headquarters of The Historical Society in Macquarie Street, Sydney.
Barry Swain.
During his life, Barry gave generously of his time to a wide variety of school councils, hospital boards, service clubs, sporting and community organisations. Later in life he worked with disadvantaged youth in outreach programmes in Brisbane. He was made a Life Governor of the Benevolent Society of NSW in 1981, a rare honour given sparingly. He worked closely with the Benevolent Society including major renovations and rebuilds of their Royal Women's Hospital in Paddington.
He was a very proud Rotarian. He and Joy hosted Rotary exchange students in their home over many years. Barry was made a Paul Harris Fellow in 1992 and honoured for 50 years of service to Rotary in 2004. In 2015 he was honoured as the first Life Member of the Springwood Probus Club in Brisbane.
Barry died on 25 December 2015.
Sources: Biography of Barry Swain by Anthony Swain; Pegasus December 1938 p14; Pegasus December 1939 p33; Geelong Collegians at the Second World War compiled by James Affleck. p504 (citing The Pegasus; Australian War Memorial; National Archives); Sydney Morning Herald 4 January 2016.