A Tribute: Master Corporal Alfred Barr

It is with an immeasurable heavy heart that I am passing on this news. A very dear friend to me, and someone who was a true inspiration to just about anyone who knew him passed away on march 8th. Master Corporal Alfred Barr passed away in a training accident near Yorkton Saskatchewan. He had been in the military since late 2009 as a Signal Operator in the Army and had become a Search and Rescue Technician just under 2 years ago. He was First posted to 1 Royal Canadian Horse Artillery Regiment at CFB Shilo, Manitoba in 2011 and later to 435 Transport & Rescue Squadron at 17 Wing based out of CFB Winnipeg in June of 2016. I had the honor and privilege to train alongside him from basic training and other courses for the first 2 years of our careers.

We developed a close friendship through this period as this was a new life for both of us. Alfred did not have an insincere bone in his body, combined with his genuine kindness and well-mannered attitude he was a last of a kind. People tended to gravitate towards Alfred with his sense of purpose and love of life. Often inspiring others, including myself to no small extent, without even realizing it by having personal standards that were admirable, to say the least. Having standards is one thing, he had the mentality that the standard was simply not the end result but rather just a stepping stone to continued improvement in all aspects of life. His work ethic was rivaled only by his modesty and love. I remember giving Alfred many praises for his work or fitness level throughout the years, yet he always made sure you felt proud of your accomplishments. He truly believed we were all equals no matter race or gender.


An outdoorsman is an understatement for Alfred. He breathed in more fresh air in his 31 years of life than most people will in their entire life. Camping, geocaching, biking, running, hiking and rock climbing were just some of the things you could constantly find him doing no matter where in the country he lived. He exemplified the best in all of us with his continued learning and open mind. Many would describe him as an old soul who still knew the value of doing work with your hands. Between learning Danish, German and French languages, he was becoming a skilled woodworker and leatherworker as well. I could not get him to play a video game for the life of me, but he was always up for an intelligent conversation or debate and knew how to always be civil and respectful.


Finding him without a smile on his face was about impossible. Even when in the roughest of conditions he would just see it as a new challenge to hurdle through and come out on top. From winning ultramarathons to competing in the military's mountain man competition to 5 am 8km runs before doing a group workout with everyone else. He had no excuses, just hard work. Why this person mattered to the biking community? He was not a mountain biker. Nobody on Pinkbike would probably ever recognize his name or picture. But he was in love with biking and was the true definition of an outdoorsman. He rode his fatbike religiously with a group in Winnipeg when he had the time. He would take trips on his road bike through the highways in the Rockies for a week or two just because he wanted to soak everything in on the way. Alfred Barr was a great man and a true Canadian hero. I just wanted to share with the biking community someone who had a shared love of biking like all of us and died helping save Canadians. He leaves behind his family and his fiancée he was to marry this summer. As well as countless friends and brothers in the Canadian Armed Forces. Rest in Peace Alfred Barr. 

Search and Rescue "that others may live"

His personal blog which follows his time through Search and rescue training which is a wonderful read.

Sincerely, Brian K.

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