Lieut Ernest Isaac Barrow, 3rd Battalion South Lancashire Regiment attached to the 2nd Battalion East Lancashire Regiment, was killed in action on the Somme on October 23rd, 1916. He was aged 27 and before enlistment in at the outbreak of war had been an assistant master at Luton Modern School.

The eldest son of a JP at Westhoughton [near Bolton, Lancs], he was educated at Manchester Grammar School and Manchester University, where he gained a BSc degree. He was teaching in Penzance, Cornwall, before joining the staff of Luton Modern School in September 1911.

He had joined the ranks of the Public School Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers as a private, soon being promoted to corporal. He was about to be promoted to sergeant-major in the early part of 1915, when he was offered a commission in the South Lancs Regiment. He passed through his courses in record time and in June 1915 went to the Front as an attached officer to the East Lancs Regiment. He had been recommended for decoration on seven occasions.

In the early part of 1916 he was promoted to First Lieutenant in recognition of his patrol work, and twice acted as a temporary Captain. He was slightly wounded on two occasions, first having a rib broken through being hit by a shell case, and was later injured by the blowing up of a mine but refused to leave his post as he was then acting as Captain.

It was only after his regiment was sent for a rest after fighting the Prussian Guard at Contalmaison that he went into hospital for a fortnight for nerve strain. He had only just returned to the Front at the Somme when he was killed.

During his three years in Luton he was also associated with adult school work and was a member of the Leagrave Invicta Tennis Club.

Ernest Barrow is included on the Luton Roll of Honour and Manchester University war memorial.