During the hostilities, I believe he was the first to spot the Japanese crossing the Lei Yue Mun passage to land on Hong Kong Island; unfortunately, his report of the landing went unheeded.
In the PoW camp he and I often played chess. He was a very good player, yet another one of his achievements. I recall those surprise roll calls which the Japanese always called at night; Ken and I contrived to stand next to each other and passed the time by playing mental chess. I could seldom get beyond eight or 10 moves, after which Ken would continue making moves for both of us.
It was in camp, later on, when he spoke up to the visiting Swiss Red Cross officials about a shortage of food and medicine, an act of great courage for which he was severely beaten by his captors.
After the war, when Hong Kong had begun to recover from the ravages of occupation, a fresh spirit of idealism and cultural aspirations started to grow. Ken Barnett embraced the new mood with enthusiasm and dedication.
He became the moving spirit behind and the first chairman of the newly-established Sino-British Club, whose noble object was to bring together Chinese and British people in a mutual spirit of tolerance and understanding. Alas, the idealism did not last long in our all-too-materialistic Hong Kong. The Sino-British Club today is but a memory, but at least one of its seeds has thrived and grown to maturity.
I knew him less well in his capacity as a senior administrative officer in government service and have not touched on his achievements there, but perhaps one of his former colleagues might do this.
A big and jovial man, he was kind and considerate; a brilliant raconteur with a marvellous sense of humour. He visited Hong Kong regularly to stay with his daughter and son-in-law, Sai Chan and David Roseveare, and renew old friendships.