Thomas Henry Barker (18 May 1841 – 9 April 1917) was Secretary of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce from 1884 to 1912. He was made Chevalier of the Order of Saint Anna for his services (along with those of Alfred Lewis Jones) to the duma during the Russian imperial visit to Cowes in 1909. Professional life Barker started his career in 1856 at the age of 16 as a clerk with James Baines & Co., owners of the Black Ball Line of ships (at the time one of the largest shipping companies in Liverpool). Later he moved to work for Reynold, Mann & Co., ship-owners and East India merchants, for whom he travelled extensively to America, Australia, and elsewhere. After this he joined the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce as an assistant to William Blood, who was then Secretary of the Chamber. Blood retired in 1884, and Barker was appointed Secretary in his place, at the age of 43. The Chamber at this time was involved in negotiating around the trade in cotton, wheat, and iron with India, and Barker worked in this area in relation to the East Indian Railway Company, and lobbied for reductions in import tariffs to India. The Chamber's first 'Trade Section' or subcommittee (relating to the cotton trade) had been set up in 1882, and by the end of the 1890s had twenty-three such Sections — with Barker instrumental in much of their organisation. West African trade was also of great importance to the Chamber around the time when Barker became Secretary, and he was involved along with Sir Alfred Jones in establishing the West African Trade Section. Barker also was instrumental in forming the Tobacco Trade Section. "Tobacco had been previously warehoused at various Liverpool docks, which was highly inconvenient. On the formation of the Tobacco Section, however, representations were made to the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board which led to the creation of a warehouse at the Stanley Docks, capable of storing the entire stock of tobacco entering the port." Towards the end of 1902 (following a visit to Liverpool by a British commercial agent from Moscow, H.A. Cooke) the Russian Trade Section was established, chaired by Hermann Decker and H. Clements. The following year, Cooke was sent to Siberia to make "inquiries on behalf of the Section", and a few months later Barker was sent (via Canada) to travel through Japan, Korea, China,