Kammala jumla mai zuwa: An haife shi a Calcutta, Barratt ya yi karatu a makarantar Bedford. Ya karbi kwamishinansa na farko a Royal Berkshire Regiment a 1883. Ya yi aiki a Sudan a lokacin da ake kira Suakin Expedition na 1885, kuma ya yi yaƙi a yakin Hasheen da kuma yakin Tofrek. A cikin 1890 ya shiga cikin Zhob Valley Expedition a Indiya, kuma ya yi yaƙi a Waziristan tsakanin 1894 da 1895. Ya yi aiki a Gabashin Afirka a 1896, a Zanzibar da Uganda tsakanin 1897 da 1898, a China a lokacin Boxer Rebellion tsakanin 1900 da 1901, kuma ya kasance a wurin a
Taimako na Peking. Daga bisani ya yi aiki a Arewa maso Yammacin Frontier a Indiya. An nada shi a matsayin Babban Jami'in Kwamandan na 9th (Secunderabad) Division kuma a matsayin Babban Jami'in Kwamandan na 16th Indian Division.