Edward Ernest Barks was born in London, England on 22 March 1876. After training with Richard Norman Shaw (1831-1912) in 1893-94, he was articled to Hunt & Fleur from 1895 to 1898. He also attended South Kensington School; King's College, London; and the Royal Academy Schools in London. He worked as an assistant to Edward Herbert Bourchier (1856-1938) from 1899 to 1901; to William Ralph Low (1863-1950) in 1902; in London & North Western Railway Estates Department from 1902 to 1904; and in the London County Council Education Archictects' Department from 1904 to 1911. He qualified as an architect in 1911 and was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) later that year.
His address was given as 19 Charing Cross Road, London and 39 Oakley Crescent, Chelsea, London in 1911; Flat 4 , 58 Hogarth Road, Earl's Court, London in 1914; 2 Cleveland Mansions, Elgin avenue, London in 1922 and 1926; and 4 Park Hill Road Epsom, Surrey in 1939 . He died in Surrey on 17 February 1951
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 1: A-K. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
‘Obituary’. RIBA Journal 1951 p. 248