Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Flanders | ||
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.116 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 4A GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | Distinguished Conduct Medal | ||
Early Life :
The son of John and Jane Baker, Richard Baker was born at Queen Street in the Pleck district of Walsall.Family :
Wife: Lavinia Baker, of 1, Hereford St., North Walsall, Staffs.Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 1st Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment |
1st Battalion August 1914 : in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Returned to England, landing Southampton 19 September 1914. Attached to 22nd Brigade in 7th Division. Moved to Lyndhurst. 6 October 1914 : Landed at Zeebrugge. 20 December 1915 : transferred to 91st Brigade in same Division. November 1917 : moved with Division to Italy. |
| Action : The Battles of Ypres 1914 (First Ypres) |
19 October - 22 November 1914. Following the failure of the German Schlieffen Plan in August and September 1914, both sides engaged in a series of linked battles as they sought to outflank each other. The climax of these manouvres was at Ypres in November 1914 when the might of the German Army attempted to break the much outnumbered British Expeditionary Force. The political importance of Ypres, being the last town of any size in Belgium that remained in allied hands, established its importance for both sides and ensured a series of battles over four years.
The First Battle of Ypres in 1914 is characterised by a series of linked heroic stands by outnumbered British soldiers in conditions of confusion and weary endurance. The Germans never knew how close they had come to winning - at one point just the clerks and cooks were the last line of defence for the BEF. By the end of the battle the magnificent original BEF, composed of professional regular soldiers, had been all but destroyed and already the Territorial battalions were called into battle. From the end of 1914 a 'Regular' battalion was in terms of its compostion little different to a Teritorial or later Service Battalion. The professional soldiers had all but vanished.
Colour Sergeant (1908- 1911); Regimental Sergeant Major (1914)
Attested for The South Staffordshire Regiment on 17 September 1898, aged eighteen years and nine months. He saw active service in South Africa with the 1st Battalion as a signaller, and later was issued with the Queen’s South Africa Medal with clasps for Wittebergen, Cape Colony and Transvaal, as well as the King’s South Africa Medal with clasps for South Africa 1901 and South Africa 1902. Baker was promoted to the rank of Sergeant on 1 March 1907 while quartered at Bordon, and advanced to Colour-Sergeant on 1 February 1908 at Devonport. While stationed at Gibraltar, Baker was appointed Quartermaster-Sergeant on 16 February 1912, before taking up the appointment of Regimental Sergeant-Major of the 1st Battalion on 11 September. He was still R.S.M. of the 1st South Staffords at Pietermaritzburg at the outbreak of the war.
Detail :
During the fighting near Ypres in October 1914, Baker proved to be a stalwart R.S.M., and led by example during the fierce fighting. It is recorded that he personally accounted for a number of German snipers, and for his actions at the end of the month, when he took command of the 1st South Staffords when the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Ovens, and most of the officers had become casualties.
Baker did not receive his commission as he was reported as missing following the 1st South Staffords’ attack on German positions near Klein Zillebeke on 7 November 1914. In August 1915, his wife received official notification that R.S.M. Baker was presumed to have been killed on that date, and Lavinia Baker placed a notice in The Walsall Observer on 13 November in remembrance of her husband:
BAKER. – In loving memory of my dear husband, Sergeant-Major Richard Baker, 1st South Staffs. Regt., who fell in action on November 7th, 1914.
To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late,
And how can man died better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temple of his gods?
R.S.M. Baker is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial. He was aged 35 when he was killed, although the Commonwealth War Graves Commission state that his age was 32. His widow is recorded as living at 1 Hereford Street North in Walsall after the war.
Citations & Commemorations :
He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. The citation for the award was published in The London Gazette on 17 December 1914: "Conspicuous bravery during the evacuation of Klein Zillerbeke (sic), 31st October, during which he rallied his men under heavy fire."Lieutenant-Colonel Ovens later wrote to Baker’s wife, Lavinia, who lived at 26 Lumley Road in Walsall: "I am writing to tell you how splendidly your husband has done his duty at the war, and shown himself to be a thoroughly brave and capable warrant officer, and I recommended his name to the General for a commission as quartermaster… He showed what a fine man he is in many a tight corner, and I shall not forget his great services to the regiment."
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Inhabitants No. 153 E.C. | Gibraltar |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
16th December 1911 | 17th December 1912 | 16th March 1912 |
Discrepancies (Require checks, clarity or further research) :
OH 1914 Vol 2 P.399,400 Action in which Cpt J F Vallentin 1/South Staffs won a VC
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley