Profile

BAKER, Gordon Albert
(Service number 7/1544)

Aliases
First Rank Gunner Last Rank

Birth

Date 5 February 1898 Place of Birth Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia

Enlistment Information

Date 30 December 1912 Age 14
Address at Enlistment
Occupation
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status
Next of Kin
Religion Roman Catholic
Medical Information

Military Service

Served with UK Armed Forces? Served in Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation
Unit, Squadron, or Ship Royal Field Artillery
Date
Transport
Embarked From Destination
Other Units Served With Royal Field Artillery
Last Unit Served With

Military Awards

Campaigns
Service Medals 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Military Awards

Award Circumstances and Date

No information

Prisoner of War Information

Date of Capture
Where Captured and by Whom
Actions Prior to Capture
PoW Serial Number
PoW Camps
Days Interned
Liberation Date

Discharge

Date 5 June 1919 Reason

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date 11 April 1977 Age 78
Place of Death Waimate
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery Waimate Cemetery
Memorial Reference
New Zealand Memorials St Patrick's (Waimate) Memorial list (June 2015)

Biographical Notes

Initial research for SCRoll had difficulty in identifying Gordon Baker's military service. But, in 2023 the South Canterbury Museum was contacted by D Pinnell who noted: “Although his marriage entry says Chiswick, New South Wales, Gordon Albert Baker was born in Chiswick, Middlesex , England in 1898. His father was George Gorton Baker, a bread baker, and his mother Jane Lawrance (shown in UK Census of 1901 as living at 77 Duke Road, Chiswick). Jane died, and George remarried to Elizabeth. (Shown in UK Census of 1911 as living at Mortlake in Surrey, Gordon is listed as son from former marriage).

At 14 years old, he was legally allowed to leave school, and Gordon enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery at Kingston-on-Thames,Surrey, aged 14 years and 22 days on December 30th, 1912. He was assigned as Trooper 71544 to the 31st Reserve Battery, Royal Field Artillery. He served throughout the First World War, and was discharged as Gunner 71544 on June 5th, 1919. In the UK Census of 1921, he is listed as a discharged soldier, visiting the Stokes family in Sheffield, UK. At some time in the next 8 years he made his way to New Zealand as he married Kathleen Hannifin on 2 April 1929 at St Patricks Church in Waimate. He was 30 years old. He does not appear to have served in the New Zealand Army at all.”

It appears Gordon had moved to Waimate, New Zealand by 1928, the year prior to him marrying Kathleen Hannifin in Waimate. Gordon is buried in Waimate Lawn Cemetery, which bears a plaque with his service number, rank, and names the unit he served with.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph database (May 2015); Archives New Zealand; New Zealand BDM Historical Records online; ancestry.co.au; SCRoll web submission by D Pinnell, 1 & 19 June 2023

External Links

Related Documents

Researched and Written by

Liz Shea, SC branch NZSG

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.

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