BAIRD, Robert Stewart
(Service number 3/1821)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Sergeant |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 03/07/1890 | Place of Birth | Timaru |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Craighall, North Street, Timaru | ||
| Occupation | Ironmonger | ||
| Previous Military Experience | Field Ambulance - serving; Timaru Rifles - 4 years | ||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | W. BAIRD (father), Craighall, North Street, Timaru | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | Hospital Ship No 1, Maheno | ||
| Date | |||
| Transport | |||
| Embarked From | Destination | ||
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| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
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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 |
Death
| Date | 10 September 1962 | Age | 72 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Christchurch | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | |||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
"Robert's great grandson recounts:
"Robert Stewart Baird was born on July 3rd, 1890 in Timaru - the second youngest son of William and Mary Louisa Baird (née Stewart). William Baird was a well known builder, who played a prominent role in the building and planning of Timaru in its early days. William and Mary Louisa had immigrated to Timaru on-board the barque Pleiades in 1874 from Glasgow, Scotland (however, William was an Ulster Scot from Antrim).
Robert - also known as Bob - was working as an insurance agent and ironmonger in Timaru when war broke out. He was sent to Europe on-board the Hospital Ship - the Maheno - in January 1916, at the age of 25. He served for more than two years on-board the Maheno, until he made his way back to New Zealand at the war's close.
Bob married Mary McRae (known as Mac) on April 17th in 1919 at his parents-in law's home "Milladen" 15 Selwyn Street, Timaru. Mary was the daughter of John Stevenson McRae - the owner/proprietor of the Timaru Woollen Mills.
Bob had a successful career in the oil and insurance industries, spending the latter half of his life based in Christchurch.
He had two children: Aileen McRae Baird in 1922 and Ian McRae Baird (my Grandfather) in 1927."
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [21 December 2016]; School Admission Records (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [17 December 2016]; Timaru Herald, 25 July 1958 (Timaru District Library) [20 December 2016]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [22 December 2016]; SCroll submission by A Baird, 30 August 2017
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