BAIRD, DAVID
BAIRD, DAVID
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Rank:
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Private
6976841
14/09/1944
31
King’s Own Scottish Borderers 6th Bn.
I. A. Joint grave 16-17.
On the 14th of September the 6th bn. of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, attempted to cross the canal near SAS7 between the towns of Mol and Geel in Belgium. The unit was ambushed and D. Baird and J.T. Renton were killed. Their commander Major Norman Chetwynd Rollo M.C., was mortally wounded and died the next day.
When David Baird enlisted at the age of eighteen, both of his parents had already passed away. What we know about his life comes largely from his service records.
David Baird was born on 10 November 1912 in Lerumragh, near Omagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Before joining the army, he worked as a farm labourer. On 14 January 1931, he enlisted in the Royal Inniskillin Irish Fusiliers. According to his records, he was 5 feet 4¾ inches tall, with blue eyes and dark hair.
His military service took him far from home. In 1938 he served with his unit in Singapore, and at the outbreak of the Second World War he was deployed to Burma, where he saw action during the early stages of the conflict. In the midst of war, on 9 October 1943, David married Violet McConnell.
In July 1944, he was transferred to the King’s Own Scottish Borderers and subsequently took part in the fighting in France and Belgium following the Allied landings in Western Europe. On 14 September 1944, David Baird was reported missing. Nearly a year later, on 29 August 1945, he was officially declared killed in action.
There is a memorial placed at SAS 7, Geel, Belgium.
