Lt-Col Neil Alexander Baird

1910 - 1989  (78 years)

• Name	Neil Alexander Baird
  Prefix	Lt-Col
  Born	7 Aug 1910	Brantford, Brant Co., Ontario, Canada   [1, 2]
  Gender	Male
  Residence	1931	Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [3]
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-140691
  Died	4 Feb 1989	Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  Person ID	I140691	Generations
  Last Modified	25 Apr 2024

  
  

  Father	John "Jack" Baird,   b. 15 Jul 1862, Dreghorn, , Ayr, Scotland ,   d. 26 Dec 1922, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 60 years)
  Mother	Grace Christina McPherson,   b. 20 Sep 1872, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 7 Oct 1931, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 59 years)
  Married	20 Sep 1909	North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1, 4]
  Family ID	F11960	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  BAIRD - Neal Alexander at his residence on Saturday, February 4th, 1989. Neal Alexander Baird of 9 Westgate Court, Cambridge in his 79th year. Beloved brother of Mrs. Mary Taylor of Hamilton and R. James Baird of B.C. Mr. Baird is predeceased by his half brother Jack Baird Craig and also by his half sister Tina Baird. Mr. Baird was formerly a Lieutenant Colonel in the Highland Light Infantry and was a member of the Royal Canadian Legion Galt Branch 121. A private service was held today at the Corbett Funeral Home Chapel, 95 Dundas Street, Cambridge. Cremation followed. Unidentified Newspaper Obituary ----------------------------- Memorial service to honor HLI officer - By Roy Francis - Special to the Reporter - Well-deserved honor will be paid Thursday to the late Lt.-Col. Neil A. Baird, a wartime officer in the First Battalion of the Highland Light Infantry of Canada. A memorial service will be held under the auspices of Lt.-Col. Robert Bielek, commanding officer of the local Highland Fusiliers of Canada militia regiment. It will be held at the Galt Armoury at 8 p.m. Rev. Gordon Griggs, padre of Galt Legion Branch 121, will be in charge of the service. Members of the HLI of C Association, the Highland Fusiliers and Branch 121 are invited to attend, along with other special guests. Col. Baird, 78 at the time of his death early in February, was a descendant of General Sir David Baird, of the old 74th Highlanders in the 1700s. The unit later became the famed Highland Light Infantry, City of Glasgow Regiment. A quiet, thoughtful man of well-lettered dignity, Col. Baird always revealed a modest competence in relationships with others. Born in August 1910, he attended Galt Collegiate Institute. Then in 1929 he got involved in industrial engineering at Dominion Woollens and Worsteds Ltd. in Hespeler. In October 1935, he joined the HLI's militia unit in Galt. His advance was rapid, and Capt. Baird was the adjutant of the HLI unit when it was mobilized for active duty overseas in June 1940, and began training in Stratford. Along with the late Col. J.A. McIntosh and Regimental Sgt. Major Austin Hadfield, he was credited with making the HLI a formidable and well-drilled regiment. One of his greatest abilities was his organizational talent, a vital necessity in dealing with 1,100 men. In Britain, Capt. Baird attended the Military Staff College at Camberley in 1942. He was at headquarters First Canadian Corps, then South Eastern Command, then to First Canadian Army headquarters, all in England. He was posted to Allied Forces headquarters in Algiers, then to the Mediterranean Theatre in Italy. Later, Col. Baird served at National Defence headquarters in Ottawa, and at the Canadian Military headquarters in London, England. At the end of hostilities in the Second War, he returned to sales at Dominion Woollens until 1953, and then worked for six years at Canadian Cottons Ltd., Hamilton. Between 1959 and 1970, he handled statistical quality control at Harvey Woods Ltd., Woodstock. A private funeral was held at the Corbett Funeral Home, Dundas Street, with cremation following services. Unidentified Newspaper Obituary

  
  

• Sources

  [S655] z Vit - ON - Birth Registration, 11258 (1910), Neil Alexander Baird. Neil Alexander Baird b. 7 Aug 1910 Brantford, s/o John Baird (Photographer or Brantford ) & Grace Christina McPherson, married 20 Sep 1909 Galt, [S967] News - ON, Waterloo, Cambridge - Cambridge Reporter (1973-2003), Obituary of Lt-Col Neil (Neal) Alexander Baird. [S713] Vit - ON - Death Registration, death certificate 34108 (1931), Grace Christina Baird. Grace Christina Baird b. 20 Sep 1872 North Dumfries , d. 4 Oct 1931 Hespeler, Occ: School Teacher, d/o John A. McPherson (b. Galt, North Dumfries) & Florence Wilkinson (b Puslinch, Wellington) informant: Neil Baird of Hespeler (son), cause: accident (struck by motor car) [S721] Vit - ON - Marriage Registration, marriage certificate 20305 (1909), John Baird-Grace Christine McPherson. Name:, John Baird Occ: Decorator, of Galt Event Date:, 20 Sep 1909 Event Place:, North Dumfries, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Gender:, Male Age:, 47 Birth Year (Estimated): , 1862 Father's Name:, Robert Baird (Time Keeper) Mother's Name:, Christina Ledgerwood Spouse's Name:, Grace Christina Mcpherson Spouse's Gender:, Female Spouse's Age:, 37 Occ: Teacher of Galt Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated): , 1872 Spouse's Father's Name:, John A Mcpherson Spouse's Mother's Name:, Florence Wilkinson Reference ID:, 020305 GS Film Number:, 1872067 Digital Folder Number:, 004529578 Image Number:, 00199

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 7 Aug 1910 - Brantford, Brant Co., Ontario, Canada Residence - 1931 - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 4 Feb 1989 - Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth