John "Jack" Baird

Other Events:

• Name: Jack Baird
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-42719
• Occupation: 1909, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; decorator
• Occupation: 1910, Brantford, Brant Co., Ontario, Canada; photographer
• Occupation: 1922, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; painter in wood working industry

John married Grace Christina McPherson 20 Sep 1909, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Grace (daughter of John Archibald McPherson and Florence Wilkinson) was born 20 Sep 1872, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 7 Oct 1931, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

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• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-140691
• Residence: 1931, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Notes:

BAIRD - Neal Alexander at his residence on Saturday, February 4^th, 1989. Neal Alexander Baird of 9 Westgate Court, Cambridge in his 79^th 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

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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 74^th 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

Other Events:

• Name: Mary Florence Taylor
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-151347

Mary — Albert Taylor. [Group Sheet]

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• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-155027