Commemorated:

1. Memorial:Basra MemorialPanel 12 Basra
2. Book:The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918Pg.115
3. Memorial:The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour19D GQS
    

Awards & Titles:

 

Early Life :

Eldest son of Ernest Edward and Beatrice Baker F.S.A. of The Glebe House, Weston-Super-Mare.

Family :

Probate record shows: BAKER, Aubrey Halliwell of the Glebe House, Weston-Super_Mare. Captain in the 1st/4th Somerset Light Infantry (Territorial Force). Died 8th March 1916 in Mesopotamia - killed in action. Administration granted at Wells 24th June to Ernest Edward Baker - Solicitor. Effects £1956 12s 5d.

Education & Career :

Educated at Duckworth's, St. Peters, Weston-Super-Mare. Also at Clifton College (through scholarship) and Trinity College, Oxford where he obtained a 2nd Class Final Honour School of Jurisprudence, and B.A. Degree (1911), 2nd Class Honour Examination B.C.L. degree (1913); Final Examination of the Law Society 1914.

At Clifton he was a member of the O.T.C. and captain of the Shooting VIII at Bisley, winning a medal in the Ashburton Shield competition. Whilst in the O.T.C. at Oxford, he shot in the Varsity VIII at Bisley.

Service Life:

Campaigns:

Unit / Ship / Est.: 4th Battalion Somerset Light Infantry 

Action : Mesopotamia 

At the outbreak of war the British, together with Indian troops, resolved to protect oil supply in the region by occupying the area around Basra at Abadan. This evolved into a series of campaigns towards Baghdad against the Turkish forces as Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) was part of the Ottoman Empire. Meetings in late 1914 and into 1915 led the Viceroy and Indian government at Simla to reconsider the limited involvement of troops and they decided to order further advances with a view to securing the Shatt-al-Hai, a canal connecting the Tigris and Euphrates river and potentially capturing Baghdad. The British government disagreed and wished to conserve forces for the Western front. The Viceroy was given permission to act as it wished, but told in no uncertain terms that no reinforcements should be expected.

The initial success experienced by the British and Indian forces quickly disintegrated in the face of Ottoman opposition. The Siege of Kut-Al-Amara began on 7th December with the besieging of an 8,000 strong British-Indian garrison in the town of Kut, 100 miles south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. These campaigns produced few tactical benefits, indeed the catastrophic defeat at Kut in 1916 was a major setback. Badhdad was eventually taken in March 1917.

The conditions in Mesopotamia were dreadful. The climate, sickness and disease produced large losses in addition to battle casualties. About as many men died of disease as were killed in action. The Mesopotamia front was part of a strategy hoping for success at lower cost than the Western Front but no decisive victory was achieved.

Aubrey was gazetted as a 2nd Lieutenant, 4th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry in February 1912 and promoted to Lieutenant shortly afterwards. He was made Captain 7th October 1914. He volunteered for foreign service and embarked for India with his battalion in October 1914. From there he went to Mesopotamia in February 1916 and was killed in action at the Battle of Es Sinn 8th March 1916.

Detail :

At Butcombe Church, Somerset there is a chancel screen erected by the parents of two brothers who fell in the Great War: Capt Aubrey Halliwell Baker 1st /4th Somerset Light Infantry aged 26 who fell in action in Mesopotamia March 8th 1916 and his brother Lt Neville Ernest Baker Royal Engineers aged 21 who fell in action near Ypres July 31st 1917. Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life. REV 11.10

Citations & Commemorations :

  The president of Trinity College wrote of him, "He charmed me from the first moment I saw him and throughout he was a good member of the college and as admirable a young man as anyone could be." A scholar who enlisted in the same battalion wrote from India, "He was a man one could die for." His Commanding Officer wrote, "He was a gallant officer, and was very much liked by the officers and men of his battalion. To me personally I feel that I have lost a friend to whome I was much attached."

Masonic :

TypeLodge Name and No.Province/District :
Mother : Saint Kew No. 1222 E.C.Somerset

Initiated
Passed
Raised
7th November 1911
5th December 1911
6th February 1912
 

Source :

The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:

Additional Source:

Last Updated: 2016-08-23 15:10:41