As part of our project to document the names on Duncan’s Cenotaph in Charles Hoey Park on Canada Avenue, here is what we know about Arthur William Baker, who died, aged 40, at the Battle of the Somme in France on 28 July 1916:
“Lieut. A.W. Baker
2nd Lieut. A.W. Baker, King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, is reported missing and believed killed. He enlisted in the B.C. Horse early in the war and went to England with the 2nd C.M.R., transferring from that unit to the K.O.Y.L.I. He had farmed at Koksilah for some time. He was unmarried and his father died soon after he reached England.”
(source: Cowichan Leader, 31 August 1916, from Cowichan Valley Museum & Archives collections)
“Lieut. Arthur W. Baker
Lieutenant Arthur W. Baker, King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, previously reported “missing, believed killed” is now reported killed on July 28. He was the third son of the late Rev. J.J. Baker, rector of Little Hallingbury, Essex. Born at Yoxall, Staffs., in 1876, he served in the Artists Rifles from 1895, then in the Queen’s Edinburghs, and from 1903-1911 in the Volunteers in South Africa. He took part in the Zulu Campaign, 1906, and received a medal from the Natal government. In September 1914 he joined the B.C. Horse and went to England with the 2nd C.M.R. in June 1915. He obtained his commission in the Yorkshire Light Infantry and went out to the front in June last. He was unmarried and had farmed at Koksilah for some time.”
(source: Cowichan Leader, 9 October 1916, from Cowichan Valley Museum & Archives collections)
Commonwealth War Graves Commission Information
Arthur William Baker; Rank: 2nd Lieutenant; Age: 40: Date of Death: 28 July 1916; King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, 1st/5th Battalion; No Known Grave, commemorated on Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France
Other Links:
Do you want to leave a comment or a question about anything on this page?