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Rifleman. Henry Thomas Baker MSM
British Army 1st Btn. Rifle Brigade
from:Stoke by Nayland, Suffolk
My grandfather, Henry Thomas Baker, was born in Stoke by Nayland, Suffolk, in 1888 and enlisted in Colchester around 1905. He served in India with the 2nd Battalion Rifle Brigade and returned to the UK in 1911 where he took the job of postman at Tiptree in Essex. He remained on the Army Reserve and married my grandmother on 1st June 1914. Within weeks he was recalled to the Colours and the 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade who were in Colchester at the time. By 24th August the Battalion were in action at le Cateau and were part of the valiant retreat from Mons to the River Marne.
Henry served throughout the war and fought in many of the major battles. He was wounded once only in the wrist by a shell fragment and for a period was a battalion stretcher bearer. He was promoted to Sergeant and awarded the Meritorious Service Medal before demobilisation.
Henry was standard bearer for the local branch of the British Legion for many years and died after a short illness on 23rd October 1967. The funeral was a very touching affair with the path to the grave lined on both sides by many Legion Members and Standards, including an Admiral of the Fleet and a Major General who had all come to pay their respects to an "Old Contemptible"
