George Harold Baker | |
|---|---|
 Baker in uniform atValcartier (July 1915) | |
| Member of Parliament forBrome | |
| In office September 21, 1911 – June 2, 1916 | |
| Preceded by | Sydney A. Fisher |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Ross McMaster |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1877-11-04)November 4, 1877 Sweetsburg, Quebec, Canada |
| Died | June 2, 1916(1916-06-02) (aged 38) Mount Sorrel,Ypres Salient, Belgium |
| Cause of death | Killed in action |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Relations | George Barnard Baker, father |
| Alma mater | McGill University |
| Profession | Lawyer, soldier |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Canada |
| Branch/service | Canadian Army |
| Years of service | 1903–1916 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Unit | 6th Duke of Connaught's Royal Canadian Hussars 13th Scottish Light Dragoons 5th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles, CEF |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
George Harold Baker (November 4, 1877 – June 2, 1916) was a lawyer, political figure, and soldier fromQuebec, Canada. He representedBrome in theHouse of Commons of Canada from 1911 to 1916 as aConservativeMember of Parliament.
He is the only sitting Canadian MP to bekilled in action on military service. Fellow MPSamuel Simpson Sharpe also served at the front, was wounded and died by suicide in 1918 while on convalescent leave in Canada.[1]
He was born inSweetsburg, Quebec, the son ofGeorge Barnard Baker, a member of parliament andSenator. He studied atBishop's College School from 1889 to 1893.
Prior to theFirst World War, Baker served as a member of the6th Duke of Connaught’s Royal Canadian Hussars and the13th Scottish Light Dragoons.
Baker was elected as the Member of Parliament for Brome in the1911 federal election, representing theConservative Party.
| 1911 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Conservative | George Harold Baker | 1,520 | ||||||
| Liberal | Sydney Arthur Fisher | 1,496 | ||||||
Baker fought in World War I as a Lieutenant-Colonel, commanding the5th Canadian Mounted Rifles. He was killed in action atWieltje Salient, West Flanders, Belgium on June 2, 1916, during theBattle of Mount Sorrel. Baker was carried out of the action by his second-in-command MajorDennis Draper.[2] He was buried at Poperinghe New Military Cemetery, where his gravestone bears the inscription:DEATH IS A LOW MIST WHICH CANNOT BLOT THE BRIGHTNESS IT MAY VEIL.[3][4]
Baker's life and death were commemorated by the publication ofA Canadian Soldier (1917).[2][5] A memorial service was held at Christ Church inSweetsburg, Quebec, on June 18, 1916. Tributes were paid by the Reverend W. P. R. Lewis and General SirSam Hughes, Minister of Militia. Baker's death was also marked by the Prime Minister of Canada SirRobert Borden, with a statement published in the press and a further tribute given at the opening of parliament on January 18, 1917.[2]
A bronze memorial statue to Baker byR. Tait McKenzie was unveiled on February 29, 1924, by Governor GeneralLord Byng in the House of Commons foyer in theCentre Block building of theParliament of Canada in Ottawa, Canada.[6] The Prime Minister of CanadaWilliam Lyon MacKenzie King spoke at the unveiling, and his speech and those of others were recorded in the red leather-bound commemorative volumeParliamentary Memoir of George Harold Baker, M.P. (1924). This volume also included a funerary poem for Baker: "Non Mortuus".[7]
The base of the memorial statue bears the following inscription:
LIEUT-COLONEL GEORGE HAROLD BAKER, M.P., 5th C.M.R. KILLED IN ACTION, JUNE 2, 1916, AT THE BATTLE OF SANCTUARY WOOD. ERECTED BY ORDER OF THE PARLIAMENT OF CANADA.[8]
Either side of the recess holding the memorial statue, there are inscriptions on the walls. The inscription to the left is a biblical quote (2 Maccabees 6.31)[9][10] and the inscription to the right is the final five lines of the poem "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae.[7][11]
| 1911 Canadian federal election:Brome | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Conservative | George Harold Baker | 1,520 | ||||||
| Liberal | Sydney Arthur Fisher | 1,496 | ||||||
