BAIRD, William Strongman
| Service Number: | DX187 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 April 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/3rd Field Regiment |
| Born: | Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, 8 December 1907 |
| Home Town: | Perth, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia, 12 February 1960, aged 52 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Karrakatta Cemetery & Crematorium, Western Australia Cremation MCB-155353-P3R1S1 KC00015702 Ashes taken by War Graves at Karrakatta Cemetery The Western Australian Garden of Remembrance |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 1 Apr 1940: | Involvement Gunner, DX187 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Apr 1940: | Enlisted Darwin, NT | |
| 1 Apr 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, DX187 | |
| 13 Aug 1940: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Gunner, DX187, 2nd/3rd Field Regiment, embarked Melbourne for Deolali, India on board the Strathalbin | |
| 30 Oct 1940: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Gunner, DX187, 2nd/3rd Field Regiment, embarked from Bombay for Middle East | |
| 2 Dec 1942: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Gunner, DX187, 2nd/3rd Field Regiment, embarked Middle East for Fremantle | |
| 19 Apr 1943: | Discharged |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Gunner William Strongman Baird (Service No:DX187) enlisted in the Army in Darwin, NT on 1 April 1940 and was attached to 2nd/3rd Field Regiment RAA when he embarked with his Unit on 13 August 1940 for Deolali, India (Deolali was a staging camp for acclimatisation and training of troops prior to deployment to other fronts). Gunner Baird was hospitalised in Poona before embarking from Bombay for the Middle East on 30 October 1940 - serving at Beijit Jirja and hospitalised in Crete. Returning to Fremantle on 2 December 1942, Gunner Baird was attached to 2nd/3rd Field Regiment RAA at Discharge on 19 April 1943.
Born in Kalgoorlie, WA in 1907, Bill was third of six children of John (Jock) Thomas Baird (b1872 in Kyneton, Victoria) and Mabel May Strongman (b1878 at Grace Plains, South Australia). Jock was a Telgraphist in 1900 when he and Mabel married in Norseman, WA. Jock worked as a Telegraphist/Telegraph Operator and he Mabel lived in Kalgoorlie and Bunbury before settling in Perth in 1915.
Bill worked in Perth as a Labourer before moving to Nevora via Kalgoorlie in the 1930s where he worked as a Miner. Following his Discharge from the Army, Bill returned to Perth where he lived with his mother until his death in 1960.