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Sergeant W (Bill) Baird 653804 RAF/Flight Lieutenant W Baird RAF 50900 Now 86 and (with Janet) still a resident of Blairgowrie in Perthshire, Bill Baird joined the Royal Air Force in August 1939. In September 1940 he joined 211 Squadron in the Western Desert as a Sergeant Wireless Operator Air Gunner. He was aged 19 in Greece. Having survived both the Middle East and first Far East campaigns, Bill was in the last RAF party to leave Java in the face of the advancing Japanese, aboard RAFA Tung Song as it departed Tjilatjap bound for Fremantle on 2 March 1942. Bill celebrated his 21st birthday in Ceylon in May 1942 on joining 11 Squadron, still as Gunner to the boss, W/C RN Bateson. After the war, Bill headed straight for Blairgowrie and Janet. With the arrival of young Connor in 2002 they became the proud great-grandparents of the family Baird. Although as Bill says, tempus has definitely fugit, he still has a fine eye for detail and good recall that ever knows its limits. Allied with a terrific sense of humour and a kindly legpull or two, Bill has been unfailingly helpful in responding to enquiries from all and sundry, including me. He and Janet, married 61 years in February, take much pleasure in their pretty garden and in frequent forays to the local golf-course. To his own and Janet’s amusement, recently Bill has at last cast aside TV-based email to tackle the PC world full-on, thanks to son Bill. Part of his story is bound up with my father’s (see CFR Clark) and with that of the late Jock Marshall DFM. He has never sought a page of his own on site, though, so this is one page I’ve not sought permission for: it’s my thanks to you, Bill. Greece Jan 1941 On arrival at base Jock was astonished to see the extent of the damage - one could put head and shoulders through the hole. It took till the 16th to repair it! This ranks high in many near things that came my way, and makes me thankful that I survived to tell the tale. As for the delay factor and mechanism employed, I only know that when you heard the shells exploding, they were too near for comfort.” Wadi Gazouza With a Blenheim Operations Course duration of 6 to 8 weeks, the period from July to November 1941 would have been sufficient for at least two Blenheim Operations courses to complete. Here are three formal Group shots from the Wadi Gazouza 211 Squadron—72 OTU period.
Six RAAF WOp/AGs. None of these men went with 211 to the Far East. After seeing this photo enlarged recently, Bob Barclay in country Victoria recognised himself in shot and kindly checked his collection once more. Standing at the rear, L to R: Bill Godby, Noel Watt. Seated, L to R: Ron Gabrielson, Roy “Prairie” Flower, Bob Barclay, “Darky” Jennings.
The sun angle, the bench and placement details all suggest this was taken on the same occasion as the shot above. Faintly pencilled on the reverse in a neat confident hand “Sharratt” (JG, who is in shot), and in ink on its face with the names of 6 of those present, as follows: L to R, back row: JG Sharratt, Sgt Inman, Gordon Chignall, W “Bill” Baird, Harry Callison (Sgt Armourer and a current 211 Survivors Assn member), then L to R, front row: the late Paddy Kavanagh DFM, nk [apparently F/Lt C Thomas RAF from the next shot], nk [C “Harry” Briggs, also in the shot below], W/O Fogg (Chief Armourer). These men are all experienced 211 Squadron aircrew turned instructor.
This print from Bill’s set, eventually turned up in various sizes and conditions in several other collections, including that of Bob Barclay and JG Sharratt. Bill’s rear caption identified a number of the participants as follows, starting with the standing rank and reading from the right for once: Bob Barclay was with 211 Squadron at Wadi Gazouza for three months from June 1941. Like Bill and many others, he is correct in referring to them in those terms rather than as 72 OTU. In October 1941, Bob was posted to 45 Squadron, surviving a tour in the Western Desert and then in the Far East to stay with them until 1945. Bob’s photos of the June 1941 No. 1 Course at Wadi Gazouza (not reproducible, unfortunately) included these RAAF men: Arch Fraser, Peter Haynes, Al Thomas, “Charger” Cameron, Doug Thornton, Theo Richards, Jack Nell, J Nankervis, and J Quirk. Bob’s collection also includes the above group photo. Most of the No 1 Course RAAF men are in the shot, though there are some absentees. Bob’s identification matches very well with Bill’s. Taken together, the RAF members and RAAF are clearly identified as follows. Wadi Gazouza Sep 1941 NCOs Originally dated tentatively by Bill as November, it appears to have been taken on the same occasion as the preceding shots. The appearance of the men common to the three shots is identical down to hair-brushing level, as are the irregularities in the cladding of the wall behind them. The date is most likely to be in September or early October, as Kavanagh is present, and probably a course completion photo, given the presence of Barclay and other RAAF men. 508631 Sgt John Joseph “Paddy” Kavanagh DFM
Alick Goddard served in 52 Repair and Salvage Unit, based in the Sudan and at Wadi Gazouza in 1940 and 1941. Here he has caught a pleasant spot in the hard back country of Sudan, the swimming pool at Gebeit—no doubt also used for railway needs. The pool retaining walls are made of steel railway sleepers. In the distance, the pump-house. The three airmen are unidentifiable. One appears to carry a towel. Presumably that is Alick Goddard’s shadow, standing in the back of the truck, shadowed in the right foreground. Kavanagh and the 211s would have enjoyed this stop, too. Conditions in The Sudan have always been difficult at best. The problem of maintaining war graves there is discussed on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site entry for the Khartoum War Cemetery and Memorial. There Paddy was reburied in 1960, where proper care could be assured thanks to the CWGC and the Sudan government. The CWGC record for Kavanagh attributes him, apparently in error, to 214 Squadron. He rests not alone: there too lie the Australians, Sgts Skinner, Dunstone and Thompson. Sumatra and Java On the fateful 10th [of February 1942] in Z9469, we led S/Ldr Dundas and crew along with Sgt Paterson and crew to the target - Kluang. Take off around 0200. Our a/c was attacked by night fighters, and W/Cdr Bateson took massive evasive action and eventually succeeded in eluding them. Flying time 4 hours 40. On return to base we took off again at 0725, to search for missing a/c, but without success. I left Java on 2nd March, in Tung Song to Fremantle, thereafter to Ceylon where we took over Eleven Squadron. S/Ldr Dundas was my Flight Commander in Greece and was held in high regard by ground and air crew alike. His next of kin had a letter from Air Ministry in London on 26th November, 1945, stating that his a/c which had been downed by ack ack, had been located, as well as the graves of his two Australian aircrew. No grave was found for him, however.” In a later note, Bill recalled the loss of Steele, Bott and their crews referred to in JB Keeping’s section and in the Sumatra and Java narratives. 60 years later, Bill has a blunt view of the command requirement for that operation. “Lost while taking part of “fighter escort” to a convoy, thus demonstrating the Singapore thinking of so-called Higher Command. The same lot deemed that the Commanding Officer’s participation in raids should be restricted, contrary to 211 Squadron tactics of “follow the leader”. W/C Bateson disagreed and arranged to have his Wingco pennant (tin!) attached to my aerial mast to draw attention to our status!” To Ceylon and 11 Squadron
Bill Baird on the left. A publicity shot, carefully posed, of Wireless Operator and Observer in a relaxed moment. The working photographer’s tricks of the trade have changed little in 60 years! From The Times of Ceylon Sunday Illustrated of October 18, 1942. Bill’s remarks: “The photo was taken in Colombo, when I was asked (!) by WingCo Bateson to give an interview to the local reporter. The observer promoted by you to W/Cdr [now corrected] was in fact a P/O called in the article Ted, from Melbourne and who had been in shipping before joining the Air Force, presumably RAAF [...] (in Eleven Squadron at that time)”. This is a good object lesson of more than one sort. Firstly, it is all too easy to see what you want to see in photographs (or read what you want to read in documents). Something about the context and the Baird/Bateson association led me to “see” them both in the photo. Never mind that I couldn’t clearly count the rings on the P/Os shoulder tabs. Secondly, blunders need someone sharp enough to spot them, trouble to point them out, and come up with the right answer. Bill not only knew it wasn’t Bateson: he unearthed the original cutting and took the time to tell me so, with the result above. With 22 Squadron and after In March 1943 came the gazettal of his commission in the RAF as Pilot Officer—with effect from July 1942—and with it, posting to 22 Squadron. There were connections with the past: his new Squadron was still in Ceylon and equipped with Beauforts, a distant relative of the Blenheim. Not only that. Soon there were two Batesons listed as Pilot in the Baird Air Gunner’s Flying Log, the new CO being none other than W/Cdr JA Bateson, brother of his past CO RN Bateson. Gazetted Flying Officer in May (effective January 1943) Bill soon received a quiet accolade: Mentioned in Despatches 2 June 1943. He advanced to Flt Lt in July 1944, gazetted that August. post-war F/Lt Baird remained in the RAF for some years, with a stint in Shackletons (“40,000 rivets flying in more or less close formation”) along the way. In March 1949, he transferred to the Reserve of Air Force Officers in the rank of Flight Lieutenant. A decade passed and then at long last, William Baird of Blairgowrie finally relinquished his commission. In private life Bill took up an occupation held by a number of other 211 Squadron personnel: he became a printer and so remained until his retirement some years ago. Sources Air Force List issues 1943-1945
www.211squadron.org © DR Clark & others 1998–2008 |
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