No.4068 – Private Patrick Thomas George Baird 28th Battalion AIF
Patrick Baird was born in East Fremantle on 18th March 1895 to Patrick & Ellen Baird. (Son and Father in photo to left). Patrick attended the local State School before embarking as a career as a lighthouse keeper. This profession took him to Carnarvon and also to Busselton. He was living in Carnarvon when he enlisted into the AIF on the 20th December 1915.
The medical examiner found Patrick to be 5 feet 5 inches in height; weight of 135 lbs; chest measurement of 31-34 inches; fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. His religious denomination was Church of England. Initially sent to No.40 Depot, Patrick was assigned to the 10th Reinforcements to the 28th Battalion. This group left Fremantle on the H.M.A.T. Ulysses on the 1st April 1916. On the 25th April 1916 Patrick left the ship in Alexandria and was admitted to hospital with measles. He was released in late May and embarked aboard the Minnetonka for England.
Landing at Plymouth on the 12th of June he was sent to the 7th Training Battalion on Salisbury Plains. He stayed here till 15th September when he was drafted for France. He was taken on strength of the 28th Battalion on 26th September 1916. He was only at the 28th Battalion for a short time as he was killed during the 28th’s assaults on the German trenches at Flers. The exact date was unknown only that it was from the 3rd – 6th November 1916. His body was not recovered, and he is commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
His father, also called Patrick, enlisted in July 1916 and he went on to serve with the 16th Battalion on the Western Front.
He had Regimental number 6729. He was wounded twice in the war and invalided home in 1918. He joined his wife again in Busselton though unfortunately due to war related issues Patrick Baird Snr died at No.8 Australian General Hospital on the 20th February 1921. He has a war grave in Fremantle Cemetery.
Ellen Baird, living in Busselton, received her son’s effects and medals and also her husband’s medals.
Baird, Patrick Thomas George. City of Fremantle Local History Centre, accessed 06/04/2026, https://history.fremantle.wa.gov.au/nodes/view/20184