Valentine Baker (pilot)
Valentine Henry Baker | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Bake |
Born | Llanfairfechan, Wales | 24 August 1888
Died | 12 September 1942 RAF Wing, Buckinghamshire, England | (aged 54)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | Royal Navy British Army Royal Air Force |
Years of service | 1914–1921 |
Rank | Captain |
Unit | |
Battles/wars | World War I |
Awards | Military Cross Air Force Cross |
Relations | Denys Val Baker (son) |
Other work | Flying instructor Founder of Martin-Baker Aircraft Co. Ltd. |
Military career
Born in Llanfairfechan, Wales, Baker joined the Royal Navy ("for land service") on 27 October 1914, and was immediately rated petty officer mechanic,[2] and assigned to the Royal Naval Air Service Armoured Car Section as a despatch rider.[3] At the time he joined up he was described as being five feet eight and four-fifths inches tall, with a thirty-eight inch chest, "medium brown" hair, blue eyes and a "medium" complexion.[2] Five months later, in the Gallipoli campaign, he was wounded by a bullet in his neck which lodged near his spinal column. Doctors informed him that any operation to remove it might be fatal, so Baker told them to "leave it alone then", and he lived the remainder of his life with it in his neck.[3]
He was discharged from the RNAS on 31 August 1915,
Baker was assigned to 41 Squadron, with which he spent his entire nine-month combat flying career, during which time he was reputed to have shot down several German aircraft.[1] He also earned the Military Cross, awarded on 26 July 1917, the citation read:
2nd Lt. Valentine Henry Baker, Gen. List and R.F.C. For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. In a large number of aerial combats, he showed the greatest daring and determination. On one occasion, alone, he flew at a low altitude over the enemy lines, attacking and dispersing enemy artillery, infantry, and transport, and returned with a valuable reconnaissance report concerning the retiring enemy.[5]
The RFC decided that his skills as a flying ace would be best used to train new pilots, and in June 1917 he became a flight instructor, teaching at Turnberry, Catterick, and Cramlington. During this period, his son was born, and he was successively promoted to temporary lieutenant, and captain on 27 August 1917.[6]
Baker transferred to the new
Civilian life
Baker's first civilian job was for Vickers Limited, which took him to the Dutch East Indies. There, he became affiliated with the Netherlands Naval Aviation Service and worked for them as an instructor for three years. However, his wife became ill and they returned to England. Soon after, he took another job for Vickers, this time to Chile where he demonstrated the company's aircraft as well as trained Chilean pilots.[1]
Upon his return to England, he noticed that there was a great deal of interest in civilians learning to fly, and he successively taught at the
Martin-Baker
In 1934, Baker left Heston to join his friend James Martin to found the Martin-Baker Aircraft Company, where Baker was the company's test pilot. During a test flight of the Martin-Baker MB 3 prototype from RAF Wing in Buckinghamshire during the late afternoon of 12 September 1942, the engine seized and he was forced into an emergency landing, during which the aircraft struck a tree stump, cartwheeled through a hedge and he was killed. The crash site was located in December 2020 and now sits on the land of the Aylesbury Vale Golf Club near to Stewkley, Buckinghamshire, where a memorial has been created along with a commissioned bust of Valentine and relics from the crash site. The main function room has been named ‘The Captain Valentine Baker Suite’. A further memorial to Valentine sits by the main runway of RAF Wing, and next to the hangar site where the MB3 was stored during the trials. Baker's death affected his partner deeply,[14] so much so that pilot safety became Martin's primary focus and led to the reorganisation of the company to focus on ejection seats.[15]
References
- ^ a b c d Valentine Henry Baker funeral brochure. Martin-Baker Co. 1942.
- ^ a b c "Registers of Seamen's Services—Image details—Baker, Valentine Henry". DocumentsOnline. The National Archives. Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
- ^ a b c "Captain Valentine Baker". Martin-Baker Co. Archived from the original on 6 April 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
- ^ "No. 29783". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 October 1916. p. 9863.
- ^ "No. 30204". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 July 1917. p. 7622.
- ^ "No. 30277". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 September 1917. p. 9354.
- ^ a b "No. 30722". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 May 1918. p. 6520.
- ^ "No. 30723". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 May 1918. p. 6533.
- ^ "No. 31616". The London Gazette. 24 October 1919. p. 13032.
- ^ "No. 32483". The London Gazette. 11 October 1921. p. 7984.
- ISBN 0-460-03942-3.
- ^ Narracott, Arthur Henson (1943). Unsung Heroes of the Air. F. Muller Ltd. p. 115.
- ISBN 978-0-7735-3337-0.
- ISBN 1-85260-551-0.
- ^ Ingram, Frederick C. (1990). "Martin-Baker Aircraft Company Limited". International Directory of Company Histories. 61. Retrieved 23 April 2009.