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{{Short description|British Army officer (1912–1980)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Sir Geoffrey Baker
|image= Sir Geoffrey Baker in 1968.jpg
|image_size=
|caption= General Sir Geoffrey Baker in 1968
|birth_date= {{Birth date|1912|06|20|df=y}}
|death_date= {{death date and age|1980|05|08|1912|06|20|df=y}}
|birth_place= [[Murree]], [[British Raj|British India]]
|death_place= [[Wellington College, Berkshire]], [[England]]
|nickname=
|allegiance= United Kingdom
|branch= [[British Army]]
|serviceyears= 1932–1971
|servicenumber= 50806
|rank= [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]]
|unit= [[Royal Artillery]]
|commands= [[Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the General Staff]] [[Southern Command (United Kingdom)|Southern Command]] [[3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery]] 127th Field Regiment, [[Royal Artillery]]
|battles= [[Second World War]] [[Modern history of Cyprus|Cyprus Emergency]] [[The Troubles]]
|awards= [[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]] [[Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George]] [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Military Cross]] [[Mentioned in Despatches]] (3) [[Legion of Merit]] (United States)
|relations=
|laterwork= [[Constable of the Tower|Constable of the Tower of London]] (1975–80)
}}
[[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] '''Sir Geoffrey Harding Baker''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|GCB|CMG|CBE|MC}} (20 June 1912 – 8 May 1980) was [[Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the General Staff]], the professional head of the [[British Army]], from 1968 to 1971. He served in the [[Second World War]] and became Director of Operations and Chief of Staff for the campaign against [[EOKA]] in [[Cyprus]] during the [[Cyprus Emergency]] and later in his career provided advice to the British Government on the deployment of troops to [[Northern Ireland]] at the start of [[the Troubles]].

==Military career==
Born the son of Colonel Cecil Norris Baker and Ella Mary Baker (née Hutchinson)<ref name=odnb>{{Cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/30784?docPos=1|title=Geoffrey Harding Baker|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/30784|access-date=27 December 2011}}</ref> and educated at [[Wellington College, Berkshire|Wellington College]] and the [[Royal Military Academy, Woolwich]],<ref name=page37>Heathcote, Anthony pg 37</ref> Baker was commissioned into the [[Royal Artillery]] on 28 January 1932.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33794|page=631|date=29 January 1932}}</ref> He was promoted to [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]] on 28 January 1935 and was posted later that year to [[Meerut]] in India.<ref name=page37/>
[[File:Wellington College South Front.jpg|thumb|left|Wellington College where Baker was educated]]
Baker served in the [[Second World War]] and, having been promoted to [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]] on 28 January 1940, and posted as a staff officer to Headquarters Middle East in May 1940.<ref name=page37/> He took part in the campaign in East Africa, during which he fought at the [[Battle of Keren]]<ref name=page37/> for which he was awarded the [[Military Cross]] on 8 July 1941,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=35209|supp=y|page=3884|date=4 July 1941}}</ref> was wounded three times, and was [[mentioned in despatches]] on 30 December 1941<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=35396|page=7342|date=26 December 1941}}</ref> and on 15 December 1942.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=35821|supp=y|page=5437|date=11 December 1942}}</ref> He was appointed Commanding Officer of 127 Field Regiment RA in July 1943 and, having been appointed an [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] for his services in the Middle East on 14 October 1943,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=36209|supp=y|page=4540|date=12 October 1943}}</ref> he led his regiment during the [[Allied invasion of Sicily]].<ref name="pg 38">Heathcote, Anthony pg 38</ref> In March 1944 he joined to staff at [[21st Army Group]] and took part in the [[Normandy landings]] and the campaign in North West Europe,<ref name="pg 38"/> being mentioned in despatches on 10 May 1945,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37072|supp=y|page=2456|date=8 May 1945}}</ref> appointed a [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] on 24 January 1946,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37442|supp=y|page=615|date=22 January 1946}}</ref> and awarded the [[Legion of Merit]] in the Degree of Commander by the [[President of the United States]] on 17 September 1948.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=38405|supp=y|page=5037|date=14 September 1948}}</ref>

After the war, Baker co-ordinated administrative services in the [[Allied Commission|Allied Control Commission]] in Germany.<ref name="pg 38"/> Promoted to the substantive rank of [[major]] on 1 July 1946,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37635|supp=y|page=3365|date=28 June 1946}}</ref> he was appointed deputy director of Staff Duties at the [[War Office]] in January 1947.<ref name="pg 38"/> After promotion to [[lieutenant colonel]] on 31 December 1951,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=39454|supp=y|page=693|date=1 February 1952}}</ref> he took command of [[3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery]] at [[Munster Training Area#Munsterlager|Munsterlager]] and, following promotion to [[Colonel (United Kingdom)|colonel]] on 20 June 1953<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=40085|supp=y|page=626|date=26 January 1954}}</ref> and having been appointed a [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]] in the [[New Year Honours]] 1955,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=40366|supp=y|page=3|date=31 December 1954}}</ref> he became Director of Operations and Chief of Staff for the campaign against [[EOKA]] in [[Cyprus]] in November 1955 during the [[Cyprus Emergency]], for which he was appointed a [[Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George]] in the [[New Year Honours]] 1958.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=40960|supp=y|page=5|date=28 December 1956}}</ref> He became Assistant Chief of Staff at Headquarters [[Northern Army Group]] in February 1959 and, on promotion to [[major general]] on 3 February 1960,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=41967|supp=y|page=1533|date=26 February 1960}}</ref> he was appointed Chief-of-Staff at [[Southern Command (United Kingdom)|Southern Command]].<ref name="pg 38"/> He went on to be Chief of Staff at [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe]] (SHAPE) in November 1961, in which capacity he was responsible for contingency planning for [[Berlin]] at the time of the construction of the [[Berlin Wall]].<ref name="pg 38"/>
[[File:Shankilltroubles.jpg|thumb|left|Baker advised the Government on its response to the Troubles in Northern Ireland in 1970]]
Following his appointment as [[Vice Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom)|Vice Chief of the Imperial General Staff]]<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=43096|supp=y|page=7355|date=30 August 1963}}</ref> with the rank of [[lieutenant general]] on 2 September 1963,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=43116|supp=y|page=7975|date=24 September 1963}}</ref> and having been advanced to [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]] in the [[1964 New Year Honours]],<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=43200|supp=y|page=3|date=31 December 1963}}</ref> Baker became [[General Officer Commanding]] [[Southern Command (United Kingdom)|Southern Command]] on 31 October 1966.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=44158|supp=y|page=11799|date=28 October 1966}}</ref> Promoted to [[General (United Kingdom)|general]] on 7 May 1967<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=44361|supp=y|page=7629|date=7 July 1967}}</ref> and advanced to [[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]] in the [[New Year Honours]] 1968,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=44484|supp=y|page=3|date=29 December 1967}}</ref> Baker was appointed [[Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the General Staff]] on 1 March 1968.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=44539|supp=y|page=2655|date=1 March 1968}}</ref> In this role he provided advice to the British Government on the deployment of troops to [[Northern Ireland]] at the start of [[the Troubles]]: his assessment was that [[Special Branch (Metropolitan Police)|Special Branch]] had inadequate intelligence on the [[Irish Republican Army (1922-1969)|IRA]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/585080.stm |title=Papers reveal Government in the dark over IRA|work=BBC News|date=1 January 2000|access-date=26 December 2011}}</ref> He was promoted to [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|field marshal]] on 31 March 1971,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=45337|supp=y|page=3336|date=5 April 1971}}</ref> on his retirement from the [[British Army]].<ref name="pg 39">Heathcote, Anthony pg 39</ref>

In retirement he became Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery from July 1964, Colonel Commandant of the [[Royal Military Police]] from March 1968, Colonel Commandant of the [[Royal Horse Artillery]] from November 1970 and [[Master Gunner, St. James's Park]] from 1970.<ref name="pg 39"/> He was also [[Constable of the Tower of London]] from 1 August 1975.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=46652|page=9961|date=5 August 1975}}</ref> He was a governor of both [[Wellington College, Berkshire|Wellington College]] and [[Radley College]].<ref name=odnb/>

Baker was taken ill at Wellington College and died in hospital on 8 May 1980.<ref name=odnb/>

==Family==
In 1946 he married Valerie Lockhart; they had one daughter (the military artist Alix Baker)<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/2Ftol%2Flife_and_style/2Fcourt_and_social/2Farticle1989844.ece&ei=D__kTrngKIyT8gPzwbSABA&usg=AFQjCNGCtyp3rRZUVxtTTE0irXyUUIy7IQ |title=Exhibiting scenes of war and peace|newspaper=The Times|date=26 June 2007}}</ref> and two sons.<ref name="pg 38"/>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book| first=Tony| last=Heathcote|title=The British Field Marshals 1736–1997| publisher=Pen & Sword| location=Barnsley (UK)| year=1999| isbn=0-85052-696-5}}
* Baker, Rupert (son). George – A Life so Well Lived (March 2015). Private publication, some copies still available.

==External links==
*[http://www.generals.dk/general/Baker/Geoffrey_Harding/Great_Britain.html Generals of World War II]

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box | title = [[Vice Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom)|Vice Chief of the Imperial General Staff]] | before =[[William Pike (British Army officer)|Sir William Pike]] | after =[[Desmond Fitzpatrick|Sir Desmond Fitzpatrick]] | years = 1963–1966}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Kenneth Darling|Sir Kenneth Darling]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Southern Command (United Kingdom)|GOC-in-C Southern Command]]|years=1966–1968}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John Mogg (British Army officer)|Sir John Mogg]]}}
|-
{{succession box | title=[[Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the General Staff]] | before=[[James Cassels (British Army officer)|Sir James Cassels]] | after=[[Michael Carver|Sir Michael Carver]] | years=1968–1971}}
{{s-hon}}
{{succession box | title=[[Master Gunner, St. James's Park|Master Gunner, St. James's Park]] | before=[[Robert Mansergh|Sir Robert Mansergh]] | after=[[Harry Tuzo|Sir Harry Tuzo]] | years=1970–1976}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Richard Hull|Sir Richard Hull]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Constable of the Tower|Constable of the Tower of London]]|years=1975–1980}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Peter Hunt (British Army officer)|Sir Peter Hunt]]}}
{{end}}

{{Chief of the General Staff}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Geoffrey}}
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:1980 deaths]]
[[Category:British Army brigadiers of World War II]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Cyprus Emergency]]
[[Category:British field marshals]]
[[Category:Chiefs of the General Staff (United Kingdom)]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Legion of Merit]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Constables of the Tower of London]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire]]
[[Category:People from Murree]]
[[Category:Military personnel of British India]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Military Cross]]
[[Category:Royal Artillery officers]]

Geoffrey Baker (British Army officer) - Revision history

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