BAKER, Walter Herbert

Walter Baker was the son of William and Sarah Baker of 10 Newhall Street, Dudley and he attended Dudley Grammar School. He enlisted in the artillery and was posted to the Royal Horse Artillery and served in B Battery of the 115th Brigade on the Western Front. In 1917 he was involved in the Battle of Arras which opened on the 9th April with a short but heavy concentration of fire and resulted in considerable success. There was another major attack on the 14th which did not penetrate so far and encountered German counter-attacks. The artillery were given increasing importance in 1917 but their power invited German counter-battery firing. Gunner Walter Baker was killed in action on the 19th April, a much quieter day then any earlier, and is buried in Tilloy-les-Mofflaines Military Cemetery (IV A 17) near the city of Arras. He was 21 years of age and is commemorated on the Dudley and Dudley Grammar School Memorials.