Geoffrey Baker

Field Marshal Sir Geoffrey Harding Baker GCB, CMG, CBE, MC (20 June 1912 – 8 May 1980) was Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army. He served in World War II 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.

Army career
Born the son of Colonel Cecil Norris Baker and Ella Mary Baker (née Hutchinson) and educated at Wellington College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Baker was commissioned into the Royal Artillery on 28 January 1932. He was promoted to lieutenant on 28 January 1935 and was posted later that year to Meerut in India.

He served in World War II and, having been promoted to captain on 28 January 1940 and posted as a staff officer to Headquarters Middle East in May 1940, he took part in the campaign in East Africa during which he fought at the Battle of Keren for which he was awarded the MC on 8 July 1941; he was wounded three times and was mentioned in dispatches on 30 December 1941 and on 15 December 1942. He was appointed Commanding Officer of 127 Field Regiment RA in July 1943 and, having been appointed OBE for his services in the Middle East on 14 October 1943, he led his regiment during the Allied invasion of Sicily. 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 being mentioned in despatches on 10 May 1945, appointed CBE on 24 January 1946 and awarded the Legion of Merit in the Degree of Commander by the President of the United States on 17 September 1948.

After the War he co-ordinated administrative services in the Allied Control Commission in Germany. Promoted to the substantive rank of major on 1 July 1946, he was appointed Deputy Director of Staff Duties at the War Office in January 1947. After promotion to lieutenant colonel on 31 December 1951, he took command of 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery at Munsterlager and, following promotion to colonel on 20 June 1953 and having been appointed CB in the New Year Honours 1955, 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 CMG in the New Year Honours 1958. He became Assistant Chief of Staff at Headquarters Northern Army Group in February 1959 and, on promotion to major-general on 3 February 1960, he was appointed Chief-of-Staff at Southern Command. He went on to be Chief of Staff at 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.

Following his appointment as Vice Chief of the Imperial General Staff with the rank of lieutenant general on 2 September 1963, and having been advanced to KCB in the New Year Honours 1964, he became General Officer Commanding Southern Command on 31 October 1966. Having been promoted to full general on 7 May 1967 and advanced to GCB in the New Year Honours 1968, he was appointed Chief of the General Staff on 1 March 1968. 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 had inadequate intelligence on the IRA. He was promoted to field marshal on 31 March 1971 on his retirement from the British Army.

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. He was also Constable of the Tower of London from 1 August 1975. He was a governor of both Wellington College and Radley College.

He died at Wellington College on 8 May 1980.

Family
In 1946 he married Valerie Lockhart; they had one daughter (the military artist Alix Baker) and two sons.