IN MEMORIAM.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XVIII, Issue XVIII, 24 October 1912, Page 6

IN MEMORIAM.

mr: h. R. bak:::T

(By Our Tokaora Correspondent.) of jour readers will remember - that I have ti oin time to time ventilated : the claims ot old soldiers through your ooluinns. And now, with your permis- . 6ion, I ghould like to bring before your ': leaders the passing of an old Crimean 1 veteran and former settler of Hawera,

'> in the person of the late Mr Horace I JRomano Baker, who last week, at New * Plymouth, joined the camp abore at the " ago of 75 years. In his youth he learned a ±r#de in a branch of the woodwar© department, but the war fever'of the mid-fifties in last century , seized him, and he fought through the - Crimean war. He was in the capture of the Redan, saw the charge of the Light Brigade, and conversed with Miss Florence Nightingale (the Ladj of the Lamp). Many an evening over a good fire has the lat© Mr Baker recounted to me the - horrors of those times; the awful carnage, and worse —the inadequate commissariat and lack of suitable clothing— claimed a heavier toll than the Rus- ■ siaai bullets. One lasting impression left on that veteran's mind by the butchery was such that he could never look on under-cooked meat, nor could he eat it, as it brought visions of Crimean carnage before his eyes. After the return of the troops to Britain he spent •some time with his regiment in Ireland, - and when he obtained his discharge he settled for a time in his native city, London, where he married. Later on he came out to New Zear land on Bishop Selwyn's staff, and as- „ sisted in erecting Bishop's Court, Auckland. After that he started in business in Wanganui, and, on the death of his , first wife, came to reside in Hawera, starting in the upholstery line. He •erected buildings on a section where tha New Zealand Clothing Factory stands, the freehold only quite recently passing out of his hands By way of speculation he bought, for £50, a section whereon are buildings extending from Mr Morris' jeweller by Brunette's corner to Messrs Blake and Sons' garage. His then acquaintance laughed at.the "new crum" squandering his money in what they reckoned a worthless speculation,- but time and progress told their tale, and only a few years ago he parted with the. freehold for *ome thousands. He also owned considerable property in other parts of Hawera. When the bush land was open«d up for selection he took up considerable areas on Bird road, and also on • the Rotakare road. In each case he ' mads valuable improvements, and went through the usual pioneer harships. In recent years he lived retired, and resided in New Plymouth, whence he occasionally came to Hawera to look after iis mortgages. Mr Baker was for many years a member of the old Hawera Town Board i He also started a brass band here, and was its first conductor, being a first-class cornet player. I think it was Mr E. Barton, who suggested that Mr Baker should be asked, as "the father" of the band, to lay the foundation-stone of the band 1 rotunda in King Edward Park, but nothing came of it. Another injustice to ■our old soldiers and pioneers! As a Fxeemaeon he was a foundation "^ «r charter member of the local lodge. , When I last saw that precious document only Mr Baker and one more brother were alive, the rest having joined the great grand lodge. So now only one foundation member remains amongst us. In religion he was a follower of Swedenborg and the New Church. He has many relatives on the West Coast and Rangitikei. Those who'resire here are: Mrs A. Crawford, daughter, Victoria street; Mrs A. Elliot, sen Mrs Archie Blair, Hawera; and Mrs Charley Ramie, of Rainia road, Inaha nieces. He had no children by his second wife, who survives him. His only son resides in Auckland.