Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 105 The young man: George Herman Baker was born to George Merton and Elsie Ellen (Herman) Baker of North Brookfield, Queens County, NS, on 31 August, 1923. George started working in the forest industry at age 14. He liked hunting and fishing and just being in the woods. According to his daughter, Karen McLeod, he did not travel far from home and might have been to Bridgewater or Yarmouth on a few occasions before enlisting. The soldier: George enlisted in the army at Halifax on 5 April, 1943, George arrived in the UK on 1 September. He was posted to an infantry reinforcement pool. On 11 November Private Baker was posted to the NSR, which at that time, was primarily made up of men from north eastern New Brunswick. He came ashore in France as part of the initial assault wave on 6 June, 1944 (there were at least 60 men from Nova Scotia wearing the shoulder flash of the NSR that morning). George served with the NSR through France, Belgium, the Netherlands and into Germany. He returned to the UK on 22 December, 1945, and was discharged in Halifax on 6 March, 1946. The veteran: After his discharge he opted to make use of the vocational training benefits provided under the Veterans Rehabilitation Act of the Department of Veterans Affairs. George went to Cape Breton to train as a carpenter. While there he met a young widow, Madge Reed Edmonds, who owned and operated a fish and chips business. George and Madge married, and along with Madge’s daughter Deanna, moved back to North Brookfield. George and Madge would have five children before Madge’s death in 1959. Upon his return to North Brookfield George found work in the woods and would eventually find full time work with the NS Department of Lands and Forests. Like many veterans he was remiss to speak of his wartime experiences. Being from the south shore, and having served in a New Brunswick regiment, he often found it hard to speak about his experiences with fellow army veterans from the area, many of whom had served in the West Nova Scotia Regiment. George Herman Baker died on 23 August 2003. George Herman Baker – The soldier on the coin By Gary Silliker NSR D-Day landing NSR D-Day landing
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