A century of service and adventure: Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Baird turns 100

On May 17th 2024, Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Baird, a well loved client of Consultus Care & Nursing, celebrated an extraordinary milestone—his 100th birthday. Surrounded by family, including his son, daughter, their spouses, and his devoted carer, Arlene, Tom enjoyed a joyful dinner. This serene celebration was in stark contrast to a day in his youth: the eve of his 18th birthday, when he was fighting to survive a Nazi attack on his ship, HMS Trinidad, in the unforgiving waters of the Arctic. 

Born in 1924 in Canterbury, Tom was the youngest of five siblings. His father, a former tea planter in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), had served in both the Boer War and World War I. Military service ran deep in Tom’s family—his grandfather fought in the Crimean War, and many of his ancestors were Army officers. Yet, Tom chose a slightly different path, joining the Navy and enrolling at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth at the age of 13. 

At 17, Tom was a Midshipman aboard HMS Trinidad as it escorted an Arctic Convoy to Murmansk, Russia. The mission was perilous, with threats from both Nazi-occupied Norway and the cruel Arctic conditions, with Sailers having to go as far as to melt ice from the ship’s mast with blow torches to maintain stability. After being damaged by a torpedo, the Trinidad required repairs in Murmansk. But on May 16, 1942, as it attempted to return to Scotland, the ship was attacked by German warplanes and deemed beyond repair. Fifty men perished, but 750, including Tom, were evacuated before the ship was scuttled. 

 
"The Trinidad sank the day before my 18th birthday, but nobody was thinking about giving me a party! It was flat calm in the Arctic Ocean, and we evacuated shortly after midnight, though it was broad daylight. I was on the last destroyer to leave and watched the ship go down in a ball of flames. The last thing to disappear was the stern with the propellers. One of my friends even captured it with his Box Brownie camera!" 

After the ordeal, the young sailor made his way back to Greenock via Iceland, still wearing his sealskin hat. From there, he returned to his parents’ home in High Halden, Kent, walking 10 miles after missing the last train. His mother greeted him at the door with an admonishment about his lost luggage—a sharp return to normal life after his harrowing experience at sea.  

Tom’s naval career continued through the war, taking him to many parts of the UK, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific. Out of his 44 contemporaries at Dartmouth, only 26 survived their first deployments in 1941. Reflecting on his survival, Tom remarked, "I always thought I was just one of the lucky ones to have been sunk once and survived, when so many of my colleagues were killed." 

After the war, Tom’s career flourished. He rose to the rank of Vice Admiral, earning a knighthood for his service. Among his many achievements was hosting a summit between President Nixon and Prime Minister Edward Heath aboard HMS Glamorgan. Tom retired in 1982, coincidentally on the day Argentina invaded the Falklands, briefly becoming a sought-after media commentator on the conflict’s naval aspects. 

Tom and his late wife, Angela, shared a deep connection to Scotland, choosing to retire in Ayrshire. They transformed an old farmhouse into a family home where Tom still lives with his King Charles Spaniel, Victoria. Despite his age, Tom remains active, playing golf twice a week at Prestwick Golf Club, aided by a trusty buggy. 

Reflecting on his remarkable life, Tom credits his longevity to a strict routine and his love of golf. With a twinkle in his eye, he adds that his success often came from pushing back against authority—whether it was his parents, the government, or even his naval superiors. 

Here’s to Sir Thomas Baird—a century of resilience, adventure, and inspiration.