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Alice Baird

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Alice Baird
Baird from a 1951 magazine
Born
Alice Anne Baird

(1871-10-06)6 October 1871
London, England
Died10 August 1959(1959-08-10) (aged 87)
Worcester, England
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)School founder
Girl Guide executive

Alice Baird (6 October 1871 – 10 August 1959) was the founder of St James' School for girls in Malvern in 1896, where, in 1919, she established one of the earliest Girl Guide companies. She was a recipient of the Silver Fish Award, the Girl Guiding Association's (GGA) highest adult honour, in 1922.[1]

Personal life

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Baird was of Scottish parentage. She was one of twins born to Jonathan Peel Baird (1844-1915), manager of the Earl of Home's Lanarkshire estate,[2] and Emily Diana Frances.[3] Baird was one of ten children, including five sisters: Helen, Katherine (known as Katrine, her twin), Mary, Diana and Constance.[4][5] In 1910, Baird covered half the cost of printing The Little People, a book of poetry by Nancy Maude, Baird's cousin.[6] In 1935 she donated £100 towards the extension of West Malvern's playing fields, in order to include a cricket pitch and a football pitch.[7] In 1936 she was invited to launch a 12,000-ton oil tanker called 'British Confidence' at Birkenhead. The ship's owner, Sir John Cadman, had a daughter at St James' School.[8] By 1956, Baird was blind and bedridden.[9] She died in a Worcester nursing home in 1959 after a long illness.[10][11]

St James' School

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In 1896, together with her twin sister, Katrine, Baird established St James' School for girls, initially in Southbourne-on-Sea. The school moved to Crowborough in 1900, then, having grown to one hundred pupils, to West Malvern in 1902.[12][13] Baird was headmistress for 52 years, retiring in 1948.[14] After retirement she remained on the school's council[15] and moved into the Junior House.[16] In 1956 she worked with former pupils to publish I Was There, St. James's West Malvern, a book about the school's first 60 years.[17]

Girl Guides and the Baden-Powells

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Baird was a close friend of Lord and Lady Baden-Powell. They met when the couple visited Malvern to watch a Scout display.[18] Baird would visit them at their home, Pax Hill, and in 1929, when recovering from an operation, she joined them on a cruise around West Africa.[19] The Baden-Powells' two daughters, Heather (1915-1986) and Betty (1917-2004) attended St James' and the Baden-Powells would visit frequently. Lord Baden-Powell was one of St James' School original council members[20] and, in 1934, he opened a new wing at the school.[21]

Together with Allison Cargill and Winifred Lander, Baird established a Guide company at St James' School in 1911, with Baird as the company's captain. She attended the movement's first Commissioners' conference in 1916 and was pivotal in forming a cadet branch in the same year.[22]

Between 1917[23] and 1946, Baird was on the Girl Guide council and was county commissioner for Worcestershire from 1917 to 1925.[24] In the 1920s she was head of schools companies and cadet corps.[25]

She was subsequently assistant county commissioner until at least 1941.[26] Baird received the Silver Fish Award in 1922. From 1925 until 1952 she was assistant county commissioner for Worcestershire. She was a vice president of the Girl Guide Association from 1942 to 1959.[27][28]

References

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  1. ^ GMA (October 1959). "Alice Anne Baird 1871-1959". The Guider (Vol. XLVI No. 10 ed.). London, UK: Girl Guides Association. p. 268.
  2. ^ Turner, Barry (1974). Equality for some: The story of girls' education. Glasgow, UK: Ward Lock. p. 120. ISBN 9780706234268.
  3. ^ Anthony Hancox (1956-03-15). "A school book for Miss Alice". Birmingham Daily Gazette. Birmingham, UK. p. 4.
  4. ^ "50 years as headmistress". Daily News. London, UK. 1946-09-05. p. 3.
  5. ^ MacGregor, Gordon (2022). Red Books of Scotland 1600-1939 Vol 1. Edinburgh, UK: insert. p. 389. ISBN 9780954562861.
  6. ^ Saunders, Norah (1988). Joseph Campbell, poet and nationalist, 1879-1944: A critical biography. Dublin, Ireland: Wolfhound. p. 50. ISBN 9780863271519.
  7. ^ "West Malvern gift". Evening dispatch. Evesham, UK. 1935-09-16. p. 3.
  8. ^ "Launched ship for her pupil's father". Daily Mirror. London, UK. 1936-09-19. p. 4.
  9. ^ Anthony Hancox (1956-03-15). "A school book for Miss Alice". Birmingham Daily Gazette. Birmingham, UK. p. 4.
  10. ^ "Miss Alice Baird". Halifax Evening Courier. Halifax, UK. 1959-08-12. p. 4.
  11. ^ "Obituary". Birmingham Daily Post. Birmingham, UK. 1959-08-13. p. 26.
  12. ^ "The court". The Scotsman. Edinburgh, UK. 1948-06-09. p. 4.
  13. ^ Smith, Brian S (1964). A history of Malvern. Leicester, UK: Leicester University Press. p. 257.
  14. ^ "The court". The Scotsman. Edinburgh, UK. 1948-06-09. p. 4.
  15. ^ Jennifer (1951-11-28). "For the lifeboats". The Tatler (Vol. CCII No. 2629 ed.). London, UK: Conde Nast. p. 22.
  16. ^ Anthony Hancox (1956-03-15). "A school book for Miss Alice". Birmingham Daily Gazette. Birmingham, UK. p. 4.
  17. ^ Anthony Hancox (1956-03-15). "A school book for Miss Alice". Birmingham Daily Gazette. Birmingham, UK. p. 4.
  18. ^ Talbot, Heather (2009). To keep the Guide law: A look at Guide fiction stories. Malvern, UK: Aspect Design. p. 154. ISBN 9781905795222.
  19. ^ GMA (October 1959). "Alice Anne Baird 1871-1959". The Guider (Vol. XLVI No. 10 ed.). London, UK: Girl Guides Association. p. 268.
  20. ^ GMA (October 1959). "Alice Anne Baird 1871-1959". The Guider (Vol. XLVI No. 10 ed.). London, UK: Girl Guides Association. p. 268.
  21. ^ "Guides' training conference". Evesham Standard and West Midland Observer. Evesham, UK. 1941-08-30. p. 2.
  22. ^ GMA (October 1959). "Alice Anne Baird 1871-1959". The Guider (Vol. XLVI No. 10 ed.). London, UK: Girl Guides Association. p. 268.
  23. ^ "Headquarters notices". The Girl Guides' Gazette (No. 43 ed.). London, UK: Girl Guides Association. July 1917. p. 114.
  24. ^ "Rally on Pitchcroft". Evesham Standard and West Midland Observer. Evesham, UK. 1921-07-23. p. 3.
  25. ^ "Painting competition". The Girl Guides' Gazette (Vol VII No 83 ed.). London, UK: Girl Guides Association. November 1920. p. 223.
  26. ^ "Guides' training conference". Evesham Standard and West Midland Observer. Evesham, UK. 1941-08-30. p. 2.
  27. ^ "County Guiders". Evesham Standard and West Midland Observer. Evesham, UK. 1942-06-06. p. 4.
  28. ^ GMA (October 1959). "Alice Anne Baird 1871-1959". The Guider (Vol. XLVI No. 10 ed.). London, UK: Girl Guides Association. p. 268.
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