BAKER, Maj Gen Ian Helstrip Baker (1927-2005)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0099 KCLMA Baker
Held at	: Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.kingscollections.org/catalogues/lhcma ›
Full title	: BAKER, Maj Gen Ian Helstrip Baker (1927-2005)
Date(s)	: 1955-2003
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: 5 boxes or 0.5 cubic metres
Name of creator(s)	: Baker | Ian Helstrip | 1927-2005 | Major General

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Born, 1927; Royal Military College, Sandhurst; 10 Field Regt Royal Artillery, 1949-1951; 2 Regt Royal Horse Artillery, 1951-1953; Royal Armoured Corps Centre, 1953-1955; 4 Royal Tank Regiment, 1955-1957; HQ 10 Infantry Bde, 1957-1958; Staff College, Camberley, 1959; Deputy Assistant Adjutant General, HQ 17 Gurkha Div, Overseas Commonwealth Land Forces, Malaya and Singapore, 1960-1962; Officer Commanding Parachute Sqdn, Royal Armoured Corps, 1962-1965; Instructor, Staff College, Camberley, 1965; General Staff Officer 1 and Assistant Secretary, Chiefs of Staff Committee, Ministry of Defence, 1966-1967; Commanding Officer 1 Royal Tank Regiment, UK and British Army of the Rhine, 1967-1969; Royal Tank Regiment, 1970-1971; Commander 7 Armoured Bde, British Army of the Rhine, 1972-1974; Royal College of Defence Studies, 1974; Staff, HQ UK Land Forces, 1975-1977; Assistant Chief of General Staff, 1978-1980; Colonel Commandant, Royal Tank Regiment, 1981-1986; died, 2005.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Papers of Maj Gen Ian Helstrip Baker, notably concerning armoured warfare, 1955-2003, including instructions, memoranda, reports and notes on training exercises including Exercise GAMEBIRD, Cyclops Sqn, 2 Royal Tank Regt, Libya, Jul 1964; Exercises OPEN GLOVE and TREBLE CHANCE, Cyclops Sqn, 2 Royal Tank Regt and 16 Parachute Bde Group, Sep 1964; Exercise DOUBLE STRETCH 72, 7 Armoured Bde, Germany, Feb-Mar 1972; Exercise RED RAT, 7 Armoured Bde, Germany, Sep-Oct 1972; MACLEOD, 7 Armoured Bde, Germany, Aug-Sep 1972; Exercise READY RAT, 7 Armoured Bde, Germany, 11 Sep 1972; Exercise LONG LOOK, for 7 Armoured Bde trials of ZB298 radar, Oct 1971-Apr 1972; organisational trial Exercise SQUARE RAT, Germany, 28 Dec 1972; Exercise FIRST STRETCH 73, 7 Armoured Bde, Germany, Feb 1973; Exercise DOUBLE STRETCH 73, 1 Armoured Bde, Germany, Mar-Apr 1973; Exercise HURST PARK 73, 7 Armoured Bde, Germany, Apr 1973; Exercise QUEEN'S PATROL, 7 Armoured Bde, Germany (relating to operations in Northern Ireland), May 1973; Exercise RED RAT 73, 7 Armoured Bde, Germany, Aug 1973; Exercise FOUR SQUARE, 7 Armoured Bde, Germany, Sep-Nov, 1973; photographs of [FV214 Conqueror battle tanks], Royal Armoured Corps, Bovington, Dorset and photograph of an amphibious jeep, partially submerged, 1960; photograph of Crown Prince Birendra of Nepal and others watching a Hornet Launcher vehicle being loaded with Malkara missiles by personnel of Cyclops Sqn, 2 Royal Tank Regt, Candahar Barracks, Tidworth, 15 Apr 1964; captioned photographs relating to Baker's visit to [1 Bn, Royal Green Jackets], Belfast, Northern Ireland, including: battalion personnel on patrol; Falls Road and Hamilton Street, Belfast, showing the aftermath of explosions; IRA weapons discovered, including rifles, knives, an RPG7 rocket launcher and RPG7 rockets, a car bomb and smaller incendiary devices, Aug 1972; photographs of Baker, Nov 1979 and in Brigadier's uniform; handing over briefing notes by Baker as Deputy Assistant Adjutant General, 17 Gurkha Div, Overseas Commonwealth Land Forces, 25 Jun 1962; training instructions for Cyclops Sqn, 2 Royal Tank Regt, Tidworth, Mar 1963-May 1964; briefing notes on the Parachute Sqn, Royal Armoured Corps, by Baker, 1964; Royal Armoured Corps training pamphlet, 'The technique of shooting from AFVs. Part 4: the application of fire from Saladin armoured cars' (MoD, Feb 1967); 1 Royal Tank Regt standing operational procedures, Jun 1969; briefing notes for Baker as Commander, 7 Armoured Bde, by Administration and Quartering staff, 7 Armoured Bde, 18 Jan 1972 and by Brigade Majors, 7 Armoured Bde, 7 Feb 1972; 7 Armoured Bde standing operating procedures relating to headquarters and operations (vol. 1), and administration and logistics (vol. 2), Feb 1972; training directives by Baker as Brigadier Commanding 7 Armoured Bde, Mar-Sep 1972; notes on the creation and history of the Desert Rat badge of 7 Armoured Bde, 1940-1972; training directive by Baker as Brigadier Commanding 7 Armoured Bde, Mar 1973; correspondence and accounts by Lt Col R A Pascoe, 1 Bn Royal Green Jackets, of the battalion's service in Belfast, 8-14 Oct 1972.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

Original order

Conditions governing access:

Open. Visitors are required to provide proof of ID and sign an undertaking form.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be provided for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, attention of the Director of Archives and Information Management, King's College London.

Finding aids:

Box list available in the LHCMA reading room.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Papers placed in the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London, 24 July 2006

Allied Materials

Related material:

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Entry compiled by Sarah Drewery.
Sources: Who's Who

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
Jun 2008