Education and Military Service
Baker was educated at Eastbourne College. He was preparing to study at the University of Cambridge until the imminent outbreak of World War II led him to enlist in the Royal Artillery. Although he could have taken an immediate commission, Baker and a friend who had joined up at the same time determined to serve at least six months in the ranks before accepting a posting to an Officer Cadet Training Unit in Catterick Garrison in March 1940. He was then posted to an artillery regiment based in Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire, and served for fourteen months across southern Scotland. Considering the job of an artillery officer boring, Baker accepted in October 1941 a posting to be a Staff Captain in Military Intelligence based at the War Office. He hoped that the new appointment would make it more likely that he could obtain an overseas posting. After four months he applied for a transfer, although it took a further six months to persuade his superiors to let him leave.
Read more about this topic: Peter Baker (British Politician)
Famous quotes containing the words education, military and/or service:
“I prefer to finish my education at a different school.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“[I]t is a civil Cowardice to be backward in asserting what you ought to expect, as it is a military Fear to be slow in attacking when it is your Duty.”
—Richard Steele (1672–1729)
“Let not the tie be mercenary, though the service is measured in money. Make yourself necessary to somebody. Do not make life hard to any.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)