Douglas Baird

General Sir Harry Beauchamp Douglas Baird (4 April 1877 – 2 July 1963) was a British officer in the British Indian Army.

Early life and education Baird was born in Kensington, London, the son of Scottish Colonel Andrew Wilson Baird and Margaret Elizabeth Davidson. He was educated at Clifton College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

In March 1912 he was appointed as an aide-de-camp to Lieutenant General Sir Douglas Haig.

He served on the Western Front in World War I becoming commanding officer of the 1st/8th Battalion the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1916 and then, after a promotion to brevet lieutenant colonel in January 1917, as a general staff officer, grade 2 (GSO2) first with 51st (Highland) Division and then with the Cavalry Corps before becoming commander of the 75th Infantry Brigade in 1916.

After the war Baird became a General Staff Officer at 4th Indian Infantry Division in India, Brigadier-General on the General Staff with the Baluchistan Force and then commanding officer of the 28th Punjabis. Colonel on the Staff at Army Headquarters, India in 1923 and Commandant of the Senior Officers' School, Belgaum in 1924. Then he became General Officer Commanding the Deccan District in 1932 and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command in April 1936 before retiring in April 1940.