Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Henry Joseph Patrick Baxter (8 April 1921 – 10 January 2007) was an Irish born fourth generation soldier who overcame the handicap of being blind in one eye to join the army and rose to command one of the largest and most controversial regiments in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

Indian Army

Harry Baxter was born a "child of the regiment" to the

Royal Irish Fusiliers The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was an Irish line infantry (later changed to light infantry) regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (Princess ...

. Despite being blind in his right eye as the result of a childhood shooting accident in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, he was determined to join the

in 1939. The medical officer who tested him was impressed to meet someone who was trying to cheat his way "into" the army that he passed him fit for the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

. He gave up a scholarship place at Oxford University and received an emergency commission as a second lieutenant in the Indian Army on 11 October 1942 with the

service number A service number or roll number is an identification code used to identify a person within a large group. Service numbers are most often associated with the military; however, they also may be used in civilian organizations. National identificati ...

of 363915. Baxter's service in India was mostly wartime and he served in Burma. His emergency commission was changed to a permanent commission in the British Army on 25 May 1946 when he joined the

(RIrF) as a lieutenant.

Royal Irish Fusiliers

In 1947 Baxter transferred to the RIrF on a regular (permanent) commission and served in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, Germany and finally

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

where he was

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

During this time he spent four years on Extra Regimental Engagement (ERE) to

Lord Mountbatten Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was ...

's staff. Between 1963 and 1966 he was the commander of the

North Irish Brigade The North Irish Brigade was a Brigade of the British Army which existed between 1948 and 1968; it consisted of the three regiments from Northern Ireland (each regiment was reduced to a single battalion on 14 July 1948). After the Second World War th ...

's depot in Eglinton Camp,

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

and St Patrick's Barracks,

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

and also spent a period as a staff officer with the

Berlin Brigade The Berlin Brigade was a US Army brigade-sized garrison based in West Berlin during the Cold War. After the end of World War II, under the conditions of the Yalta and Potsdam agreements, the Allied forces occupied West Berlin. This occupation las ...

before being appointed Brigadier UDR. He was appointed an

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the 1968 Queen's Birthday Honours list.

George Medal

Baxter was awarded the

George Medal The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically ...

for his actions at

Gough Barracks Gough Barracks was a military installation in Armagh, Northern Ireland. History The barracks were first established on the site in 1773. In 1873 a system of recruiting areas based on counties was instituted under the Cardwell Reforms and the bar ...

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

when, as a major, he and Captain Henry Chavasse removed a viable bomb from outside the armoury and drove it to a safe place for disposal. The detonator of the bomb exploded whilst it was in transit but the device did not explode.

Ulster Defence Regiment

Baxter assumed command of the

Ulster Defence Regiment The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army established in 1970, with a comparatively short existence ending in 1992. Raised through public appeal, newspaper and television advertisements,Potter p25 their offi ...

(UDR) in April 1973 from Brigadier Denis Ormerod. Like Ormerod, Baxter was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

commanding a locally raised and predominantly Protestant regiment during a time of intercommunal strife. He was in command during the notable

Ulster Workers' Council The Ulster Workers' Council was a loyalist workers' organisation set up in Northern Ireland in 1974 as a more formalised successor to the Loyalist Association of Workers (LAW). It was formed by shipyard union leader Harry Murray and initially fa ...

strike in 1974 which was considered to be a "turning point" in the regiment's history and "coming of age" comments listed by Major John Potter in his unofficial history of the regiment. Having a brigadier as regimental commander was unusual in the modern British Army but the size of the Ulster Defence Regiment with its 11

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

s and over 9,000 men and women (at its peak) demanded an officer of higher rank than

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. Baxter was the commander of the UDR at the time of the

Miami Showband killings The Miami Showband killings (also called the Miami Showband massacre) was an attack on 31 July 1975 by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Irela ...

, when several soldiers of the regiment were involved in the killing of musicians outside the town of

Banbridge Banbridge ( ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the Bann in 1712. It is in the civil parish of Seapatrick and the historic barony of Iveagh Upper ...

. He returned to the UDR in 1977 as colonel commandant of the regiment until 1986.

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Times obituary (paywall)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, Harry 1921 births 2007 deaths Military personnel from County Kilkenny Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Indian Army personnel of World War II Recipients of the George Medal British people in colonial India Ulster Scots people Ulster Defence Regiment officers Royal Irish Fusiliers officers British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency British Army brigadiers British military personnel of the Palestine Emergency People educated at Churcher's College British Indian Army officers