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A great Australian
By Cpl Andrew Hetherington
Edition 1171, July 26, 2007
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| Shoulder to shoulder: Pall bearers carry out the casket of retired Gen John Stuart Baker, AC, DSM. |
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With honour: Pall Bearers and former class escort the casket on the gun carriage of retired Gen John Stuart Baker, AC, DSM from St Christopher’s Cathedral, Manuka, ACT.
Photos by Cpl Michael Davis |
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| Farewelled: CDF ACM Angus Houston delivers part of the eulogy at the funeral. |
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FORMER CDF Gen John Stuart Baker has been remembered as an inspirational leader and a great Australian.
Current and former Defence Chiefs and Secretaries, the NSW Governor, Duntroon classmates, and friends and family celebrated Gen Baker’s exceptional life and career at a funeral with full military honours at St Christopher’s Cathedral in Canberra on July 13.
NSW Governor Marie Bashir began the service by reading a letter of condolence from Governor-General Maj-Gen Michael Jeffery, who was a classmate of Gen Baker’s at Duntroon.
“We were cadets together at Duntroon over 50 years ago, and in the intervening 44 years of his military service I greatly admired John’s military capacity, his high personal integrity and his deep sense of compassion,” Maj-Gen Jeffery wrote.
“In the highest levels of command he displayed clarity of thought and vision, with a remarkable capacity to implement necessary change.”
Gen Baker’s military career began at Duntroon in 1954, where his 1957 graduating class produced six generals.
He was commissioned into the RAE and held more than 23 appointments. He saw service in Papua New Guinea and undertook two tours in Vietnam. For his work in Vietnam with the 1st Australian Civil Affairs Unit, he was Mentioned in Dispatches.
Gen Baker had a variety of command, staff and field appointments, including Director General Joint Service Policy, Director Joint Intelligence Organisation and VCDF before serving as CDF from 1995-98.
In his eulogy, CDF ACM Angus Houston spoke of Gen Baker’s intellect and dedication.
“He developed a vision and a concept for fixing the operational level of command and control.
This was implemented with the creation of the Australian Theatre with a joint commander and a joint staff. We now had clear separation of the raise and train functions from the command and control of operations functions,” ACM Houston said.
“John Baker gave to the Army a lifetime of exceptional service that went far above and beyond what could reasonably be expected of any one man.
“He was a commanding, professional, dedicated, determined and courageous military officer.
“He was humble, he was kind and he was exceedingly intelligent. He possessed a great ability to inspire others. He was a fresh and innovative thinker. He challenged the status quo.”
ACM Houston related how Gen Baker’s staff discovered his secret to being an exceptional public speaker.
“He was engaging, meticulous in his delivery, and he never got caught out by an unexpected question. Eventually his staff got curious about just how John was able to perform so well each and every time he spoke,” he said.
“… the door to CDF’s office used to have a peephole in it. Imagine the staff’s great surprise when the General’s secret weapon was found to be an affinity for talking to plants! The General would stand in his office, pretending each plant was a different member of his audience.”
ACM Houston described Gen Baker as a great Australian.
“John, I salute your inspirational leadership; your long and dedicated service to your nation; your unwavering friendship and your devotion to Margaret and your family,” he said.
Tributes were also delivered by Dr Allan Hawke, a former Defence Secretary, and Gen Baker’s son John.
After the service, Gen Baker’s casket was carried to a waiting gun carriage, where the RMC and Kapooka Bands played various tributes and the Last Post, and a formation of four F/A-18 Hornets from 3 Sqn conducted a flypast in a missing man formation.
The Federation Guard provided a firing party and funeral escort party.
The CDF, VCDF Lt-Gen Ken Gillespie and Gen Baker’s Duntroon classmates marched behind the gun carriage as it made its way through several Canberra streets.
Gen Baker died on July 9, aged 71, after battling a long-term illness. |
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