Baird was commissioned on the unattached list of the
Indian Army on 20 January 1897. 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. ==References==