William Baird (SN 4270) from Rowe Street Ballarat, was a 35 year old miner at the time of his enlistment on September 18th 1915. He was married to, but living apart from, his wife Amy. He trained with the 23rd Depot Battalion at Royal Park then the Musketry School at Port Melbourne. He embarked from Melbourne on the Wiltshire on March 7th 1916, arriving at Fremantle on March 16th. He then went absent without leave before stowing away on the Malwa ten days later. He disembarked at Suez on April 19th 1916 and, after disciplinary proceedings, was deployed to France with the 22nd Battalion in November. 1917 was a troubled year for him, being marked by several charges for being absent without leave, in addition to charges of insolence, disobeying a lawful command and ‘hesitating to obey the order of his superior officer’. In October of 1917 he was hospitalised with a septic left hand which subsequently led to him being assessed as unfit for active service. He returned to Australia, disembarking from the Euripides in March 1918, and was discharged on April 26th 1918 as ‘medically unfit – gunshot wound left arm and hand’, in spite of his service record carrying no other reference to him having been wounded in action. He died in June 1948 at the age of 78.