Ronald Baxter was born in 1904 and lived in Herne Hill, South London. He was educated at Dulwich College. His father ran a family business in the leather and silversmith trade, with shops in the City of London.
Baxter joined the Honorable Artillery Company in 1920, and in 1926, married his first wife Mary. They had one son, John, who died in 1996. Mary died six months after childbirth. His second marriage ended in divorce, with one daughter Valerie. His third marriage to Peggy took place in February 1939- shortly afterwards, at the age of 35 years, Baxter was called up to join 367 Battery, 140 Regiment as a Lieutenant.
Ronald Baxter was promoted to acting Captain in the 140th Field Regiment as the campaign evolved during May 1940. He was the leader of ‘F’ troop, 367 Battery and was involved in the battery’s last stand at Cassel. Baxter was captured at Watou during the breakout from Cassel on 30th May 1940.
Acting Captain Ronald Baxter, RA
F troop, 367 Battery
F Troop, 367 Battery consisted of Bombardier Arthur Ross, and Baxter’s personal friend Lieutenant Jack May. Lt. May was one of the very few members of 367 Battery who managed to escape to Dunkirk. Sadly, Lieutenant May was seriously wounded by air attack while on board ship at Dunkirk and later died of his injuries on 21st June 1940. Lt. May is buried at Bromley Hill Commonwealth War Cemetery in Kent (see ‘In Memoriam‘ section of this website). Bombardier Ross also died of his injuries sustained at Cassel.
Captivity
Captain Baxter was transferred as a POW to Oflag VIIC with most of his fellow 140 Rgt officer comrades, but was then transferred to Stalag XXID, Posen. From Posen he was transferred to Oflag VB, Biberach in Bavaria.
Alongside Michael Duncan MC and fellow 140 Rgt comrade, Capt Harold Westley, in 1941 he was able to escape from Oflag VB, but was recaptured within sight of the Swiss border. The escape he had participated in had the distinction of having the highest number of ‘home runs‘ of any POW escape from Germany. The camp at Biberach still exists and a local historian Stefan Rasser, whose book ‘We are Through’ ISBN 9783873367746 describes the escape, has recently located the escape tunnel- the escape was an early protoype for the later ‘Great Escape’ from Stalag Luft III.
Westley and Baxter were both recaptured within sight of the Swiss border. Baxter was then transferred to Stalag VIB Warburg from 1941-42 and ended his POW captivity at Oflag VII Eichstatt, 1942-45. He was liberated by US forces on 19th April 1945 after a forced march to Stalag VIIA Moosberg.
Baxters MI9 Liberation Questionaire, completed April 1945
Lieutenant Baxter’s Diary
Ronald Baxter wrote a set of comprehensive notes of his wartime experiences between May 1940 and May 1943. The notes were written during the war, but after his return to England in 1945, he started to turn the notes into a narrative. He did not complete the narrative, although he did take it as far as the 24th May 1940. The story from then on, until his capture on the 30th May, continues only in note form. There are then three notebooks that contain a record of his time as a POW. These subsequent notes were written while in prison camps, and with the approval of the German prison camp authorities, as they contain the camp censor’s stamp. The diary is in the care of the Imperial War Museum in London and is reproduced here. [see Lt Baxter’s Diary]
Letters Home
Thanks to Sally Sirkett, widow of Captain Paddy Sirkett who spent his captivity with Baxter, I have been able to obtain sight of some of Lt. Baxter’s letters from Oflag VIIC to his family in England- see ‘Officers of the Regiment in Captivity’ section of this website.
Post War
Baxter took over control of the family business, now called Houghton & Co. His second son James was born in 1946. In 1958, Ronald, and in later years his son James, visited the POW camp site at Oflag VB Biberach where his temporary escape had taken place.
Captain Ronald Baxter died on 31st October 1985, aged 81 years.