Dear Clan Baird members,
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Sir Charles William Stuart Baird, 6th Baronet of Newbyth.
Baird of Newbyth coat of arms
Sir Charles was a man of the world. Born in 1939 at Haddington in Scotland, a seat of the Baird clan and then brought up in Bermuda, educated in the USA, England, and Switzerland, met his to-be wife in Spain, and emigrated to Australia where he lived the rest of his life. He married Jane Bridge at the Guards Chapel in London in 1965 and had 3 daughters; Tara, Senta, and Petra. Tragically, Senta died earlier last year.
Sir Charles William Stuart Baird, 6th Bt, 8th June 1939 – 14th August 2022
In Australia, he set up and ran a successful cleaning agency – the employees of which happily called themselves “Charlie’s Angels.” Horse racing was a passion of his and one of his horses, Lennoxlove – named after the Baird house in Haddington – won 21 races. He was outgoing, gregarious, good-natured, and loved talking to people. He also loved food, had an encyclopedic knowledge of wine, grapes, and wineries, and was an avid reader of restaurant reviews. In 2001 he inherited the Baird Baronetcy from his Uncle David and often threatened to put the title to good use in securing scarce restaurant reservations. He was a great storyteller and had a library of crazy stories which he very much enjoyed telling, particularly to strangers. A sample of his stories includes being given a gin and tonic by Salvador Dali at the Georges V hotel in Paris or coaching Charlton Heston at tennis in Bermuda.
The heir presumptive of the Baird of Newbyth Baronetcy is Andrew Baird, 4th cousin to Sir Charles and a founding member of the Clan Baird Alliance. Andrew's matriculation of the Newbyth baronetcy is currently under standard review by the College of Arms.
Sir Charles will be sorely missed by friends and family.