Ernest William Baker was born in London, England and worked as a wholesale butcher and cook before the outbreak of the First World War. He was 30 years old when he arrived in Australia. At the time he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force, he was 31 years old and had previously served with the Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (Tropical Unit). Baker was assigned to the 20th Infantry Battalion and departed Melbourne aboard HMAT Berrima on 9 August 1915. William Baker died on 14 May 1918 and is buried at Querrieu British Cemetery, France.