| Birth name | Constance Barbara Clarke |
|---|---|
| Birth date | 1866 |
| Birth place | Chaffcombe, Somerset, England |
| Death date | November 1931 |
| Death place | Wiarton, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation | Nurse and yachtswoman |
| Spouse | Sir John Kennedy Erskine Baird KCB (m. 6 March 1905; died 8 December 1908)Charles Kennedy, 5th Marquess of Ailsa (m. 15 December 1925; ended November 1931) |
| Father | Edward Clarke |
| Mother | Barbara Clarke |
Constance Barbara Clarke, Lady Baird (1866 – November 1931), later Lady Charles Kennedy, known as Constance, Lady Baird, was a British military nurse and pioneering yachtswoman.
Early life and family
Constance Barbara Clarke was born at Avishays House, Chaffcombe, near Chard, Somerset in 1866, daughter of Edward Clarke, a solicitor and his wife Barbara. After studying in Paris, she trained as a nurse at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London.[1]
On 6 March 1905 she married the retired Rear Admiral Sir John Kennedy Erskine Baird.[2] They lived at Wootton, Isle of Wight where both were active in sailing and the Cowes Regatta.[1] Sir John was 30 years older than Constance, and died in 1908, leaving her a childless widow at the age of forty-two.
Nursing career
Having trained as a nurse prior to her marriage, Lady Baird served as President of the Cowes Branch of the British Red Cross Society. When World War I broke out, she helped organise a hospital for wounded soldiers at Northwood House.[1] She joined active service in France and Belgium, first as a trooper, then serjeant, in the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY).[3]
Yachtswoman
After the war, Constance moved to Fremington, near Barnstaple, Devon, where she had inherited Fremington Manor from an aunt.[1][4]
She retained her passion for sailing and acquired one of the first 6-metre yachts, ‘’Thistle’’, built by William Fife & Sons, in 1923, competing in regattas and races.[1] In 1925 she won the King of Spain’s Cup, for which she was the only woman competitor.[5] She championed the founding of an international competition for 6-metre yachts, the British-American Cup, which ran from 1921 to 1955, and in 1924, donated the Lady Baird Trophy for 6 metre yacht races.[6]
Later life
In 1925, she married Sir Charles Kennedy, a distant cousin of her first husband, who later (after Constance’s death) became the 5th Marquess of Ailsa.[1][7]
Constance was taken ill and died while visiting a cousin, the Canadian politician Alexander McNeill, in Wiarton, Ontario, in November 1931.[8]
Honours and awards
References
- ^ Batchelor, Linda. "Constance, Lady Baird, An International Yachtswoman". National Maritime Museum, Cornwall. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ^ Sir John Baird at William Loney RN
- ^ "Constance Barbara, Lady Baird". Lives of the First World War. Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ^ "Lady Constance Baird - later Lady Charles Kennedy". Beaford Arts. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ^ "Lady Constance Baird". Mary Evans Picture Library. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ^ "Lady Constance Baird Donates Trophy for Six-Meter Yachts". New York Times archive. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ^ Glasgow Herald (1 March 1943) The Marquis of Ailsa
- ^ "Obituary: Lady Charles Kennedy, 4 November 1931". Times Archive. Retrieved 4 January 2025.