He was the son of Reverend Sir Talbot Hastings Bendall Baker, 3rd Bt.
He served in the Dorset Yeomanry, attaining the rank of lieutenant-colonel and being awarded the Territorial Decoration.
He served in the Dardanelles, from July to October 1915, when he acted as a military landing officer on A Beach East, Suvla Bay; then as second in command of his regiment in Egypt from March 1916 to March 1917, and finally as commanding officer during the Palestine campaign from March to October 1917, including the 1st and 2nd Battles of Gaza.
He continued his army career after the end of the war, ultimately being promoted to lieutenant general.
He sat as Conservative Party MP for Dorset North from January 1910 to December 1918.