(Note: Though a poppy does not appear on the street sign, this street is part of the City of London's "Streets of Honour" program and was named for Warrant Officer 2nd Class Baxter)
Baxter Street is named in memory of Warrant Officer 2nd Class Robert Leroy Baxter.
Robert Leroy Baxter was born on 1 May 1920 in London, ON. He attended Westminster School and Central Collegiate before joining the Royal Canadian Air Force. Upon completion of his training as a Wireless Operator – Air Gunner, he was assigned to No. 48 Squadron, RAF. During the Second World War, this squadron was mainly employed in a maritime role, conducting patrols or anti-shipping and anti-submarine missions. By December 1942, the squadron was patrolling the entrance to the Mediterranean flying Lockheed Hudsons from RAF Gibraltar. On 20 January 1944, Warrant Officer 2nd Class Baxter took off with his crew to conduct an anti-submarine patrol west of the Straits of Gibraltar. Their aircraft crashed into the sea and were initially reported missing. The following day, the crew was declared killed in action. With no known grave, Warrant Officer 2nd Class Robert Leroy Baxter is memorialized on the Malta War Memorial in Malta.
