Peter Arthur David Baker MC (20 April 1921 – 14 November 1966) was a British soldier, author, publisher and Conservative politician who served as a member of parliament (MP) for South Norfolk. He is chiefly remembered as the last Member of Parliament to be expelled from the House of Commons, after his arrest for forgery, and as the inspiration behind the eccentric character of publisher Martin York in Muriel Spark's novel A Far Cry From Kensington. Baker's arrest and trial received extensive international media coverage. Early life and family Baker was born on 20 April 1921 in Willesden, north west London. He was the son of Major Reginald Poynton Baker (1896–1985) of Loddenden Manor, Staplehurst, Kent, and his first wife Gwendolyn Emily Christabel Baker née Webb (1897–1962). Baker's father later became a successful movie producer based at Ealing Studios. Baker tried to create a fictional connection with the Tudor Bakers of Sissinghurst Castle, Kent, whose members included Sir John Baker, a Chancellor of the Exchequer and Speaker of the House of Commons in the 16th century; Sir Richard Baker, an author who was also a Member of Parliament; Sir Samuel White Baker, the discoverer of Lake Albert; and his younger brother, Valentine Baker, a famous soldier who also spent some time in Wormwood Scrubs Prison. Baker made another bogus claim, mentioning in his memoirs that St. Luke's Chapel, otherwise known as St-Mary-in-the-Marsh and situated inside Norwich Cathedral, had been the site since 1586 of his family weddings and christenings. In fact, it was only used on one occasion by his ancestors, in June 1744 for a quiet wedding. Nevertheless, this Lady chapel was chosen by Baker as the venue for his youngest daughter's christening. On 5 June 1948, Baker married Gloria Mae Heaton-Armstrong, daughter of Colonel Charles George William Stacpool Heaton-Armstrong, in Kensington. The Heaton-Armstrong family belonged to the Anglo-Irish Protestant landowning class and were related to soldier and MP Sir Thomas Armstrong. Armstrong was involved in the Rye House Plot. Education and military service Baker was educated at Eastbourne College. He was preparing to study at the University of Cambridge until the imminent outbreak of World War II led him to enlist in the Royal Artillery. Although he could have taken an immediate commission, Baker and a friend who had joined up at the same time determined to serve at least six months in the ranks before accepting a