Alfred Baines was born in Glyndyfrdwy on 4 May 1889 and worked at a local slate quarry before joining the Welsh Guards at Wrexham on 31 May 1915. He was posted to France with the 1st Battalion in September 1915 and saw action at the Battle of Loos. He remained with the 1st Battalion until March 1918 when he transferred to the Guards Machine Gun Regiment. He was demobbed in February 1919, and lived in Wrexham until he passed away in 1959.