The Memorial to William Balfour Baikie - SMC014
William Balfour Baikie was born in Kirkwall in 1825 and died in Sierra Leone in 1864. He made his name as an explorer and a memorial to him is housed in the eastern end of the north choir.

In 1854 he took part in the first expedition to explore the River Niger in West Africa. During the expedition he took command after the original leader died. He led the second expedition to Niger in 1857 and was stranded for two years when supplies failed to reach him.

Despite often suffering from bouts of fever, Baikie continued to survey and map new territory. He studied local languages and translated parts of the Bible, including the Psalms, into Arabic


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