Steve Baker

Steve Baker was a British Army soldier with the Royal Transport Corps who helped his fellow serviceman Martin Downes trace his mother, Bet Lynch, in 1974. Nine months later, he broke the news to Bet that Martin had been killed in a car crash.

Steve and Martin were on leave awaiting a posting to Northern Ireland when Steve agreed to join his friend on a search for his birth mother. Martin knew that she was working as a barmaid in Weatherfield and that her name in 1956 was Elizabeth Lynch, and so he was scouring the local pubs for an Elizabeth of the right age. Although Steve considered the quest a fool's errand, he lent his friend a hand by speaking to bar staff on Martin's behalf when his nerves got the better of him.

After looking at the Pineapple Inn, they tried the Rovers Return, where Steve overheard Len Fairclough call the barmaid Betty. Steve asked Betty about herself while ordering drinks and learned that her maiden name was Preston, confirming that she wasn't Martin's mother, but before leaving they heard Annie Walker refer to "Miss Lynch"; a second barmaid at the Rovers called Elizabeth who Martin assumed was his mother. When Bet arrived at the pub, she promptly changed into a revealing dress she'd just bought for Maggie Clegg and Ron Cooke's wedding, much to the appreciation of the men. Her coarse manner came as a shock to Martin, who left without speaking to her.

While in Ireland, Martin was out drinking with some lads and died when their car hit a tree. As Martin had been adopted as a baby, Bet wasn't notified of his death and so Steve went to the Rovers on his next bout of leave to break the news to her. The sight of Steve and his uniform in the Rovers drew the attention of the regulars, with Alf Roberts and Albert Tatlock drawing Steve into a discussion about the purpose of war while he waited on Bet who was characteristically late for her shift. Steve didn't have an opinion on the subject, confessing that he knew little about the background to the fighting in Northern Ireland. His comment that religion was to blame caught the attention of Ernest Bishop, who took the view that religion was perverted by the perpetrators of war. Steve was interested to learn that Ernie was a lay preacher and took advice from him on breaking bad news, dreading his unhappy task.

When Bet finally turned up, Steve sat her down and informed her that her son was dead. The news was a devastating blow to Bet, who'd felt that she'd accomplished something through Martin. After sharing the news with Annie and Betty so that they could comfort Bet, Steve left to return to duty.

1974

 * Mon 1st Jul
 * Wed 3rd Jul

1975

 * Mon 31st Mar
 * Wed 2nd Apr