Paul Kenneth Baillie Reynolds was a prominent British archaeologist and expert on imperial Rome. Born on February 28, 1896, to a London stockbroker and a female novelist, he developed a fascination for classical history at a young age. However, his entry into college was interrupted by the start of World War I, during which he served in the Royal Field Artillery. He later served in the Royal Artillery from 1927 to 1939 and then again as a major from 1939 to 1945.

In 1919, Baillie Reynolds was at last able to begin his academic studies at Oxford, where he earned degrees from Winchester College and Hertford College. He moved to Italy in 1921 and spent the next two years excavating ancient Roman sites and aqueducts as a Pelham student at the British School at Rome. In 1924, he returned to Oxford as assistant master at Winchester College while also lecturing in ancient history at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. He continued to lead excavations at many ancient Roman sites in Britain, and his resulting published reports remain hallmarks in Roman archaeology. The Vigiles of Imperial Rome (1926), an in-depth study of the firefighters and policemen of ancient Rome, led to his election as a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in London in 1929. In 1934, he was named inspector of ancient monuments for England in the Ministry of Works.

While serving as inspector of ancient monuments for England, Baillie Reynolds was a member of an informal group of museum directors and art experts who approached the War Office in June 1943 with suggestions for the protection of historic monuments in Europe. One month later, he submitted his own memorandum which emphasized the distinction between monuments and moveable works of art and suggested that the Ministry of Works be involved in future planning.

Baillie Reynolds arrived in Sicily in late 1943 as one of the first British Monuments Men in the field. By that November, he was acting director of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA) Subcommission in Italy. In this position, he was well-placed to give advice on matters affecting the work of the MFAA. He corresponded with Lieutenant Colonel Sir Leonard Woolley, archaeological adviser to the War Office, and the two combined their efforts to improve not only the status of the MFAA Subcommission but to also better define the role of Monuments officers in relation to the army.

In late February 1944, Monuments Man Major Ernest T. DeWald assumed directorship of the MFAA Subcommission and Baillie Reynolds was able to return to work in the field. He was soon transferred to MFAA headquarters in England alongside his former deputy director in Italy, the first American MFAA officer in the theater in Sicily, Captain Mason Hammond. In late September 1944, he was chosen to serve as an MFAA officer with the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) Mission to Belgium—and Luxembourg, to a lesser extent—one of several country missions operating under the authority of SHAEF in liberated European countries. He reported for duty in Brussels, Belgium, on October 10, 1944. There, he completed an extensive card index of important monuments in need of protection, having already created the index for the MFAA handbook for Belgium while stationed in London.

Tragedy befell Baillie Reynolds in early 1945 when his wife Janetta fell seriously ill. He was granted leave to visit her in England beginning January 12, but she died soon after on January 31. Though he was originally granted nine days’ leave, this was extended on compassionate grounds. He did not return to work in Belgium until February 12, 1945. In a heartbreaking personal letter to fellow British Monuments Man Major Ronald Balfour, Baillie Reynolds wrote that, “In the circumstances I am trying to get out of the Army to reconstruct a home for my three children. So I am not heart and soul in my job just now.”

Despite great personal tragedy, Baillie Reynolds played a crucial role in the protection of Belgian cultural heritage. He liaised closely with Lieutenant Colonel Léo van Puyvelde, director general of the Fine Arts administration under the Belgian Ministry of Public Instruction, to restrict the quartering of Allied troops in Belgian châteaux. The pair inspected every château on the Official List of Protected Monuments in Luxembourg as well as other areas across Belgium and submitted to SHAEF an additional list of 181 châteaux for which special protection was requested. At each château, Baillie Reynolds filed a report with his recommendations for its better protection and even ejected troops if the property was being damaged or mistreated. SHAEF approved his list of 181 châteaux and issued an official order for their protection.

Soon after returning home to England and his three beloved children, Baillie Reynolds returned to the Ministry of Works. He was appointed chief inspector of ancient monuments in 1954, a title which he retained until 1961. Also, during this time, he was named to the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1950 and was named a commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1957. Toward the end of his long and successful career, he served as president of the Royal Archaeological Institute from 1963 to 1966.

Paul Baillie Reynolds died in England on August 21, 1973.