Having accumulated a significant fortune, Caird became interested in preserving British naval and shipping memorials. As a member of the Society for Nautical Research, he provided the largest amount of money necessary to repair and restore HMS "Victory" in the 1920s, giving an initial £50,000 with an additional donation of £15,000. He also was responsible for trying to save HMS "Implacable" (originally the French Navy's Téméraire-class ship of the line "Duguay-Trouin", launched in 1800), another survivor of the Battle of Trafalgar.