McQuaid served alongside Charles Gaskell and Tice in the Royal Navy, where he used to be a gunner. He was Irish, and described as "short and wiry".
In 1899 McQuaid and Tice were hired by Admiral Henry Montague to assassinate Charles Gaskell, after the Torchwood Institute began investigating his connection to the HMS Hades. The assassination attempt failed when Gaskell shot Tice, leaving his gun next to McQuaid to frame him for the crime. (PROSE: The Baby Farmers)