Free wave motion on a fluid‐loaded semi‐infinite membrane whose plane is extended by a rigid baffle is discussed. We consider in particular the membrane displacement field and the associated acoustic radiation when a wave on the membrane is normally incident on the membrane boundary. Typical values for the reflection coefficient for the waves, and for the radiated acoustic power are given for a wide range of membranein vacuowavespeeds and fluid loading parameters. It is shown that the commonly used predictions for edge‐mode radiation obtained by neglecting the influence of the fluid on the membrane displacement are valid except when the fluid loading is very high.