This Is Your Life: Trevor Baylis

Trevor BAYLIS OBE (1937-2018)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Trevor Baylis, inventor, was surprised by Michael Aspel at Canada Gate in central London, having been led to believe he was recording a television interview after receiving his OBE at an investiture at Buckingham Palace.

Trevor, who was born in Hendon and left school at 16 with no formal qualifications, was a keen swimmer who competed for Middlesex and Great Britain. His swimming skills led him to form his own aquatic display company as a professional swimmer, stunt performer and entertainer after years of working for a swimming pool manufacturer.

A stint as an escapologist in a circus allowed him to set up his own company, which supplied swimming pools to schools, and establish himself financially as an inventor. After producing a range of tools called Orange Aids for people with disabilities, his most significant breakthrough came in 1991 when inspired by a news report on the spread of AIDS in Africa, he developed a clockwork radio which, after being featured on the BBC's Tomorrow's World three years later, went into mass production.

"What a dirty trick!"

programme details...

Edition No: 982
Subject No: 957
Broadcast date: Mon 27 Oct 1997
Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
Recorded: Thu 9 Oct 1997
Venue: unknown
Series: 38
Edition: 9
Code name: Clever

on the guest list...

Jeff Woolf
Pauline Bricker
Jill Hemmerle
Derek Bass - cousin
John Sellers
Tony Wilcox
Mike Dodds
Tom, Lord Strafford
John Glazier
Tony Hutchins
Austin Mitchell
Reg Prytherch
George Gould
Bernard Mules
Nick Wincott
Bob Flowerdew
Lorna Boulter
Monty - dog
Johnny Pugh
Chris Tarrant
Sue Lawley
John Humphrys
Roy Hudd
Mick Delap
Christopher Staines
Rory Steer

production team...

Researcher: Clare Thompson
Writer: Joe Steeples
Directors: John Gorman, Steve Docherty
Associate Producer: Liz Rawlings
Executive Producer: John Longley
Series Producer: Jack Crawshaw
Producer: Sue Green

names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life

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The Night of 1000 Lives

a celebration of a thousand editions

Roy Hudd

John Humphrys

Chris Tarrant

Trevor Baylis recalls his experience of This Is Your Life

Screenshots of Trevor Baylis This Is Your Life

Trevor Baylis recalls his experience of This Is Your Life in his autobiography, Clock This: My Life as an Inventor...

On 9 October 1997, I took Pauline Bricker, Rosalind Addison, and my assistant Jill Hemmerle to Buckingham Palace where I received the Order of the British Empire. It was given to me by the Princess Royal. Ever since then I've kept meeting the Princess at various dinners and award ceremonies. The last time we spoke she'd heard I'd been an international swimmer and said: 'When you were in training wasn't it boring just swimming up and down the pool?' I replied: 'It was ma'am, but no more tiresome than constantly falling off a horse.' She was gracious enough to laugh.

The investiture was a very British event, with amiable pukka-types gently telling you what to do, while a military band played musical selections from the shows. You can't escape the ubiquitous sounds of Andrew Lloyd Webber, not even in Buckingham Palace. As you wait to go up to collect your honour all the various ranks of orders are lined up on different strips of carpet, all the knights on one strip, all the OBEs massed together, and the MBEs with a section of carpet to themselves. It's odd what thoughts go through your head at such moments, but I got to wondering whether, in this hierarchical society of ours, the weave of the various carpets was of a quality that befitted the rank standing on it. I even had a glance across at the knights' strip of Axminster to verify my theory, but the quality of their carpet looked exactly the same as ours. With my lack of refinement I was lucky not to be standing on coconut matting.

When we all strolled out through the gates of Buckingham Palace I was asked to go direct to the Canada Gate for a television interview. But the interview was merely an invention of Thames Television. While I was talking happily into the microphone about my big day, Michael Aspel surprised me with the big red book of This Is Your Life. I'd often watched the show and wondered what it would be like to have the small potatoes of your life's story served up for the entertainment of millions. Being all mouth and trousers, I enjoyed every minute of it. The show's researcher, Clare Thompson, had done a marvellous job tracking down all my old friends and bringing them together from around the world. Johnny Pugh was flown in from his circus in Florida and we met for the first time in ten years.

The show could be an embarrassment, but Michael Aspel treads a deft path between laughter and tears, and his tribute to me is a half-hour tape I'll always treasure. One of the bonuses of the programme is that you get to be taken prisoner, in the nicest possible way, by the producer Sue Green. She holds you incommunicado for three hours, plying you with refreshments and pleasant conversation, keeping you away from your friends who are rehearsing their parts in the show. She's a delightful woman to spend three hours locked away with, and any time she wants to do it again, I'm her man.

Mail on Sunday UPDATED: 2 September 2011

My haven: Wind-up radio inventor Trevor Baylis unwinds in his quirky living room

1 IT'S A WIND-UP!

The brainwave to build a wind-up radio came after I saw a documentary in 1991 about Aids in Africa - I thought if people had radios they could learn about the dangers and stay healthy. Making this prototype was quite easy, it was getting it to the market that was the hardest part. Then Tomorrow's World picked up on it after I'd been turned down by everyone else and it went into production and saved many lives. I'm proud of my radio, even if it's never made me much money.

2 MY OTHER LAB

Ever since was a nipper I've had dogs. My last three have been named Monty, Rommel and Ike, after the famous wartime generals. I realise Rommel was officially 'the enemy' but he had bottle. I got Ike, a Labrador, from Battersea Dog's Home - where I get all my dogs - about nine years ago, and love him to bits. He may have the brains of a starfish, but he's a wonderful companion, and walking him keeps me healthy - I need that at the age of 74.

3 PIPE DREAMS

I've been smoking a pipe since my 20s. I thought it made me look cool and it's given me a lot of pleasure over the years. It's a way of chilling out and I've come up with some of my best ideas while chewing on it. I see it as a sort of thinking machine. I'm pretty sanguine about the health risks - half the time I'm not even smoking it anyway. Just chewing on it. I was voted Pipe Smoker of the Year in 1999, which I think is a hell of an honour.

4 PROUDEST DAY

Being awarded the OBE in 1997 in recognition of the wind-up radio was the proudest day of my life. I hired a rolls-royce and a top hat and tails to go to Buckingham Palace to collect it from the Queen. I was determined to enjoy it. And then, to cap it all. Michael Aspel popped up outside the palace with his famous red book and invited me on to This Is Your Life. My only regret is my parents Bill and Gladys weren't there to see it - they'd have been chuffed to bits.

5 THE EGO FILES

I'm not ashamed to admit I'm a bit of an egomaniac. I religiously collect newspaper and magazine cuttings about myself and paste them into my 'Ego Files'. They go back to my days as an underwater stuntman many years ago, but are mainly focused on my life as an inventor. I'm on 'Ego File No 9' now and I'm adding to it on a monthly basis. Going through them when the nights close in is a bit like taking a trip down Memory Lane.

6 GOING BUST

I live on Eel Pie Island in the river Thames at Twickenham and a few years ago I met a sculptor here and was impressed by her work. I jokingly suggested one day she should do a bust of me, and to my surprise she jumped at the idea. I think she saw it as a challenge. The bronze now takes pride of place in my lounge. All I've done is stick a pith helmet on his head. I'm very pleased with him though, and he's a bit of company – even if his conversation is a bit limited.

Series 38 subjects