Wind up radio inventor winds up.

[Cycleops]

Sadly the inventor of the wind up radio Trevor Baylis CBE died this week aged 80 years from Crohn’s disease. A national treasure and a pioneering inventor.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/05/trevor-baylis-inventor-wind-up-radio-dies-aged-80

 

[DCLane]

Sad news. He always struck me as a happy genius tinkering away in his shed.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Sad indeed

 

[Paulus]

One of the great British inventors of the modern age. Nothing too technical, but of much importance to a whole swave of people from the 3rd world, as well as this country. Slightly eccentric as all the good inventors are.

 

[bruce1530]

Heard him speak once at an event I attended. Several people walked out in disgust. I personally found his views offensive.

 

[Beebo]

Heard him speak once at an event I attended. Several people walked out in disgust. I personally found his views offensive.

He was always a bit non PC on The big Breakfast. Johnny Vaughn an had to reign him in a bit.

 

[Tim Hall]

Heard him speak once at an event I attended. Several people walked out in disgust. I personally found his views offensive.

Care to elaborate?

 

[bruce1530]

He had been booked as the “after dinner" speaker at an event. I think the organisers though that an “eccentric old duffer inventor” would appeal to that technical audience. But his speech was the sort of thing that you might expect of Alf Garnett.

 

[screenman]

There are many great eccentrics living on Eel Pie Island, interesting place to visit on an open day if you get a chance.

 

[ColinJ]

Heard him speak once at an event I attended. Several people walked out in disgust. I personally found his views offensive.

I went to see him speak at a local school one evening about 20 years ago and I don't remember him saying anything offensive then. He seemed a bit eccentric, but interesting. He told the audience that he had developed his wind-up radio to help people in remote villages in Africa, which seemed like a pretty INoffensive thing to do!

 

[raleighnut]

Sad news RIP

 

[Drago]

I met him 11 years ago. An old boy I know went to school with him, and after I'd bought Baylis' autobiography he took me down to meet him.

His place on Eel Pie island was magic, and rather ramshackle. His famous workshop is actually the entrance hallway, so I walked through there to the lounge at the back overlooking the river. I sat in the same chair Prince Edward had when he visited the previous week, and Trevor made me a (not very good, it must be said) cup of tea. We chatted for an hour and I got my book signed.

A genuinely nice feller (he never said anything untoward in my presence) very clever, but from a different era.

 

[Cycleops]

I was reading an article about his life and one of his prized possessions was a framed letter from a supposedly eminent professor explaining in great detail why his wind up radio could never - would never- work. He hung it in his toilet.

 

[Drago]

He has a veranda overhanging the Thames. He had a partially built kit car he'd started work on in the Seventies and never finished, so it had sat the for (then) thirty years or so. I asked him how he planned to get it out when finished, and he said "oh, I'd have thought of something".

The house really was in poor repair, and I expect whoever gets then land will demolish it to build anew one what must be a very valuable plot.

 

[ianrauk]

[QUOTE 5172843, member: 45"]Enjoyed him on the Big Breakfast.[/QUOTE]
Of course ...back in the day.