Trevor Baylis: The inventor who wound up a success

A programme on the spread of Aids in Africa inspired inventor Trevor Baylis to invent a radio that didn't require batteries. However, once he had built his wind-up radio, he was faced with the challenge of finding investors...

The traditional view of inventors is that they have "Viennese accents, broken glasses and no social skills", says Trevor Baylis. Nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to him though. When he was 20, he joined the national service as a physical fitness instructor, swam for the army and went on to become a stuntman and underwater escapologist with the Berlin circus. Money earned from his career as an entertainer allowed him to set up Shortline Steel Swimming Pools, a company that supplies freestanding swimming pools to schools. But he was always tinkering away in his workshop, just as had been as a child, at different inventions.

"British inventions never made their creators any money though," says 69-year-old Baylis. "Whether it was Whittle's jet engine or Cockerell's hovercraft, they all ended up with nothing. In his later years, Cockerell couldn't even afford to bring his family on a hovercraft. I wanted to change that." And that is what he did, with his invention of the wind-up radio.

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Jody Clarke

Jody studied at the University of Limerick and was a senior writer for MoneyWeek. Jody is experienced in interviewing, for example digging into the lives of an ex-M15 agent and quirky business owners who have made millions. Jody’s other areas of expertise include advice on funds, stocks and house prices.