Bill Bailey (surfer)
Encyclopedia
Bill Bailey was known as "the father of British surfing
" for the crucial role he played in the development of the sport in the United Kingdom
. He set up the first surf company in Britain.
Bailey grew up in Inglesbatch
, in Somerset
where his father withdrew him from school at age 14 due to his behaviour, and placed him in the Royal Air Force
. There he trained as an engineer working on Short Sunderland
flying boats and taking postings overseas. It was while working on air-sea rescue in Sri Lanka that he developed a love of the sea, quitting the air-force at the end of the 1950s and moving to Newquay
to work as a lifeguard.
Bailey began building life-saving equipment including a surf ski in 1961, designed to be used by to lifeguards with paddles. While tinkering with the design he met two Australians on their way to the US, and was impressed with the foam core and fibre-glass construction of their surf boards. He bought one and learned to use it, becoming one of the first native surfers in Britain. In 1964 he began constructing surf boards himself and the following year formed a partnership with Bob Head to set up the European Surfing Company. Under its surfboard brand, BilBo, it produced around 12,000 boards over the next eight years. In the late 1960s A Bilbo shop was opened outside the train station of Newquay, which was quickly becoming the UK surfing capital.
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
" for the crucial role he played in the development of the sport in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. He set up the first surf company in Britain.
Bailey grew up in Inglesbatch
Inglesbatch
Inglesbatch is a small village within the civil parish of Englishcombe in the Bath and North East Somerset district of Somerset, England. Its nearest town is Bath, which lies approximately north-west from the village...
, in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
where his father withdrew him from school at age 14 due to his behaviour, and placed him in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. There he trained as an engineer working on Short Sunderland
Short Sunderland
The Short S.25 Sunderland was a British flying boat patrol bomber developed for the Royal Air Force by Short Brothers. It took its service name from the town and port of Sunderland in northeast England....
flying boats and taking postings overseas. It was while working on air-sea rescue in Sri Lanka that he developed a love of the sea, quitting the air-force at the end of the 1950s and moving to Newquay
Newquay
Newquay is a town, civil parish, seaside resort and fishing port in Cornwall, England. It is situated on the North Atlantic coast of Cornwall approximately west of Bodmin and north of Truro....
to work as a lifeguard.
Bailey began building life-saving equipment including a surf ski in 1961, designed to be used by to lifeguards with paddles. While tinkering with the design he met two Australians on their way to the US, and was impressed with the foam core and fibre-glass construction of their surf boards. He bought one and learned to use it, becoming one of the first native surfers in Britain. In 1964 he began constructing surf boards himself and the following year formed a partnership with Bob Head to set up the European Surfing Company. Under its surfboard brand, BilBo, it produced around 12,000 boards over the next eight years. In the late 1960s A Bilbo shop was opened outside the train station of Newquay, which was quickly becoming the UK surfing capital.