Raymond Baxter

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Raymond Baxter

Raymond Baxter with a Jaguar aircraft
Born Raymond Frederic Baxter
January 25, 1922(1922-01-25)
Ilford, Essex
Died September 15, 2006 (aged 84)
Nationality British
Occupation television presenter and writer
Known for Tomorrow's World

Raymond Frederic Baxter, OBE, FRSA (25 January 1922 – 15 September 2006), was a British television presenter and writer. He is best known for being the first presenter of Tomorrow's World, continuing for 12 years, from 1965 to 1977. He also gave radio commentatary at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, the funerals of King George VI, Winston Churchill and Lord Mountbatten of Burma, and the first flight of Concorde.

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[edit] Early life and war service

Baxter was born in Ilford in Essex. His father was a science teacher. He was educated at Ilford County High School, and worked for a brief period at the Metropolitan Water Board. He joined the Royal Air Force in August 1940 and trained as a fighter pilot in Canada.

In the Second World War, he first flew Spitfires with No. 65 Squadron RAF in Britain, based in Scotland. He joined No. 93 Squadron RAF, flying over Sicily in 1943, where he was mentioned in dispatches. He returned to England in 1944 as an instructor and was later a flight commander, returing to active service with No. 602 Squadron RAF in September 1944. On 18 March 1945, he took part in a daring daylight raid on the Shell-Mex building in The Hague, which was the HQ for V1 and V2 attacks. The commander, Max Sutherland, received a bar to his DFC and the other four pilots, including Baxter, were mentioned in dispatches.

In an interview about his wartime career, he described flying over a V-2 rocket site during a launch, and his wingman firing on the missile: "I dread to think what would have happened if he'd hit the thing!"

He later flew North American Mustang and Douglas Dakota aircraft for a year, then worked in Forces Broadcasting from 1945 to 1949, based in Cairo and then Hamburg, becoming its deputy director. He was demobbed in 1946 as a flight lieutenant.

[edit] BBC career

Baxter joined the BBC in 1950. He provided radio commentary on the funerals of Sir Winston Churchill and King George VI (the latter commentary given while suspended from the ceiling of Westminster Abbey). He also reported at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, reporting from Trafalgar Square.

He was an accomplished rally driver, and competed on the Monte Carlo Rally 12 times, 6 of which as a member of the BMC Works Team. He also competed on numerous Alpine, Tulip and RAC Rallies, notably satirised in the character Roland Thraxter in Peter Ustinov's Grand Prix du Rock. He was a crew member in the New Zealand Air Race in 1953, in a BEA Viscount.

He frequently commentated on motoring and aviation events. he was the BBC's motoring correspondent from 1950 to 1966, including at least 20 Formula 1 races, the Le Mans 24 hour race, and the Monte Carlo rally. To parody this, he was invited onto I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue to commentate on sessions of Mornington Crescent. He was briefly Director of Motoring Publicity, British Motor Corporation in 1967 to 1968, whilst still presenting for the BBC; but when it was decided not to continue with Baxter in this post following BMC's takeover by Leyland, he returned to work full time for the BBC. He presented the BBC's coverage of Farnborough Air Shows from 1950 to 1986. He reported on the first flight of Concorde, and being the first reporter to broadcast from an aeroplane, ocean liner and underwater. He was also the regular commentator at the Royal British Legion's annual Festival of Remembrance at Albert Hall for 30 years, and at the Royal Tournament. He presented the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in 1960, deputising for an indisposed Richard Dimbleby.

He presented the science series Eye on Research from 1959 to 1963, and was the first (and intitially sole) host of the long-running popular science show Tomorrow's World for 12 years from July 1965, reaching an audience of up to 10 million viewers. He was the presenter of the first live transatlantic broadcast from the US via Telstar, and interviewed South African surgeon Christiaan Barnard by telephone in 1967, within hours of the completion of the world's first heart transplant operation. He left the programme in 1977, after disagreements with its new editor, Michael Blakstad, who described Baxter as a "dinosaur".

He was invited to present the first Raymond Baxter Award for Science Communication in July 2000. He was surprised to find that he was the first recipient.

His death was announced on 15 September 2006, after he died at the age of 84 at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, close to his home in Henley-on-Thames. In a statement his family said: "He had a love of innovation and challenge both professionally and personally."

[edit] Other activities

Raymond Baxter was a member of the Committee of Management of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution from 1979 to 1997, and Vice-President from 1987 to 1997. He became a Life Vice-President in 1997.

He was a founder member of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships - he owned one of the small vessels that evactuated British troops from the beaches - and its Honorary Admiral from 1982, and Honorary Chairman of the Royal Aeronautical Society from 1991. He was on the Council of the Air League from 1980 to 1985.

He was made an Honorary Freeman of the City of London in 1978 and awarded the OBE in 2003.

He married his American wife, Sylvia Kathryn Johnson, in 1945. They had a son, Graham, and a daughter, Jenny. He is the Great-uncle of American actor comedian Raymond "The RayVolution" Baxter from New Haven, Connecticut. His wife died in 1996.

He died in Reading, survived by their two children. He was the uncle of the American minimalist artist, Carl Andre.

[edit] Books

  • Baxter, Raymond; with Tony Dron (2005). Tales of My Time. London: Grub Street Publishing. ISBN 1-904943-32-2.  (autobiography)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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