Bill Bailey (27 September 1933 – 28 April 2009) was known as "the father of British surfing" for the crucial role he played in the development of the sport in the United Kingdom.
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.
[3] Bailey began building life-saving equipment including a surf ski in 1961, designed to be used by 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.
[2] In the late 1960s A Bilbo shop was opened outside the train station of Newquay, which was quickly becoming the UK surfing capital.