Wensley Haydon-Baillie

Who is Wensley Haydon-Baillie?

Wensley Haydon-Baillie, the son of a surgeon from Worksop, Nottinghamshire, was once one of the 50 richest men in the UK after working his way up in the pharmaceutical industry. A company he invested in Porton International sold at high prices when it seemed it had a cure for Herpes. It collapsed when it turned out it did not and the company wound up selling at a discounted price to Ipsen Pharmaceutical. He owned a collection of Rolls-Royces and an aviation museum housing and restoring many Spitfires. He also owned Wentworth Woodhouse in Yorkshire – one of the largest private homes in Europe with 365 rooms. In the 1980s, he invested millions in a firm that claimed to have a cure for herpes but it never materialised and in 1998 he admitted to debts of £13m. In 1994, Wensley Haydon-Baillie married Samantha Acland, a secretary. Prince Michael of Kent was best man. He is current owner of the two largest passenger hovercrafts in the world, the SRN4s, and also one of the fastest boats in the world, the Brave Challenger.

Wensley Haydon-Baillie is also one of the few surviving descendants of Jeremiah Coghlan the heroic and intrepid Royal Navy Officer.