Michael James Baker-Harber (5 October 1945 – 25 June 2022) was a sailor from Great Britain, who represented his country at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

as crew member in the

Soling The Soling is an open keelboat that holds the World Sailing "International class" status. The class was used from the 1972 Olympics (Kiel) until the 2000 Olympics (Sydney) as " Open Three Person Keelboat". Besides the Olympic career of the Soli ...

. With helmsman Iain MacDonald-Smith and fellow crew member Barry Dunning, they took the 13th place.

Early life and education

Baker-Harber was born at "Lindwell", Northwood, Middlesex, son of James Algerin Charles Baker-Harber (1905-1966) and Pam, née Orr. Baker-Harber's father worked for

Marks and Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

and other department stores including Handley's of Southsea as a display designer, being "a frequent winner of display competitions"; he had served with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and played for the (English) Nondescripts Cricket Club against Sidmouth in 1949. James Baker-Harber's former wife, Joyce (née Carter), subsequently married the aviator

Robert Stanford Tuck Wing Commander Robert Roland Stanford Tuck, (1 July 1916 – 5 May 1987) was a British fighter pilot, flying ace and test pilot. Tuck joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1935 and first engaged in combat during the Battle of France, over Dunkirk ...

. Baker-Harber was educated at

Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...

Career

Baker-Harber qualified as a solicitor, becoming partner at

Ince & Co The Ince Group plc is a United Kingdom-based holding company with a core business in legal services, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange. The company also offers complementary services in accounting, financial services, consulting, and ...

., and was president of the London Maritime Arbitrators Association from 2003 to 2006. He was a director of Coulouthros Ltd, a freight and cargo transportation company based in London, and represented

Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gov ...

on behalf of Ince & Co. He lived on the High Street of

Burnham-on-Crouch Burnham-on-Crouch is a town and civil parish in the Maldon District of Essex in the East of England. It lies on the north bank of the River Crouch. It is one of Britain's leading places for yachting. The civil parish extends east of the town t ...

in Essex, and died on 25 June 2022.

Personal life

His daughter, Victoria, appeared on the reality show ''

Made in Chelsea ''Made in Chelsea'' (abbreviated ''MIC'') is a British structured-reality television series broadcast by E4. ''Made in Chelsea'' chronicles the lives of affluent young people in the West London and South West areas of Belgravia, King's Road, C ...

''. She has a daughter with her partner, the American art dealer

Inigo Philbrick Inigo Philbrick (born 1987) is an American art dealer who was jailed for wire fraud in May 2022 for seven years, and ordered to forfeit $86.7 million. Early life Inigo Philbrick is the son of Harry Philbrick, who was the director of The Aldrich ...

, who in 2022 was jailed for wire fraud and ordered to pay $86.7 million.

References

Sources

* 1945 births 2022 deaths People educated at Tonbridge School Sailors at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Soling Olympic sailors for Great Britain People from Uxbridge Sportspeople from the London Borough of Hillingdon British male sailors (sport) Soling class sailors World champions in sailing for Great Britain 5.5 Metre class world champions {{UK-yachtracing-bio-stub