James Baxter

Although he won a silver medal as part of the 10-man crew of Mouchette in the 12-metre class at the 1908 Olympic sailing regatta, it was as a rugby player that Bim Baxter was better known.

The son of a customs clerk, Baxter was a native of Wirral on Merseyside and he joined his local rugby club Birkenhead Park in 1889, and was their captain for five years leading up to the turn of the century. He won three international caps in England’s pack in the 1900 season. Baxter went on to become a rugby referee and was also president of Birkenhead Park and of the Cheshire Rugby Union. He was also president of the Rugby Union and for 20 years was chairman of the international selection committee. Baxter was manager of the touring British Isles team to Argentina in 1927 and three years later led them on the tour of New Zealand and Australia, which was the first British team to be widely accepted as being “The Lions”. In 1932 Baxter was presented with a silver salver containing the signatures of all the players he had selected in his time as chairman of the selectors.

Baxter served as a lieutenant-commander in the Mersey Defences in World War I. He was an all-round sportsman and in 1926 was elected captain of the Royal Liverpool Golf Club. In addition to sailing, he also enjoyed that other aquatic pursuit, rowing. Baxter served as a councillor on the Birkenhead Town Council and by profession was a local manager of the North British and Mercantile Insurance Company, before later becoming a regional director.