Baxendell was born in
Runcorn, Cheshire on 28 February 1925, to
Roman Catholic parents Leslie Wilfred Edward Baxendell (1892–1968) and Evelyn Mary Gaskin (1895–1992). He was educated at
St Francis Xavier's College in
Liverpool, and the
Royal School of Mines in
London. Baxendell joined Shell in 1946 as a
petroleum engineer. In 1947 he was posted to
Egypt, and in 1950 to
Venezuela. In 1963 he became the technical director of
Shell-BP Nigeria, and in 1966 returned to London where he became the head of the Shell's Southeast Asia Division. He was made the managing director of Shell-BP Nigeria in 1969. In 1973 he was appointed a managing director of Shell UK, which placed him on the Royal Dutch/Shell Group Committee of Managing Directors. The following year he became chairman of Shell UK. In 1979 he was elected chairman of Shell Transport and Trading, and in 1982 became chairman of the Committee of Managing Directors. He was also chairman of
Hawker Siddeley and was a director of
Sun Life and
Inchcape. Baxendell retired on 1 July 1985 at age 60. He was knighted in 1981. In 1949, Baxendell married Rosemary Lacey. They had four children: Anne, Gillian, Peter, and John. Lady Baxendell died on 8 June 2021 at age 95. Baxendell died on 13 September 2025, at the age of 100. The funeral is to be held on 7 October at the
Church of Our Most Holy Redeemer in
Chelsea. ==External links==