Behram was born in Poona, an Irani Zoroastrian, his mother (Gover) having come as a child to India from Iran. Despite losing his father (Rustom) when he was a small boy, he was part of a large family of twelve children although four of his siblings died young.

Strikingly handsome, Behram was an academic, but also a sporting success, particularly in his amateur boxing career. He knew his wife Katayun (Kitty), daughter of Khan Bhadur Shapoor Mazda, as a child and they married in their early 20’s. As a newly qualified engineer Behram built and ran an ice factory in Bombay. Zerbanoo, their eldest daughter, was born in 1950 in India.

Soon after the family came to London to start a new life and Behram, now calling himself Bailey, bought and ran his Heritage Hotel near Hyde Park. Later he added the Baron’s hotel and other properties in the area.  He loved his hotel business, but was also a keen and accomplished stock market investor. He would buy shares when they were cheap or ‘in the gutter, when no-one else wants them’ as he would say, and usually make dramatic profits. Early morning, he would begin the day’s monitoring of share prices. Much of his market gains he would give to charities, notably gifts to Zoroastrian causes in India, but modestly, often without anyone knowing. He was also the youngest President of the City of London Lions club, a Rotarian, and a leading Freemason.

Bailey’s religion was ingrained in his soul. He prayed every morning and evening without fail with his sudrah and kusti, binding himself to Ahura Mazda. This was his personal faith, but he had two grand visions as well – that the religion in Britain was a community that needed uniting, and that Zoroastrianism should also have a world body.

With initial opposition, Bailey argued that the association should change its name from the Parsee to the Zoroastrian trust funds of Europe. Taken for granted now, this move integrated Parsee and Irani Zoroastrians and led to huge financial contributions from wealthy Iranian Zoroastrians. Bailey was President of the association and later a trustee and always a larger than life presence in British Zoroastrian life. His other legacy was the World Zoroastrian Organisation (WZO), of which he was the Founder President in 1980. He recognised the significance of the diaspora from Iran and India to Europe, Africa, the USA and Canada and that a world-wide body, even if partly symbolic, could help protect our heritage and rights. And he campaigned for the WZO, usually alone, lobbying organisations such as the United Nations in person at his own cost.

Meanwhile Bailey lived his other life. He was a devoted family man. After Zerbanoo, he and Kitty had three other children, all born in London: Genie, Rustom and Naswan (and later four grandchildren). Family holidays were big events: ski-ing every winter, as well as long car journeys through Britain and Europe. On one trip, he drove the family through Franco’s Spain and then in and quickly out of Portugal which was in the process of a revolution. Bailey loved travel and would happily set off alone with his rucksack to a distant land. He was also a daredevil. He was bizarrely an amateur bull-fighter (and ‘a professional bullshitter’ as he would love saying). He paraglided.  He skied well into his 70s.

Let us finish with Bailey the individual. No-one who met him forgot him.  He was genuinely charismatic, with an infamous sense of humour.  But he had so many parts to his character. He was loud, yet reflective and sometimes very gentle. Stubborn, yet conciliatory. Traditional, yet forward looking. A party animal, holding court, telling jokes. Yet content with his own company. Brave, very – especially when dealing with his terminal cancer.

Big-hearted. Passionate. Funny. Noble.