Harry Llewellyn

Harry Llewellyn, educated at Oundle and Trinity College, Cambridge, was a well-known steeplechase jockey in pre-war days, his greatest success coming in 1936 when, while still an undergraduate, he finished second in the Grand National riding his father’s horse Ego. He rode Ego again at Aintree the following year and finished fourth. The war soon followed and Llewellyn saw action in Italy and Normandy and he was awarded the OBE for his work as Field Marshall Montgomery’s chief liaison officer.

After the war, Lieutenant Colonel Harry Llewellyn was a leading figure in the business world of South Wales and he gave his time unsparingly to all equestrian causes. At various times he was a Stewart of the National Hunt Committee and Chairman of the British Show Jumping Association and in 1969 he was elected a Steward of the Jockey Club. In 1953 he was awarded a CBE and, after being knighted in 1977 for his services to Wales, he succeeded to the Baronetcy the following year on the death of his elder brothers.

In show jumping circles Llewellyn’s name is inextricably linked with that of his horse, Foxhunter. The famous pairing represented Great Britain no less than 35 times with the performance which most captured the public imagination coming in the final round of the show jumping event in the 1952 Olympics. After a near-disastrous first round, Llewellyn was under extreme pressure, but he took Foxhunter through a faultless round and Great Britain won her only gold medals of the Helsinki Games. Unfortunately, certainly uninformed sections of the British press tended to view this success in a team event as an individual victory for Foxhunter and his rider and Wilfred White and Duggie Stewart, who both had less faults than Llewellyn throughout the competition, were not always given their due.

Llewellyn’s youngest son Roddy had a much publicised relationship with HRH Princes Margaret, the sister of HM Queen Elizabeth II, who was 17 years older than Roddy. The relationship lasted eight years, during which time they spent a great deal of time together on the holiday isle of Mustique. Their relationship contributed to the eventual break-up of Margaret’s wedding to Lord Snowdon.