Dorian Joseph George Williams

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(1 July 1914 – 21 July 1985) was a British equestrian, journalist, broadcaster, author and patron of the arts.

Life

Williams was educated at

Hawtreys Hawtreys Preparatory School was an independent boys' preparatory school in England, first established in Slough, later moved to Westgate-on-Sea, then to Oswestry, and finally to a country house near Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire. In its early years ...

prep school, then

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

and served as a soldier. He was, from the 1950s until his retirement in 1980, the voice of

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...

British television Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...

, succeeded by Raymond Brooks-Ward who broadcast with Williams from 1956. He was largely responsible for making it into a mainstream TV sport that was enjoyed by millions throughout the 1970s and continues to be enjoyed. His final broadcast as a full-time commentator was at the Olympia Horse Show in December 1980, although he continued to commentate on pre-recorded (filmed) coverage of dressage once a year until 1984. In addition to his TV work he was also an author, writing the Wendy series which were aimed at children and could be termed "traditional pony books". He also wrote two adult horse novels and several works of non fiction concerning show jumping and equestrianism in general. He was Chairman of the British Horse Society, and instrumental in setting up a National Equestrian Centre at Stoneleigh Abbey in Warwickshire. He was also Master of the Whaddon Chase hunt. He was appointed OBE in the

1978 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1978 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginn ...

. In 1949 he founded the

Pendley Open Air Shakespeare Festival The Pendley Open Air Shakespeare Festival is, as the name implies, an annual festival dedicated to the plays of William Shakespeare. It takes place at the beginning of August at Pendley Manor, a hotel in Tring, Hertfordshire. History The first of ...

in the grounds of his ancestral family home of Pendley Manor near Tring, Hertfordshire. He married twice: * 1. The Hon. Moyra Lubbock 1938 (marriage dissolved 1949) * 2. Jennifer (one daughter Carola and one son Piers) He died from pancreatic cancer in July 1985 following an earlier cancer operation in 1973. In 2005, he was one of the inaugural laureates appointed to

The British Horse Society The British Horse Society (BHS) is a membership-based equine charity, with a stated vision of "a Society which provides a strong voice for horses and people and which spreads awareness through support, training and education". It currently has m ...

Equestrian Hall of Fame.BHS Equestrian Hall of Fame article 5 August 2005

References

* ''Master of One, an Autobiography'', Dent, 1978. {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Dorian 1914 births 1985 deaths Deaths from pancreatic cancer British sports broadcasters Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Hawtreys People educated at Harrow School