Major Derek Swithin Allhusen, CVO (9 January 1914 – 24 April 2000) was an English

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

who was a 54-year-old grandfather when he rode Lochinvar to team gold and individual silver medals at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Derek Swithin Allhusen was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. In 1937 he married The Hon Claudia Betterton. He served throughout the Second World War with

9th Queen's Royal Lancers The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but w ...

, being awarded the American

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

in 1944. On returning from Germany he brought back two horses with him and settled in

Claxton, Norfolk Claxton is a small village south-east of Norwich, and south of the River Yare, between Rockland St. Mary and Loddon in South Norfolk, England. In the 2001 census it contained 85 households and a population of 244, the population increasing t ...

. He rode one of the horses, Laura when representing Britain in the

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of t ...

at the

1948 Winter Olympic Games The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (german: V. Olympische Winterspiele; french: Ves Jeux olympiques d'hiver; it, V Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, V Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. Moritz ...

. He eventually took up

eventing Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. Thi ...

in 1955, riding Laura's daughter Laurien on two European Championship teams, winning a team gold medal in 1957, then team silver and individual bronze in 1959. In 1961 he bought Irish-bred Lochinvar and rode her in two winning European Championship teams (in 1967 and 1969) as well as the gold and silver at the 1968 Summer Olympics. He was offered appointment as an

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

for his achievements but declined it; feeling his team-mates

Richard Meade Richard John Hannay Meade (4 December 1938 – 8 January 2015) was Britain's most successful male equestrian at the Olympics. He was a triple Olympic gold medalist and the first British rider to win an individual Olympic title. He also won ...

Jane Bullen Jane Mary Elizabeth Holderness-Roddam (née Bullen; born 1 July 1948, Charmouth, Dorset) is a British event rider, winning Badminton Horse Trials in 1968 (on Our Nobby) and 1978 (on Warrior). She also won Burghley Horse Trials in 1976 ...

and

Reuben Jones Reuben (Ben) Jones (born 19 October 1932 in Newport, Shropshire, England; died 3 January 1990 in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire) was an Olympic equestrian rider who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 1968 Summer ...

also deserved recognition. On his retirement from the sport he continued as a breeder and Laurien's son Laurieston was ridden to team and individual Olympic gold medals in 1972 Games in Munich, with Richard Meade in the saddle. Allhusen was president of 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 ...

from 1986 to 1988. Allhusen was appointed to be one of Her Majesty's Body Guard of the

Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms His Majesty's Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms is a bodyguard to the British Monarch. Until 17 March 1834, they were known as The Honourable Band of Gentlemen Pensioners. Formation The corps was formed as the Troop of Ge ...

in 1963, he was appointed Standard Bearer from 1981 to 1984. He was appointed to be a

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Monarchy of Canada, Canadian monarch, Mon ...

in 1983. In November 1955, 1956 and 1957 he was nominated as a

High Sheriff of Norfolk The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually (in March) by the Crown. The High Sheriff of Norfolk was originally the principal law enforcement officer in Norfolk and presided at the assizes and other imp ...

(and appointed in March 1958) in the

Queen's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court court of common ...

Division of the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cou ...

Notes

References

External links

Obituary
from

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allhusen, Derek 1914 births 2000 deaths People educated at West Downs School People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 9th Queen's Royal Lancers officers British Army personnel of World War II Recipients of the Silver Star Olympic equestrians of Great Britain British male equestrians Olympic winter pentathletes of Great Britain Winter pentathletes at the 1948 Winter Olympics Equestrians at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain British show jumping riders English male equestrians English Olympic medallists Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms High Sheriffs of Norfolk Olympic medalists in equestrian Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics People from South Norfolk (district)