Sir Henry Morton Llewellyn, 3rd Baronet, (18 July 1911 – 15 November 1999) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British 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 ...

champion. He was born the second son of a colliery owner,

Sir David Llewellyn, 1st Baronet Sir David Richard Llewellyn, 1st Baronet (9 March 1879 – 15 December 1940) was a Welsh industrialist and financier. He was born in Aberdare, South Wales, the son of Alderman Rees Llewellyn, JP and educated at Llandovery College , image ...

Background

A younger son, Llewellyn was second in line to inherit the baronetcy on the death of his father. He was educated at

Oundle School Oundle School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. The school has been governed by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City ...

and at

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

, before going into the army. He inherited the title on the death of his older brother,

Sir Rhys Llewellyn, 2nd Baronet Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Rhys Llewellyn, 2nd Baronet, (9 March 191025 April 1978) was a Welsh mining executive, soldier, author and dignitary. He was born in Aberdare, South Wales, the son of a colliery owner. Educated at Oundle School and Trinity ...

in 1978. His younger brother Sir David Llewellyn was a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician.

Early career

He achieved some success as a

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

champion during the 1930s, and competed in the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap st ...

steeplechase, coming second in 1936.

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

he saw action in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and after

D Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

and served as a liaison officer to Field Marshal Montgomery, eventually rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1945 and Commander in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

for services to British International Show Jumping.

Olympic Gold Medal

After the war he concentrated on show jumping, buying Foxhunter in 1947 after a long search. The duo were part of the British team that competed in the team event at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

, winning the bronze medal. They captured the public imagination for their role in winning Great Britain's only gold medal at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

, in the team jumping equestrian event. Foxhunter and Llewellyn won 78 international competitions during their joint career. Llewellyn later served widely in the administration of British show jumping, and was knighted in 1977 before inheriting the Llewellyn Baronetcy upon the death of his brother. His business activities, following the nationalisation of the coal industry in 1947, included interests in brewing and television. Following the 1952 Olympic win he set up a chain of cafes called Foxhunter. After Sir Harry's death, his ashes were scattered near Foxhunter's grave and memorial on the Blorenge mountain above Abergavenny.

Family and personal life

Sir Harry Llewellyn lived at Llanfair Grange near Abergavenny in Monmouthshire. In 1990 he was inducted into the

Welsh Sports Hall of Fame The Welsh Sports Hall of Fame (WSHOF) is a charitable organisation created to commemorate the sporting achievements and preserve the artefacts of Welsh athletes. It was established in 1980 from the memorabilia collection of Welsh radio commentato ...

. He was married to Christine Saumarez, a daughter of the 5th Baron de Saumarez. Their sons, Dai and Roddy, became well-known media personalities from the 1960s onwards, the former because of highly publicized relationships with

Tessa Dahl Chantal Sophia "Tessa" Dahl (born 11 April 1957) is an English author and former actress. She is the daughter of British author Roald Dahl and American actress Patricia Neal. Early life Dahl was born in Oxford, the second daughter of British au ...

and

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

's daughter Beatrice, and the latter because of an eight-year affair with Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon.

Notes

References

databaseOlympics.com
*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,

External links

BBC article

Biography of Sir Harry from Oundle School Society

The Times Great British Olympians * {{DEFAULTSORT:Llewellyn, Harry 1911 births 1999 deaths People educated at Oundle School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British Yeomanry officers British Army personnel of World War II Welsh equestrians Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Equestrians at the 1948 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic equestrians of Great Britain British male equestrians British show jumping riders Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Knights Bachelor Sportspeople from Aberdare Olympic medalists in equestrian Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Welsh Olympic medallists