Major Derek Swithin Allhusen, CVO (9 January 1914 – 24 April 2000) was an English equestrian 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 (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. Derek Swithin Allhusen was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and educated at Eton and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 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 ...

. In 1937 he married The Hon Claudia Betterton. He served throughout the Second World War with 9th Queen's Royal Lancers, and the 24th Lancers (December 1940-September 1943) 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 a ...

in 1944 with the 9th Lancers. On returning from Germany he brought back two horses with him and settled in Claxton, Norfolk. 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 language, Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) (). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Anci ...

at the 1948 Winter Olympic Games. He eventually took up

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

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

Richard Meade Richard Meade may refer to: *Richard Meade, 2nd Earl of Clanwilliam (1766–1805), Irish peer *Richard Meade, 3rd Earl of Clanwilliam (1795–1879), British ambassador *Richard Meade, 4th Earl of Clanwilliam (1832–1907), British Royal Navy officer ...

, Jane Bullen and Reuben Jones 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 ...

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 Gen ...

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 () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the ...

in 1983. In November 1955, 1956 and 1957 he was nominated as a High Sheriff of Norfolk (and appointed in March 1958) in the Queen's Bench 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 (England and Wales), Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cour ...

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 for Great Britain British male equestrians Olympic winter pentathletes for 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 24th Lancers officers English Olympic competitors 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) Military personnel from London 20th-century English sportsmen