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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 in ...

champion.

Early life and education

Llewellyn was born in 1911, the second son of a colliery owner,

Sir David Llewellyn, 1st Baronet Sir David Richard Llewellyn, 1st Baronet JP (9 March 1879 – 15 December 1940) was a Welsh industrialist and financier. Early life Llewellyn was born in Aberdare, South Wales on 9 March 1879. He was the son of Elizabeth Llewellyn and Rees Ll ...

. He 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 (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school, boarding and day school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire ...

and at

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 ...

, before going into the army. Llewellyn inherited the baronetcy on the death of his older brother, Sir Rhys Llewellyn, 2nd Baronet, in 1978. His younger brother Sir David Llewellyn was a

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

politician.

Early career

Llewellyn achieved some success as a show-jumping 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 Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...

steeplechase, coming second in 1936.

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Llewellyn saw action in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and after

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

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

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 Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

Olympic Gold Medal

After the war he concentrated on

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

, 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 officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

, 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 (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

, 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. In 1990 he was inducted into the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame.

Honours

Llewellyn was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in 1945 and Commander (CBE) in

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

for services to British International Show Jumping.

Marriage and children

Sir Harry Llewellyn lived at

Llanfair Grange Llanfair Grange, Nant-y-derry, Monmouthshire is a country house dating from the 18th century. It was extensively remodelled in the early 19th century in a Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical style. In the mid-20th century, the grange was owned ...

near

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; , , archaically , ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately from the England–Wales border, border with England and is loca ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

. He married Hon Christine Saumarez, a daughter of James Saumarez, 5th Baron de Saumarez on 15 April 1944. They had three children:Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003 * Sir David St Vincent "Dai" Llewellyn, 4th Baronet (2 April 1946 - 13 January 2009) * Sir Roderic Victor "Roddy" Llewellyn, 5th Baronet (born 9 October 1947) * Anna Christina Llewellyn (born 29 May 1956)

Death

Llewellyn died on 15 November 1999 at the age of 88. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his elder son, Dai. His ashes were scattered near Foxhunter's grave and memorial on the

Blorenge Blorenge, also called The Blorenge (; ), is a prominent hill overlooking the valley of the River Usk near Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, southeast Wales. It is situated in the southeastern corner of the Brecon Beacons National Park. The summit plat ...

mountain above

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 Military personnel from Rhondda Cynon Taf 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 for 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 competitors