Injured Jockey Fund founder dies
John Lawrence, fourth Baron Trevethin and second Baron Oaksey, passed away after a long illness at his home on Wednesday, September 5.
Lord Oaksey was an enthusiastic amateur rider and enjoyed considerable success, winning the 1958 Hennessy Gold Cup on Taxidermist and finishing second in the Grand National on Carrickbeg in 1963.
Later he was a renowned writer and broadcaster and was racing columnist for the Newbury Weekly News.
But he is known and loved throughout the Valley of the Racehorse for establishing the forerunner of the IJF in 1964.
The residential home for the recuperation of injured jockeys, Oaksey House in Lambourn, was built in his honour and a statue of him hold pride of place in the grounds.
Although he never managed to win a Grand National, Lord Oaksey was a highly successful amateur rider for more than 20 years until injuries sustained in a fall at Folkestone in April 1975 forced him into retirement.
He had ridden more than 200 winners, of which 20 were on the Flat, and had been champion amateur under National Hunt Rules in 1957-58.
As news of his death spread, hundreds of tributes from around the world began pouring in to the IJF.
IJF chairman Brough Scott, a close friend, said: “All IJF supporters and the millions whose lives he has touched through his work in print and on the screen will be saddened by the news that John Oaksey, our founder and president, died at home at Oaksey.
“He was my, and our, greatest friend. The fact that his passing had been expected to the point of ‘blessed release’ does not make the loss any easier for his family and all of us to bear. For he was the inspiration behind the whole concept of the IJF.”
He added: “He was a man of great talents but an even greater heart. They say that no one is irreplaceable but there have to be exceptions to every rule. He would want us to do much more than mourn his passing and there can be no better healing than to continue the work he started and for which Oaksey House in Lambourn carries his name.
“Next week at Doncaster our patron, HRH The Princess Royal, attends a lunch raising funds for the new Jack Berry House project in Malton. By then the memory of John’s presence should inspire smiles as well as tears.”
Lord Oaksey was IJF founding trustee in 1964, chairman from 1982 through to 2002 and president from 2002 to 2012.
He is survived by his wife, Chicky, and two children from his first marriage: Patrick Lawrence QC and Sara, a former jockey who married the trainer Mark Bradstock.
