Lord Patrick Beresford
Soldier who saw action in Cyprus, played polo with Prince Philip and led Britain to equestrian glory
LORD PATRICK BERESFORD, who has died aged 85, was a well-respected Army officer and a keen and accomplished equestrian. He played polo to a high standard, hunted regularly and won more than 50 point-to-points and steeplechases, including the Past and Present Hunter’s Chase and the Past and Present Handicap Chase at Sandown’s Grand Military Meeting. He also took part in four Grand Military Gold Cups.
One of his achievements was to set up the Guards Polo Club in 1955, for which he was granted regimental leave for six months. He was something of an escort to Princess Margaret, identified by the press when he stayed at Windsor Castle for Ascot week in 1957.
He wrote lyrically of his love of polo: “It would be an ungenerous soul that did not warm to the sights and sounds surrounding [Smith’s Lawn’s] No 1 ground on a fine summer afternoon. Above the stands the flags of many nations fly proudly in the breeze. In the pony lines, gauchos from Argentina … and cowboys from Texas mingle with the English girl grooms, whilst out on the field an ever-flowing tide of men and horses surge backward and forward in a kaleidoscope of colour and action.”
He considered that there was no parallel to polo, one of the fastest games in the world, with “that small but alluring element of danger without which no pastime is wholly satisfying”. (Beresford himself hurt his neck in a fall and broke his right leg below the knee.)
He knew of a sign in the Himalayas from which polo had emanated: “Let other men do other things, The King of Sports is still the Sport of Kings.”
For Horse and Hound he described a visit by the Windsor Park high-goal team, including Prince Philip, to Mexico in 1970, writing of exceptional hospitality in “the most beautiful house” in Acapulco, not mentioning that it belonged to Merle Oberon. He also played at Pebble Beach in California and was excited to report in 1971 that the magazine’s “correspondent” had scored the winning goal in Hawaii.
Patrick Tristram de la Poer Beresford was born on June 16 1934, the second son of the 7th Marquess of Waterford, premier Marquess of Ireland, who died in September that year, aged 33, in a shooting accident in the gun room at their 3,500-acre Irish seat, Curraghmore in Co Waterford.
The Beresfords were a distinguished Irish family, originally from Kent and Derbyshire; George Beresford, 2nd Earl of Tyrone, was created Marquess in 1789. The 1st Marquess also inherited the Barony of de la Poer from his mother, this ancient family being established in Ireland in 1179.
Two Marquesses came to grief in hunting accidents, while the 6th Marquess escaped being eaten by a lion, only to drown in a river on his estate. Patrick’s elder brother, the 8th Marquess, also a noted polo player, was a member of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Windsor Park team for 12 years.
Patrick was educated at Eton, being a noted games player and gaining good marks in exams without notable exertion. In 1952 he enlisted as a trooper in the Royal Horse Guards, and was “hardworking, rather quiet but with a good brain”.
He passed fifth out of 243 cadets at Sandhurst and received the Sword of Honour from Field Marshal Lord Alexander of Tunis, and was commissioned into the Household Cavalry Regiment. In the course of his military career, he served as secondin-command of A Squadron, the Royal Horse Guards in Cyprus, between 1957 and 1959, during the height of the Eoka troubles, and saw considerable action.
He then spent four years in England and a later spell with the BAOR in Germany. He saw action in Cyprus and as an intelligence officer in Sarawak during the Confrontation with Indonesia.
In 1964 he married Julia Carey, the former wife of Captain Darel Carey, of his own regiment. As a result he resigned his commission, prematurely ending a promising military career. The marriage was dissolved in 1971. Brother officers remember him as a first-rate natural leader, clever, efficient and brave, albeit intimidating and difficult to know.
He was popular with all ranks. At one time he penned a spoof “Jennifer’s Diary”, as if written by the humourless Betty Kenward, reporting from the Borneo jungle.
In 1965 he was granted a commission in 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) TA. After joining “R” Squadron 22 SAS, he served in the Middle East and Far East until he retired in 1974 in the rank of major. He became president of the Guards Parachute Association, retained links with the Royal Horse Guards and was a supporter of veterans’ charities.
From 1965 to 1975 he worked for the Anglo-irish Bloodstock Agency. He established Beresford Bloodstock Services, then in 1977 he joined KMS, a private security firm set up by EX-SAS officers, and led a close-support team guarding Sheikh Yamani, the Saudi minister of petroleum who had narrowly escaped death as a hostage in 1975.
In 1985 Beresford became chef d’équipe and selector for the British senior eventing team. At his first European Championships, at Burghley, Britain fielded a team of highly experienced riders on well-proven horses and won the team championship by 181 points.
They had further successes at Gawler in Australia; in Poland; at the European Championships in Germany in 1987; and at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Team golds were won in the 1989 European Championships at Burghley, at Punchestown, Ireland, in 1991, and in the 1994 World Equestrian Games at The Hague.
From 1993 to 1998 Beresford was equestrian tour director for the travel company Abercrombie & Kent, leading groups of riders on treks.
Patrick Beresford is survived by his son and daughter.
Lord Patrick Beresford, born June 16 1934, died March 18 2020