JOHN PARKER
ONE of the world’s leading coachmen died on 1 April, aged 81, following a short illness.
Mr Parker started his career in the Royal Army Service Corps where he was coachman, but he left to become a stunt driver in
films. His credits include Chitty
Chitty Bang Bang, Dr Dolittle and The Wrong Box.
Having switched to competitive driving, Mr Parker represented Great Britain 11 times at World and European Championships.
In 1982, he gave up competition to concentrate on displays, television and events with his London to Norwich mail coach, one of only two licensed to carry Royal Mail, during which time he enjoyed a 20-year association with Norwich Union.
In 1996, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the last Royal Mail coach to run from London to Norwich, Mr Parker broke his own record for the furthest distance driven by a single coachman in a 24-hour period, driving 137 miles in 22 hours and 34 minutes. Another world record, featured on ITV’s You
Bet!, was achieved when his team of grooms changed one team of horses for another in 21.2 seconds.
In 1992, Mr Parker and his four Hungarian greys were invited to a Luciano Pavarotti show in Modena, Italy, to race against cars. At the 1993 Horse of the Year Show, he drove five horses through a blazing corridor of fire in the “Tunnel of Fire” display, never attempted by any other coachman. He featured in the opera Carmen at the National Indoor Arena in 1992, and for more than 25 years appeared at Olympia.
Mr Parker was chairman of the British Driving Society for 14 years and later president. He chaired the National Harness Horse Testing and Training Board, was vice-chair of Goodwood Riding and Driving for the Disabled Association and president of the Yorkshire Driving Club. Mr Parker travelled the world lecturing, and was patron of the British Mule Society.
Mr Parker and his life-long partner and wife Susan ran the world-renowned driving centre Swingletree, Norfolk. In Mr Parker’s career of more than 60 years, countless drivers benefited from the teaching facilities at Swingletree, their famous summer camp introducing many youngsters to carriage driving.
Mr Parker retired following Susan’s death in 2018; the couple had no children.