William Marshall CAZALET

A British subject born in Russia, William Cazalet was a wealthy socialite and he counted Rudyard Kipling as one of his friends. He graduated from Christ Church, Oxford in 1889 and whilst at Oxford won a real tennis (jeu de paume) Blue in 1886, 1887 and 1889 and was the winner of the singles in the third of those years. He was a member of the Great Britain jeu de paume squad at the 1908 Olympics but lost his first-round match to fellow Briton Vane Pennell. The following year he won the MCC Silver Racquet at Lord’s.

Cazalet served as a Lieutenant in the West Kent Yeomanry Cavalry, and was a High Sheriff of Kent, a Justice of the Peace and Deputy-Lieutenant of the county. His oldest son Edward was killed in action in France in 1916 when only 22. Another son, Victor, and his daughter Thelma, both became Members of Parliament, serving in Westminster at the same time for a while. William’s third son was Peter Cazalet the famous race horse trainer who trained horses for Queen Elizabeth II and also for the Queen Mother, including Devon Loch, who mysteriously slumped to the ground on the run-in to the finishing line in the 1956 Aintree Grand National when leading by 50 yards and with victory seemingly assured.