Brigadier John Wright CBE

With a true passion for polo – from grass roots to high-goal – one of the sport’s greatest enthusiasts will be missed by all who knew him, says Robert A de By

There are some voices you never forget. Gentle, but with great flair and a sparkling sense of humour; distinguished above all; unique and quintessentially English, in the best sense. This was the voice, like no other, that used to break the morning quiet at Tidworth Polo Club and enliven dinner conversations late at night in Buenos Aires. It belonged to Brigadier John Wright – a man who wore his tremendous accomplishments in the military and in polo with light grace and without the slightest pretence.

Commanding the 16th/5th of the Queen’s Royal Lancers, serving as the Chairman of the HPA and on the Executive Committee of the sport’s global governing body, the FIP, were just some of his achievements. His was never a case of a man in need of a role, but the opposite: he put his indelible stamp on each. They will rightly be celebrated in official obituaries still to come.

These were still some years into the future when, on a warm Buenos Aires evening, John Wright returned to the dinner table from having taken a phone call. Understated as he was, his pride was nevertheless palpable and he had a twinkle in his eyes when he told us that his son Peter had just been selected as the first non-Argentine ever to umpire the final of the Argentine Open. He followed the news with a number of insightful observations and humour, much of it self-deprecating. It was typical and entirely unselfish – he was happy not for himself but for his son and for England, the country he had served so well.

We had first met 20 years earlier. John Wright had taken Tidworth, the polo club nestled in the green Wiltshire hills, under his wing. With his formidable organisational talent and by sheer force of personality, he turned it into a glittering success and the English club with the most playing members. But it was still early days then and, with just a few staff, he played virtually all the roles himself, with great aplomb and enthusiasm. Inspiring and encouraging when polo seemed difficult, gently humorous when things got too serious, he was always reminding everyone there was one purpose only: to have fun. A general – as his military rank is known abroad – he was as at home with beginner players at country-pub dinners as watching polo with Her Majesty in his capacity as HPA Chairman, or commanding his troops. It was his easy charm, the genuine interest in others, the kindness, humour and fairness that made time spent in his company and working together such a pleasure for those who had the good fortune and honour to know John Wright.

It is late April, a sunny day in the Rhine Valley. The garden, with its spectacular view, is filled with blossoming trees. John – stylish as always, in a striped shirt and Panama hat – sits flanked by his elegant wife Christiane and son Peter. He speaks with typical courage, unflinchingly facing the short time left to him without a speck of self-pity. He says he is slightly concerned that he has not told people clearly what he had hoped, until recently, might have been avoided: that he is going to die soon. Typically, he is more concerned with the feelings of others than his own fate. It is an amazing display of character and sangfroid. And then he wants to talk about polo, and the world seems sunny and fun again. Brigadier John Wright died on 4 May 2016

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