HANMER, John Richard Lyon (1940-2022)

[colinp]

Obit in Daily Telegraph 10 December 2022 -  John Hanmer, linchpin of the BBC’s Grand National commentary team for more than three decades – obituary (telegraph.co.uk)

He was the son of Lt-Col Arthur Richard HANMER MBE TD (1899-1976), scion of the Hanmer Baronets (GB 1774) being descended from the Rev Henry Hanmer brother of the 3rd and 4th Baronets, and (m 1929) Violet Millicent (1907-1968) dau of Maj William John CORBETT-WINDER (1875-1950) sometime head of the gentry family Corbett-Winder of Vaynor Park (BLG 1972) and (m 1906) Margery Sophia BARDWELL (d1968) of the gentry family Bardwell of Bolton Hall (BLG 1952).  He m 1979 Gillian Mary SMITH. No issue

EXTRACTS:

John Hanmer, linchpin of the BBC’s Grand National commentary team for more than three decades – obituary

As a ‘spotter’, he could be heard whispering in the background of commentaries, picking up fallers or horses moving up from the rear

John Hanmer, who has died aged 82, was an admirably unflappable racing commentator whose distinctive gravelly tones reached their widest audience when he picked up the commentary as the runners crossed the Melling Road during the Grand National at Aintree, which he commentated on for more than three decades....

John Richard Lyon Hanmer was born on July 12 1940. His father was away for much of the war serving in the Royal Welch Fusiliers, and John and his elder sister spent their early years at Vaynor Park in North Wales, his mother’s family home. His mother was passionate about racing, which is where his love of the sport came from. He did not even ride as a child because of his asthma....

He married, in 1979, Gillie Smith, who survives him. There were no children.

John Hanmer, born July 12 1940, died November 27 2022

[Richard R]

From the Telegraph & Times of 17 Dec 2022: HANMER John Richard Lyon. Suddenly on 27th November aged 82. Much loved husband of Gillie, brother, and friend. Funeral Service at Holy Trinity Church, Ardington, Wantage... on Tuesday 10th January 2023 at 11.45 a.m.

[Richard R]

Obit in the Times of 14 Jan 2023:

E X T R A C T

John Hanmer obituary

Unflappable racing commentator who was a stalwart of the BBC’s Grand National coverage

…John Richard Lyon Hanmer was born during the Second World War, the son of Dick Hanmer, who served as a lieutenant colonel in the Royal Welch Fusiliers, and Millicent (née Corbett-Winder and known as Mill), a racing enthusiast.

They sent their son to Eton, although initially he refused to leave home to become a boarder, locking himself in his bedroom…

… He befriended Richard Redmayne, father of Eddie, the actor…

… He and Gillie, a farmer’s daughter and curtain maker whom he met through friends, were married in 1979. She survives him. There were no children from the marriage…

John Hanmer, racing commentator, was born on July 12, 1940. He died of a heart attack on November 27, 2022, aged 82

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/john-hanmer-obituary-63r83jqzs