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Wingfield and Swingletree's coach-driving great and the extraordinary life he lived




John Parker, a fascinating man who lived for horse-drawn carriages, took his final coach journey to be laid to rest at the age of 81.

During his life, Mr Parker, from Wingfield, drove teams of horses for around 65 years, following in the footsteps of his grandfather and uncles, who were coachmen and stable managers to the Rothschild family.

As a young boy, he would assist them in preparing the horses and, some years later, he joined the Royal Army Service Corps, where he worked as a coachman.

John Parker in Diss - 1978.
John Parker in Diss - 1978.

After leaving the Army, Mr Parker turned his hand to films, appearing as a stunt coach driver in the 1966 film The Wrong Box and the 1967 film Dr Dolittle.

After his on-screen appearances, he went on to represent Great Britain 11 times in competitive coach driving on the European and world stage.

Ray King, from Diss, worked with Mr Parker during the 1960s. He said: “We worked at Diss Engineers, which was a multi-purpose operation, including Diss foundry, and we got involved in all aspects of engineering.

“In the ‘60s, we had a couple of forges and he worked on them doing general metal work.

“I remember him talking about his time in the Army and looking after the horses.

“When we restored the fire pump at Diss Fire Station, he was the natural one to get horses from and drive them. Of course, when a film job came up, he left, as it was very good money for a short spell.”

John Parker (47665429)
John Parker (47665429)

In the early 1980s, Mr Parker left films and competition behind to concentrate on displays, fundraisers and other activities with his London-Norwich Royal Mail Coach – one of only two still licensed to carry mail.

Mr Parker undertook an endurance feat by driving the coach from Bristol to London in 1984, covering 136 miles, before marking the 150-year anniversary of the last coach-delivered mail run by picking up a Guinness World Record in 1996.

He completed a route from London to Norwich, covering 139 miles in 21.5 hours, breaking his own endurance record in the process, and only stopping to change teams of horses and have cramps massaged from his hands.

In doing so, he officially broke the 1888 record of renowned coachman James Selby, while using the exact same coach owned by Selby more than 100 years earlier.

Having spent many years as chairman of the British Driving Society, Mr Parker spent his later years lecturing and teaching while running Swingletree coach driving centre in Wingfield, which he spent more than 40 years building with wife Susan Townsend-Parker, who died three years ago.

Tracey Alexander, owner and director of The Friesian Experience equine centre, was once a student of Mr Parker.

She said: “I met John and Sue back in 2004 and asked if I could work for them for free to learn while I was there. It truly was a life changer for me and I now run my own yard with 15 horses.

“Although I don’t do as much driving now, there is not a day goes by when I am driving that I do not hear their wise words in my mind.

“Both John and Sue are legends of the driving world and, above all else, they were true horse lovers.”

Read more: All the latest news from Diss

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