RACING JOURNALIST

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 July 1935, Page 12

RACING JOURNALIST

CAPT. SIDNEY GALTREY. Captain Sidney Galtrey,. a racing journalist, who had for many years been “Hotspur” of the London “Daily Telegraph,” died on May 24, at the age of 56. He had served for more than a quarter of a century on the staff of the “Daily Telegraph,” at first as polo correspondent. No racing correspondent of his generation gave his paper so many “scoops.” He was acknowledged, both in Fleet-street and on the racecourse, to be the foremost racing writer, and was held in the highest esteem among his colleagues, and among owners 1 , trainers, and jockeys, whose friend and confidant he was. Eight years before going to the “Daily Telegraph” in 1909 Capt. Galtrey had gone to Bombay for the purpose of editing a weekly sporting paper and working on the “Times of India” with Lovat Fraser. The climate, however, had its effect, and three years later he was back in England. It seemed for a long time as if his health had been permanently impaired, but his indomitable spirit pulled him through. After a short spell on the “Sportsman” he went to the “Daily Telegraph.” He was fond of recalling the contrast of those days with the present, and in the book he wrote last year, “Memoirs of a Racing Journalist, he dwelt brilliantly on the developments he had seen. WAR SERVICE. When the war intervened he became staff captain to the Director of Remounts at the War Office, and was awarded an 0.8. E. He afterwards told the story of the department in his book, “The Horse and the War.” At tho end he returned to a racing world that had altered in many respects, and the benefits that accrued from his appreciation of the new conditions were strikingly shown. He had. for instance. a great deal to do with bringing the question of Pari-Mutuel betting seriously before the Jockey Club. In his leisure he was a keen spoi tsman. but nothing gave him greater pleasure than travel. With the one exception of Australasia, he had travelled in all of tho continents.

Frank Coles writes: — Sidney Galtrey nlet the tragedy ot his illness and death with wonderful < enrage. Throughout last autumn it was evident that be was ill- Then, one day in December, he walked into tho office obviously distressed. I he specialists had pronounced the death sentence. For half-an-hour Ira sat staring into his type-writer. Them lie remembered he was “Hotspur. Iheie was a column to bo written and he did his job, apparently without effort. It was tlra bravest column that has ever been written. The manner in which Sidney Galtrey carried out that task, however, was merely characteristic of ono who was always a hard and conscientious worker. His speed was amazing. lie would conra back from the Derby or from one of Ascot's big days and. with scareel' a note to check his memory, would turn out in a couple of hour:; two full