Well Ridden!

John (Jack) Ivester Lloyd was the son of Thomas Ivester Lloyd, the artist, and Florence Lloyd, and was born on 17 February 1902. He died in Shropshire in 1992. He wrote on hunting, and wrote children’s books about dogs, as well as his pony stories. John’s father, Thomas, illustrated several of his books. After Thomas Ivester Lloyd’s death in 1942, the books were illustrated by Stanley Lloyd and Peter Biegel. John Ivester Lloyd was in the RNVR (Royal Naval Voluner Reserve), and as temporary acting Lieutenant-Commander, was awarded the DSC on 8th June 1945. He was mentioned in dispatches in 1944 for Operation Brassard. Jack’s daughter, Delphine, wrote pony books herself.

He was a keen sportsman, Carol Hewson, his grand daughter, said: ' Jack used to judge hounds and was a follower of beagles. Many a time I went beagling with him and he also used to follow at many fox hunts on foot. I rode with the Wynnstay Hunt under Sir Watkins Williams Wynn and Grandpa was very often there chatting to him. He used to take me to the hunt dinners as his guest when he was after dinner speaker. How proud I was to hear him and what a good speaker he was.'

Finding the books
Most of the books are easy to find, with the exception of the two small pamphlets written for Moss Bros. Copies with dustjackets tend to be a little more expensive than is normal for a pony book.

Links and sources
Carol Hewson
London Gazette, supplement, 14 June 1945
Unit histories website