Frank Whittle

1937 - 2023

Frank John Whittle was born on 8th March 1937 in Portsmouth because his Father was serving in the Royal Navy and they lived in a navy house. Unfortunately, they were bombed out of Portsmouth, and rather than let her children be evacuated, his mother took them up to her home area of Derbyshire. The only accommodation they could get to live in was a shop front which had to suffice at the time. They moved to Loughborough, Leicestershire after the war when Frank's Dad was out of the Navy. 

In 1952, Frank became apprenticed to Syd Warren, who trained at East Ilsley, Berkshire.  

During the course of his apprenticeship he served his two years National Service conscription in the Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery from 1955-1957. He was Captain Andrews’ groom during that time and won the best turned-out charger award at the White City.

He made his race-riding debut on Bright Lights, who finished third in the Hawson Selling Handicap Hurdle at Buckfastleigh on August 10, 1957. He landed his first winner on just his second ride in public, aboard Grouse, trained by Syd Warren, in the Shepton Mallet Selling Handicap Hurdle at Wincanton on September 14, 1957.

Frank finished the 1957/58 season with five winners but doubled that score to ten in 1958/59, then increased his tally further to 12 in 1959/60, his winners that season including Hurst Park’s Tudor Rose Hurdle on Perceves on February 5, 1960. The following day, Frank won a selling hurdle at Hurst Park on Lowland Scot, trained, like Perceves, by Syd Warren. That was Frank’s 25th winner and resulted in him losing his 3lb allowance. 

He rode four winners in the 1960/61 campaign and eight the next. However, he left Syd Warren in 1962 after becoming fed up with the way things were going.

He managed to get work straight away with Atty Corbet, a mainly Flat trainer, in Compton.

However, Atty moved to Newmarket and Frank didn’t want to go. Instead, he worked for a brief time for Reg Akehurst, near Basingstoke, but just couldn’t settle there and, once again, became discouraged with the game.

Out of racing didn’t mean he was out of work as he could turn his hand to most things and was a hard worker. He worked on a mushroom farm, was a coalman, a factory worker and a labourer.

He even went back to Syd Warren briefly, to help him out as the yard was failing. He single-handedly trained Warren’s only remaining good horse, the 10-year-old Perceves who had given Frank his biggest victory, and rode him to win a Ludlow selling hurdle on October 20, 1966, Frank’s first winner for four years.

They again parted company and Frank went to work for George Cannon on the ‘Blue Boxes’. This was a good job and kept him in touch with the racing world.

Frank also had a spell working for George Peter-Hoblyn at East Ilsley and from there on to John Kempton, just after Foinavon had won the Grand National.

He rode three winners for John Kempton in the 1968/69 season including a brace of novice chases on Glory Stream, at Towcester on Easter Monday and at Devon & Exeter on April 23. It was Glory Stream who had been responsible for giving Frank a crashing fall at the first fence at Warwick on March 1. Both his shoulder blades were smashed and his helmet was flattened. Remarkably, he was back in the saddle within a few weeks and his faith in Glory Stream paid off with those wins at Towcester and Devon & Exeter. 

Frank’s third winner for John Kempton that season was the last of his career, My Tommie in the Orchard Portman Selling Handicap Hurdle at Taunton on May 30, 1969. It also turned out to be his final mount. 

During the last years of his riding career, Frank was harbouring a secret; he never felt very well. This all came to a head one day when he collapsed up on the training gallops and was rushed to hospital. That was where, after a few lumber punctures, they found he had contracted meningitis, so he was isolated for a time.

After he came home, he was offered a peach of a job at David Barons, and even went down there full of enthusiasm but he never felt well enough to see it through. Frank hung his saddle up later that year, having ridden a total of 43 winners during his career. 

He worked for Bryan Marshall on the Compton Horse Boxes for a few years.

Some years later, Frank and his wife were hit by a drunk driver and were rushed to hospital for x-rays. These modern x-rays revealed that Frank’s spine had been cracked. The doctors were of the opinion that it had happened years before, probably when he had his shoulder blades smashed at Warwick. In retrospect, it was a good job he stopped riding when he did.

Aged 86, Frank Whittle passed away on October 6th 2023. He was being cared for at home by his loving wife Joan to whom he had been married for 60 years. Frank had been on palliative care at home for the last three months of his life after a short spell in hospital. Paying tribute to her husband, Joan said: 'He had been extremely ill for a long time but never complained, taking each day as it came. In death, as in life, he was very brave and strong-willed. He is much missed by his family and many friends.'

As a footnote, their son, also named Frank Whittle, rode over jumps for Jeremy Glover and was leading conditional on the all-weather 1990/91 season. He also rode Invasion and other horses for Lady Ann Bentinck, during this time.