John Rickman

John Rickman (28 May 1913 – 13 October 1997) was a British journalist, broadcaster and author. The majority of his career was as a print racing journalist initially for the Bristol Evening News and then later with the Daily Mail and The Daily Sketch. He was a racing tipster, often featuring to the top of the unofficial Sporting Life naps table, a competition held between journalists to select winners. A broadcaster with London Weekend Television's World of Sport for 23 years, he was the first person to introduce the sport of horse racing on an independent television channel in the UK and is considered one of the pioneer television broadcasters of that sport. Rickman penned several books during his career including Homes Of Sport and Eight Flat Racing Stables (1979).

Early years

John Eric Carter Rickman was born in Wimbledon, the elder son of Eric Rickman, a writer and racing correspondent with The Daily Mail and the Evening Standard. His family lore was steeped in the training and racing of horses. His maternal grandfather William Carter was the son of Elijah Carter, one-time trainer to the King Victor Emmanuel of Italy. His maternal grandmother was the daughter of another successful 19th century racehorse trainer Tom Jennings, the trainer of French bred Gladiateur, winner of the English Triple Crown in 1865. He was educated at Feltonfleet School near the family home in Cobham before attending Haileybury College between 1927 and 1931, when he began an apprenticeship as a journalist with the Bristol Evening World, one of a chain of evening newspapers owned by Northcliffe Newspapers. When Graham was unavailable Rickman began to cover his role as a paddock correspondent gaining some experience that proved very helpful when Independent Television launched in 1955. Rickman became the first frontman for the new channel's racing coverage that began in 1956 maintaining the role until his retirement in 1978 when John Oaksey replaced him. moving to Fernhurst, West Sussex in the Lod valley after the War. He died on 13 October 1997.

Autobiography Rickman, John (1990), Old Tom and Young Tom, Allborough Press, Cambridge, England