IVOR MORRISIvor Morris, who devoted his life to horses and was the Lord Mayor's coachman in Bristol, died after a short illness on 7 December, 2009.Mr Morris, who was 83, was described by his widow as a wonderful man who demonstrated a lifelong dedication to horses.Rose Morris told the Bristol Evening Post: "Ivor was a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather. His love for his horses was beyond anything he held close to his heart."Bristol was the last city in England to retain a Lord Mayor's coach and, even after he retired, Mr Morris refused to walk away from a lifetime spent producing horses to a high standard.For 30 years he carried out his duties as head coachman to a succession of Lord Mayors, being responsible for the care of coaches and horses, and driving the mayor in fitting style to civic ceremonies and functions.Mr Morris was born on 9 April, 1926, a Bedminster boy living in Cabot Street, the only son of William and Elisa.He grew up with horses, which in the 1930s were still a common sight on the streets of Bristol, so it was not surprising that he was eventually to share his life with them. His grandfather and father worked with Corporation horses used for transport.During the war Mr Morris, who went to South Street School, served in the Royal Horse Artillery and travelled through France, Belgium and Holland while sharing a special kind of companionship, caring and providing the necessary human attention a horse needs in unsettled circumstances.After the war, he left the service and spent time as a lorry driver, but his love of horses soon found him working at a local riding school until eventually he arrived at the Lord Mayor's door of the Mansion House.He married Rose on 3 June, 1950, and the couple had three children, Julie, 54, Jackie, 52, and Phillip, 49. They also had four grandchildren, Ashton, 22, Georgina, 19, Grace, 19, and Carly, nine.In 1960, Mr Morris was appointed as head coachman, and at that time the stables were at Clifton near the Mansion House. When the Corporation acquired Ashton Court, the house and stables were in such bad repair that Mr Morris only kept horses there at first and left the coaches and harness at Clifton.If he had a function to attend, Mr Morris would have to ride one horse while leading the other up to Clifton before preparing the horses and carriage, then afterwards he had to ride and lead the horses back to the court.As Lord Mayor's coachman, Mr Morris' life was a very busy one, with harnesses needing regular cleaning, keeping leather supple and brass gleaming.He lived with his family in a flat above Ashton Court stables until he retired in 1991, when he moved to Truro Road in Ashton.His favourite function was Rush Sunday at St Mary Redcliffe Church, and when some of the Queen's horses came to be stabled on her visit to Bristol in 1977. He also took horses and carriage to Hanover for the Grand Parade, to represent the city of Bristol abroad.A love of horses runs in his family. His daughter, Jackie Boyd, who lives in Australia, has been a carriage driver for about 25 years and has won many driving events, and Mrs Boyd's daughter, Georgina, is a talented showjumper.When the Ashton Court Stables were closed in 1991, all the horses went to the Royal Mews in London and Mr Morris took a bus from Bristol each month to visit them. It was a poignant end to 50 years' service with the Bristol Corporation.Mr Morris was also a British Driving Society judge for 30 years, and judged all over the world. He was also a long-serving member of the Old Somerset Horse Driving Club.He was invited to the Royal Adelaide Shows seven times, where he presided over classes for both carriage driving and Clydesdale horses.http://www.th isisbristol.co. uk/homepage/Tributes -Lord- Mayor-Bristol-s-coac hman-dies/ article-1619336-deta il/ article.html [thisisbristol.co.uk ]
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