OBITUARY


MAJOR IAIN SETON FORBES-COCKELL 1952-2018


Leading polo coach John Horswell pays tribute to “The Major”, a friend since their schooldays at Eton College in the 1950s. This tribute was first published in Pololine


I


spent a lot of time with Iain. We played polo together in our youth, worked together in later life and were always


bumping into each other locally and, of course, at Guards Polo Club. Through all those years and both of our ups and downs, he was always a good and constant friend. Despite being at school together, it was


at Guards that I first really got to know him. When my brother Edward and I first made the move there from Cirencester it was not met with universal approval. Iain, however, could not have been more welcoming to both us and the changes at the Club which we were a part of. Whilst very much a traditional man, Iain was always quick to embrace the new and fascinated by the modern. He was adventurous as well. Whatever


hair-brained and potentially dangerous plan someone came up with in the name of possible entertainment, Iain was always game on. Luckily, with his love of forward planning and eye for detail, he was


responsible for mitigating the potentially disastrous outcomes. Most of the time. Iain was good company and a great and


above all enthusiastic travel companion. I particularly remember a trip to New Zealand where he had managed to get himself signed off by his Commanding Officer to go on an advanced equitation course. Instead he joined me for a month in Hawkes Bay where I happened to be playing polo. Iain or Major as he soon became known (the “The” I believe came later as his fame increased) kept the locals thoroughly entertained for the duration and at the same time, as he put it, “had my back”. He was a proud man who at the same


time took immense pride in everything he did. He took pride in his work, his appearance and particularly his military background. He was, however, never more proud than when recounting the latest achievements of his two daughters, Annabel and Emma, to whom he was totally devoted and loved dearly.


With The Major you knew what


you were going to get; a loyal friend and devoted workmate, qualities he demonstrated in all areas of his life and to all those he encountered. He was a man of equanimity who had a genuine interest in others. He maintained a foot in every camp and was genuinely pleased if things had gone well and sad and truly sympathetic, if they had not. Over the past few years I had come to


regard him as the custodian of Guards Polo Club’s military past. A bridge to what was there before. A man who cherished and revered the times gone by, but who also embraced the here and now with his customary gusto. As such he will be much missed and I believe, quite irreplaceable. Above all, however I will miss his dignity and decency and of course the barely perceptible twinkle in his eye that those close to him both recognised and cherished. Farewell my good friend and please continue to keep your eye on us all.


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guards polo club official yearbook 2018


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