#458, Nicholas Sydney COBBOLD

Nicholas spent most of his wartime chilhood, which he described as 'free range' on his grandmother's Wiltshire estate. Happy it was, though sometimes punctuated by tragedy, he went on to Eton where he claims to have been neither genius nor dunce (forsaking the classics for modern languages) and hence into the Coldstream Guards for National Service.

Thereafter, he embarked on a long and successful career in the City of London but it was his early acquired and life-long love of shooting which took him all over this country and sometimes abroad. His passion for shooting introduced him to numerous country estates and their owners and provided him with his greatest entertainment and friendships. Even as a self confessed lover of fast cars he found travelling to shoots at weekends such a constraint that he flew his own helicopter exstensively, surviving two crashes.

His skill in his chosen sport led to him being nominated for Field magazine's top 100, and for his public service he was awarded the OBE in 2003. A wicked sense of humour and a great liking for practical jokes seldom got him into serious trouble and certainly never interfered with his role at the head of a large, close and loving family. He was always keen to support The Cobbold Family History Trust and was for some time its patron.

Anthony Cobbold
September 2015