Henry Longhurst

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Henry Carpenter Longhurst (18 March 1909 – 21 July 1978) was a renowned British golf writer and commentator. He was also for a short time during World War II Member of Parliament (MP) for Acton in West London.

Longhurst was the son of Harry Longhurst who established the firm of Longhurst & Skinner, a house-furnishing business at Bedford. He was educated at St Cyprian's School, Eastbourne, close to the Royal Eastbourne Golf Club, where he records "gazing at them - the caddies, not the golfers - with deepest envy as I peered surreptitiously up from the Greek unseen." He was "hooked for life" during a family holiday at Yelverton in Devon in 1920 where he started playing golf on a home-made three hole course on a common, and was encouraged by the local professional[1] He won a scholarship to Charterhouse School and in 1928 went to Clare College, Cambridge, where he later became captain of golf for Cambridge University.

After starting work in the family business he found a post selling advertising space for the Hardware Trade Journal. He had been attracted by the politics of the proprietor, Sir Ernest Benn, and had become a member of the Individualist Society which he had founded. He started writing for a monthly golf magazine called Tee Topics and came to the attention of the editor of the Sunday Times (UK) who invited him to contribute to the sporting page. Thus he became the golf correspondent of the Sunday Times, and retained that position for 40 years. He was also a regular contributor to Golf Illustrated. From the late 1950s to the end of his life he was BBC Television's senior golf commentator. He had many lifelong friends including the cricket writer and commentator E.W. Swanton, and Alistair Cooke. Cooke referred to his writing as "the prose style, which was as effortless as falling out of bed."[2]

In 1943 Longhurst was elected at a by-election as MP for Acton in West London, but lost the seat at the 1945 general election.[3]

Longhurst acquired and lived for a number of years at the Clayton Windmills (Jack and Jill) near Brighton in Sussex.

[edit] Quotes

“ Playing golf is like learning a foreign language. ”
“ They say 'practice makes perfect.' Of course, it doesn't. For the vast majority of golfers it merely consolidates imperfection. ”
“ Golfing excellence goes hand in hand with alchohol, as many an open and amateur champion has shown. ”

[edit] Publications

  • "My Life and Soft Times", Cassell 1971.
  • "Golf", Dent
  • "It was Good while it Lasted", Dent
  • "You never know till you get there", Dent
  • "I wouoldn't have missed it", Dent
  • "Golf Mixture", Laurie
  • "Round in Sixty-Eight", Laurie
  • "The Borneo Story", Newman Neame
  • "Adventure in Oil", Sidgwick & Jackson
  • "Spice of Life", Cassell
  • "Only on Sundays", Cassell
  • "Never on Weekdays", Cassell


[edit] References

  1. ^ Henry Longhurst, "My Life and Soft Times", Cassell 1971
  2. ^ Alistair Cooke Letter from America
  3. ^ Craig, F. W. S. [1969] (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, 3rd edition, Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X. 
  • Oxford Dictionary of National Biography -E. W. Swanton, Longhurst, Henry Carpenter (1909–1978), rev., first published Sept 2004
  • Mark Wilson And Ken Bowden (eds) The Best of Henry Longhurst on Golf and Life Collins 1979
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Hubert Duggan		 Member of Parliament for Acton
1943–1945		 Succeeded by
Joseph Sparks
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