On Saturday 3 April 1971 I was on a train to Egham, sitting opposite an old man in a Chelsea pensioner's uniform. Eventually I asked him about his uniform, which is what you have to do when faced by a Chelsea pensioner. He looked very pleased to have been asked, ignored my question, and came up with one of his own: ' Do you know Jimmy Hill?'
' Not personally,' I replied, ' but I've seen his chin.'
' I'm his father.'
I was surprised, but he had ignored my question, so I ignored his answer. 'Have you had a bet on the National?' I asked.
'Yes,' he said. 'Jimmy's tipped me one. I've had a bit on Specify.' Jimmy Hill's father looked proud and I looked patronising, and forgot about him until the evening when I found a betting slip in my pocket. As I rolled it up, to see if I could at least get it into the waste-paper bin first throw, I thought of him, and of Specify, who had won at 28/1. ( From Hitting the Turf by David Ashforth )
I can remember Jimmy Hill riding a circuit of the Grand National course for BBC TV in the mid 1970s, probably accompanied by Richard Pitman.
