Lauren Kraut

“Unting is all that's worth living for — all time is lost wot is not spent in 'unting — it is like the hair we breathe — if we have it not we die — it's the sport of kings, the image of war without its guilt, and only five-and-twenty percent of its danger."
—Jorrocks

John Mills, Mr. Jorrocks statue, Croydon. UK

As someone who, prior to 2012, had limited knowledge of sporting literature, art, and artists, I had absolutely no idea who Mr. Jorrocks was. In March 2020, right before the pandemic stopped the world, the National Sporting Library & Museum received a generous bequest from Mrs. Katrina Becker, a faithful friend of the museum for many years. Included in this gift was a portrait of a man with a cheery expression on his face. He made me laugh, and I asked our Head Curator Claudia Pfeiffer, “Who is that?!”