Leading huntsman dies

12 February 2002

Hunting world pays tribute to Captain Ronnie Wallace after he dies in a car accident

Captain Ronnie Wallace MFH, who died at the age of 82 in a car accident, was chairman of the Master of Foxhounds Association for more than 20 years and died as its life president.

This news of his death has come as a great blow to the hunting community who tended to regard him as indestructible and often referred to him as “God”.

Such was his prowess in the field that Baily’s took the unprecedented step in publishing a eulogy to The Genius of Ronnie Wallace, an honour traditionally reserved for the deceased.

Ronnie Wallace was successively huntsman and Master of the Ludlow, Teme Valley, Cotswold, Heythrop and Exmoor. He also contributed to hound breeding programmes and won the championship at Peterborough Royal Foxhound Show an outstanding 14 times.

Such single minded and uncompromising dedication to hunting could make Captain Wallace a forbidding character, but his affinity with hounds assured his place among the great foxhunting men of our time.

Nick Hawksley MFH of the Exmoor paid tribute to his joint master and friend: “Others will speak of his price as a huntsman but to me he was very wise, humorous and dogged; a man of great determination, a staunch friend and exceedingly good company. We have suffered a very grievous loss here on Exmoor’.

• Read special tribute to Captain Ronnie Wallace by Michael Clayton in this week’s Horse & Hound (14 February 2002)or click here to subscribe.

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