Bill Williamson

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Bill Williamson

Bill Williamson born William James Williamson (December 19, 1922 - January 28, 1979) was an Australian jockey who enjoyed considerable success in Australia during the 1950s and in Europe during the 1960s.

He was born in Williamstown Melbourne named after his father William James Williamson, a machinist, and his wife Euphemia Agnes. From a young age he showed considerable interest in horse racing and left Mordialloc-Chelsea High School aged 14 to take up a post as an apprentice jockey. He worked initially under trainer F. H. Lewis who was his great uncle who was the brother of Robert Lewis also a jockey. During this time he met Jack Holt the trainer ^[1]. He won his first race in 1937 at Lilirene but on January 5, 1942 was called upon to serve in the military, where he worked as a driver with the 119th General Transport Company.

Willamson was released two and a half years later on October 30, 1944, where he once again turned to developing his horse-racing career which began to blossom after he married Zelma Ava Dickman, a hairdresser on January 17, 1949 at St Paul's Church of England, in Caulfield, Melbourne. He won his first Victorian jockey premiership in the 1951-52 season and rode the horse Dalfray to a victory in the 1952 Melbourne Cup. He went on to win five more, and won the W. S. Cox Plate and Brisbane Cup in 1953, a season where he set a Victorian record with 67 and a half winners ^[2]. He later won the Duke of Edinburgh Australian Cup (1954) but faced a setback in October of that year where a fall nearly cost him his life and put him out for nine months. Recovering from his injuries, he went on to win the Caulfield Cup in 1955 on the famous horse Rising Fast and Ilumquh in 1960 amongst others.

He moved to Ireland in 1960 and later to England which he won a number of important mainstream races throughout the 1960s such as the 1,000 Guineas in 1962 on Abermaid and Night Off in 1965. Williamson was won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp, Paris, in 1968 and 1969 which brought him significant praise, notably from Lester Piggott ^[3]. In total he won 8 Classic Races in Ireland, 2 Classic Races in England and 3 Classic Races in mainland Europe, including France in 1971 ^[4].

He retired from professional racing in 1973 when he took up a new job as a racing manager for the Indian shipping magnate Ravi Tikkoo.

He returned to his native Melbourne in 1977 but developed cancer, and died on January 28, 1979 in South Caulfield Melbourne. He is buried at the New Cheltenham cemetery.