John Aspinall (zoo owner)
| John Aspinall | |
|---|---|
| Born |
John Victor Aspinall 11 June 1926 Delhi, India |
| Died | 29 June 2000 (aged 74) Westminster, London, England |
| Cause of death | Cancer |
| Residence | Howletts, Canterbury, Kent |
| Nationality | British |
| Other names | Aspers |
| Education | Rugby School |
| Alma mater | Jesus College, Oxford |
| Occupation |
Bookmaker Gambler Businessman Zoo keeper |
| Years active | 1950–2000 |
| Known for |
Gambling Aspinalls Howletts Zoo Port Lympne Zoo John Aspinall Foundation |
| Political party | Referendum Party |
| Spouse(s) | Jane Hastings (1956-1966) div. Belinda Musker (1966-1972) div. Lady Sarah Courage (1972-2000) his death |
| Children | 2 sons: Damian, Bassa 1 daughter, Amanda 2 stepsons: Jason, Amos |
| Parent(s) | George Bruce, soldier Mary Grace Horn |
| Website | http://www.aspinallfoundation.org/ |
John Victor Aspinall (11 June 1926 – 29 June 2000) was an English zoo owner and gambling club host. From middle class beginnings he used gambling to move to the centre of British high society in the 1960s. He was born in Delhi during the British Raj, and was a citizen of the United Kingdom.
John Victor Aspinall, known to all his friends as 'Aspers', was born in Delhi, India, on 11 June 1926, the son of Dr Robert Stavali Aspinall, a British Army surgeon, and wife, whom he married before 1926, Mary Grace Horn (died 1987), daughter of Clement Samuel Horn, of Goring-by-Sea, Sussex. Years later, when he pressed his supposed father for money to cover his gambling debts, he discovered his real father was George Bruce, a soldier.
He attended Felsted School in 1939, but after his parents divorced, his stepfather Sir George Osborne sent him to Rugby School. Expelled from Rugby for inattention, Aspinall later went up to Jesus College, Oxford, but on the day of his final exams, he feigned illness and went to the Gold Cup at Ascot racecourse instead. As a consequence, he never earned a degree.
Aspinall became a bookmaker; at that time the only legal gambling in the UK was at racecourses and dog tracks (both cash and credit), credit betting via an account with a bookmaker, and betting on Football Pools. There was no legal casino gambling of any kind. Between races, he returned to London, and took part in illegal private gambling parties. Aspinall discovered that games of Chemin de Fer, known as Chemie (Chemmy), were legal, and the house owner made a 5% fee for hosting the event.
Aspinall targeted his events at the rich, sending out embossed invitations. Illegal gambling houses were defined then in British law as places where gambling had taken place more than three times. With his Irish-born accountant John Burke, Aspinall rented quality flats and houses, never used them more than three times, and had his mother pay off local Metropolitan Police officers.
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