A disarming wit and a deep knowledge and love of the countryside'

In the next of his series on features about great foxhunters he knew personally, Alastair Jackson presents one of the towering figures of northern hunting and hound breeding, Martin Letts, master of the College Valley for 58 seasons

MARTIN LETTS was a very good friend of mine and was indeed a "great foxhunter" in every sense. He died only relatively recently - in February 2022, while still a master of the College Valley and North Northumberland

Foxhounds, a role he had held for no fewer than 58 seasons. He had the distinction of having hunted beagles, otterhounds and foxhounds. He was one of the most respected houndsmen in the land.

His early days, however, were spent in the orchards and hop fields of Kent; a far cry from the rugged Border country with which he was associated for most of his life. It was with the Bolebroke Beagles that he had his early hunting experiences.

The master, Philip Burrows, had been in office since 1934 and, being very deaf, first made use of young Letts as his "ears" on a hunting day. Tom Moran, the kennel-huntsman, had a way with young people and via his encouragement Martin was given a chance to whip in.

A scion of the family diary publishing house, Charles Letts & Co, Martin was educated at Marlborough College, where he and friends who were keen on hunting would bicycle miles to go out with the Tedworth and Duke of Beaufort's hounds.

Indeed, they hatched a plan to start a pack of school beagles, but it was actually the term after he had left school that the new pack was formed.

After two years of National Service, mostly spent in Malaya, Martin joined the family firm and was based in London, whipping in to the Bolebroke on a Saturday and taking over as huntsman three years later.

By 1958, he was hunting the Eastern Counties Otterhounds in the summer months. He recalled that it was just at the time that the otter population was beginning to decline, but nobody realised then that sprays and pollution were affecting their breeding.