Mere Mentor: Made new bio first draft.

2026-02-17T22:53:30Z

Made new bio first draft.

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{{Short description|English zoo owner & casino owner}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name = John Aspinall
| image = John Aspinall zoo owner (1b).jpg
| image_size =
| caption = John Aspinall, in 1993
| birth_name = John Victor Aspinall
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1926|6|11}}
| birth_place = Delhi, [[British Raj|British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|2000|6|29|1926|6|11}}
| death_place = [[City of Westminster|Westminster]], London, England
| resting_place =
| resting_place_coordinates = 
| other_names = Aspers
| known_for = Gambling [[Crown London Aspinalls|Aspinalls]] [[Howletts Zoo]] [[Port Lympne Zoo]] [[John Aspinall Foundation]] association with [[Lord Lucan]]
| education = [[Rugby School]]
| alma_mater = [[Jesus College, Oxford]]
| occupation = [[Bookmaker]] [[Gambler]] [[Zoo keeper]]
| years_active = 1950–2000
| party = [[Referendum Party]]
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Jane Gordon Hastings|1956|1966|end=divorce}}
* {{marriage|Belinda Mary Musker|1966|1972|end=divorce}}
* {{marriage|Lady Sally Curzon|1972}}
}}
| children = 3, including [[Damian Aspinall|Damian]]
| relatives = [[Sir George Francis Osborne, 16th Baronet]] (stepfather) [[Sir Peter Osborne, 17th Baronet]] (half-brother) [[George Osborne]] (half-nephew) [[Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe]] (father-in-law)
| website = http://www.aspinallfoundation.org/
}}

'''John Victor Aspinall''' (11 June 1926 – 29 June 2000) was an English zoo and casino owner. From upper class beginnings he used gambling to move to the centre of British high society in the 1960s.<ref>Wright, Jade, ''Expect fireworks'', [[Liverpool Echo]], 23 February 2009</ref> He was born in Delhi during the [[British Raj]], and was a citizen of the United Kingdom.

==Early life==
John Victor Aspinall, known to all his friends as "Aspers", was born in [[Delhi]], [[British Raj|British India]] on 11 June 1926, Robert Stivala Aspinall (1895–1954), a [[British Army]] surgeon of British parentage and Maltese origin; he had added ''Aspinall'' to his original surname ''Stivala'' after joining the Indian Medical Service, being known for some time as Robert Aspinall-Stivala.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/32095/page/10248/data.pdf|title=THE LONDON GAZETTE|date=22 October 1920|page=10248|quotation=... and on all occasions he intended to use and subscribe the said name of Robert Stivala Aspinall as his name...|website=Thegazette.co.uk|access-date=1 July 2022}}</ref><ref>Who was who: A Cumulated Index 1897–2000, A. & C. Black, 2002, p. 27</ref><ref>Roll of the Indian Medical Service 1615–1930, vol. 2: 1800–1930, ed. Lt-Col D. G. Crawford, W. Thacker & Co., 1930 (reprinted 2012), p. 580</ref><ref>The Gamblers, John Pearson, Century, 2005, p. 7</ref>

His mother was Mary Grace Horn (died 1987), the daughter of engineer Clement Samuel Horn, of [[Goring-by-Sea]], Sussex.<ref>Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 2, page 3032.</ref>

Years later, when he pressed his father for money to cover his gambling debts, he discovered that his biological father was George Bruce, a soldier of Nordic descent.<ref name="NYT1">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/01/world/john-aspinall-gambler-and-zoo-owner-dies-at-74.html|title=John Aspinall, Gambler and Zoo Owner, Dies at 74|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=1 July 2000|access-date=2 May 2009 | first=Warren | last=Hoge}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.findmypast.com/BirthsMarriagesDeaths.jsp|title=Deaths England and Wales 1984–2006|website=Findmypast.com|access-date=1 July 2022|archive-date=4 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151104084417/http://www.findmypast.com/BirthsMarriagesDeaths.jsp|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Aspinall attended [[Felsted School]] in 1939 but after his parents divorced, his stepfather [[Sir George Francis Osborne, 16th Baronet|Sir George Osborne]] sent him to [[Rugby School]], from which he was expelled for inattention. Aspinall later went to [[Jesus College, Oxford]], but on the day of his final exams he feigned illness and went to the [[Ascot Gold Cup|Gold Cup]] at [[Ascot racecourse]] instead. As a consequence, he never earned a degree.<ref name="NYT1"/>

==Gambling impresario==
Aspinall became a [[bookmaker]]; at that time the only gambling permitted by UK law was with cash and credit on the premises of racecourses and dog tracks, with credit by an account with a bookmaker, and on [[football pools]]. Casino gambling was not permitted at the time. However, between races Aspinall returned to London and hosted private gaming parties. He believed that games of [[Baccarat#Chemin_de_fer|Chemin de Fer]], known as Chemie (Chemmy), were within the law in certain circumstances, and on average the owner of the house was able to make a 5% profit on the turnover of games.

Aspinall targeted his events at the rich, sending out embossed invitations.<ref name="Telg1">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/4735580/The-Real-Casino-Royale-gangsters-in-a-class-of-their-own.html|title=The Real Casino Royale: gangsters in a class of their own |work=The Daily Telegraph|date=24 February 2009|access-date=2 May 2009 | location=London | first=John | last=Hiscock}}</ref> 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 upper class flats and houses, never used them more than three times, and had his mother pay off local [[Metropolitan Police]] officers.

Among the gamblers were the [[Queen Elizabeth II|Queen]]'s racehorse trainer [[Bernard van Cutsem]],<ref name="Telg1"/> who brought with him friends including the [[Edward Stanley, 18th Earl of Derby|Earl of Derby]] and the [[Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire|Duke of Devonshire]]. The standard bet was £1,000, which would be £25,000 accounting for inflation in 2007 figures. Chemie games were quick and played every 30 seconds, with £50,000 changing hands per game. On his first such event Aspinall made a profit of £10,000, a sum roughly equivalent to £300,000 in 2017 money.

In 1958, Aspinall was living at [[Howletts Zoo]], in [[Kent]]; at one point his mother Mary (Lady Osborne) had forgotten to pay off corrupt police officers, so the police raided his game that night.

Aspinall, John Burke and Lady Osborne were all charged with gaming offences but won the subsequent court case, the outcome of which is known as ''Aspinall's Law''. The win created a vast increase in Chemie games, during which:
*The landowner, [[Edward Stanley, 18th Earl of Derby]], lost over £20,000; and then returned on another night and lost £300,000.<ref name="Telg1"/>
*William Stirling, older brother of the founder of the [[Special Air Service]], [[David Stirling|Colonel Sir David Stirling]], lost £173,500 on Aspinall's tables, writing out an [[IOU (debt)|IOU]] at the end of the night.

In response to Aspinall's win in court, the [[British Government]] brought forward the [[Betting and Gaming Act 1960]], which when enacted allowed commercial [[Bingo (Non-US)|bingo hall]]s to be set up, provided they were established as members-only clubs and made their profit from membership fees and charges, and not from a percentage of the money staked. [[Casino]]s were required to operate under the same rules, with a licence from the Gaming Board of Great Britain (now the [[Gambling Commission]]), and to be members-only. The passing of these laws brought Aspinall's Chemie-based 5% business model to a close, and he had to find a new business.

===Casinos===
In 1962, Aspinall founded the [[Clermont Club]] in London's [[Mayfair]]. The club was named after [[William Fortescue, 1st Earl of Clermont|Lord Clermont]], a gambler who had previously owned the building in [[Berkeley Square]].<ref>[[The Times]], ''{{'}}Woolly' ACT Turned Out To Be ACE of Clubs'', 19 September 1966</ref> The club's original members included five [[duke]]s, five [[marquess]]es, twenty [[earl]]s and two [[cabinet minister]]s. Overheads were higher, and under the new laws, Aspinall was required to pay tax, only making a table charge which produced much smaller revenue for the house.<ref name="Telg1"/>

In Douglas Thompson's book ''The Hustlers'', and the later documentary on [[Channel 4]], ''The Real Casino Royale'', the club's former financial director John Burke and gangster [[Billy Hill (gangster)|Billy Hill]]'s associate [[John McKew]], claimed that Aspinall worked with Hill to employ criminals to cheat the players. Some of the wealthiest people in Britain were swindled out of millions of pounds, thanks to a gambling con known as "the Big Edge".<ref name="Telg1"/>

John Burke quit in late 1965, a year into the scam.<ref name="Telg1"/> After two years operation the Big Edge was closed. Hill respected Aspinall's decision and the two parted. The passing of the [[1968 Gaming Act]] boosted profits, and he sold The Clermont in 1972.<ref name="NYT1"/>

The need for revenue to support his zoos prompted Aspinall to return to running gambling clubs in London, and he set up two new successful ones in [[Knightsbridge]] (in 1978) and [[Mayfair]].<ref name="NYT1" /><ref name="ST2010">{{cite news|last=Goodman|first=Matthew|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/sale-on-cards-for-aspinalls-casino-j08mhwxbf8h|title=Sale on cards for Aspinalls casino|work=The Sunday Times|date=5 December 2010|access-date=20 July 2021}} {{subscription required}}</ref> In 1983, he made $30 million from their sale, but a decade later he was in financial difficulties once more, and in 1992 he set up yet another gambling spot, [[Crown London Aspinalls|Aspinalls]],<ref name="NYT1" /><ref name="ST2010" /> which is now known as Wynn Mayfair.

==Animal parks==
In his years at Oxford, Aspinall had loved the book ''[[Nada the Lily]]'' by [[H. Rider Haggard]], about an illegitimate [[Zulu people|Zulu]] prince who lived outside his tribe among wild animals. In 1956, Aspinall moved into an [[Eaton Place]] apartment with his first wife. In the back garden, Aspinall built a [[garden shed]] housing a [[capuchin monkey]], a 9-week-old tiger, and two [[Himalayan brown bear]]s.<ref name="NYT1"/>

Later that year, with proceeds from his gambling, Aspinall purchased Howletts country house and estate near [[Canterbury]], Kent. He lived in the house and set up a private zoo, [[Howletts Zoo]], in the grounds. In 1973, because of need for further space for his collection of animals, Aspinall bought Port Lympne near [[Hythe, Kent]]. He opened Howletts to the public in 1975, and [[Port Lympne Zoo]] in 1976. He embarked on a 10-year programme to restore [[Port Lympne Mansion]] previously owned by Sir [[Philip Sassoon]]. Both Howletts and Port Lympne have been run by [[The Aspinall Foundation]] since 1984.

The zoos are known for the encouragement of close personal relationships between staff and animals,<ref name="AnthropologyTodayApr07">Jonathan Benthall ''[https://www.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8322.2007.00494.x Animal liberation and rights] '' [[Anthropology Today]] Volume 23 Issue 2 p. 1 – April 2007.</ref> for their breeding of rare and endangered species and for the deaths of keepers who have been killed by the animals in their care.<ref>{{cite news |title=Keeper crushed by elephant |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/feb/08/paulkelso | work=The Guardian | location=London | last=Kelso | first=Paul | date=8 February 2000 | access-date=12 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160524120539/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/feb/08/paulkelso |archive-date=24 May 2016}}</ref>

==Politics==
Aspinall ran unsuccessfully for Parliament at the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election]] as the candidate of Sir [[James Goldsmith]]'s single-issue (against Britain's involvement in the [[European Union]]) [[Referendum Party]] in the [[Folkestone and Hythe (UK Parliament constituency)|Folkestone and Hythe]] constituency, where he was defeated by senior Conservative [[Michael Howard]].<ref name="NYT1"/> Aspinall received over 4,000 votes and 8% of the vote (thus saving his deposit), which was one of the Referendum Party's best results.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/vote2001/results_constituencies/constituencies/256.stm|title=BBC NEWS | VOTE 2001 | RESULTS & CONSTITUENCIES | Folkestone & Hythe|website=News.bbc.co.uk|access-date=1 July 2022}}</ref>

In private, Aspinall would express [[antisemitic]] views, including hatred towards Jews, and an admiration for [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref name="Thompson 2012 p. 173">{{cite book | last=Thompson | first=D. | title=The Hustlers: Gambling, Greed and the Perfect Con | publisher=Pan Macmillan | year=2012 | isbn=978-0-330-53878-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8lhihZvMR1EC&pg=PA173 | access-date=13 May 2018 | page=173}}</ref> He was known to enjoy being provocative and believed an outrageous remark could provoke full-blooded responses and spirited debate,<ref name="Masters 1988 p. 140">{{cite book | last=Masters | first=Brian. | title=The Passion of John Aspinall | publisher=Coronet Books | year=1988 | isbn=0-340-50060-3 | page=140}}</ref> something he very much enjoyed. In Douglas Thompson's book ''The Hustlers'' former Clermont Club financial director John Burke states: {{Blockquote|text=It's amazing how much he owed to Jimmy Goldsmith and people like Sydney Summer. Eddie Gilbert, of course, was a Jew. I don't think John really meant it at all. It was probably more of an act to impress people, to startle people. John was a superb actor.<ref name="Thompson 2012 p. 174">{{cite book | last=Thompson | first=D. | title=The Hustlers: Gambling, Greed and the Perfect Con | publisher=Pan Macmillan | year=2012 | isbn=978-0-330-53878-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8lhihZvMR1EC&pg=PA173 | access-date=2018-05-13 | page=174}}</ref>}}

==Lucan connection==
[[File:JohnAspinall-memorial.jpg|thumb|right|250px|John Aspinall's grave and memorial]]

Aspinall claimed that [[John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan|Lord Lucan]], whose 1974 disappearance remains unresolved, had committed suicide by scuttling his motorboat and jumping into the English Channel with a stone tied around his body.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/641300.stm |work=BBC News| title=Lucan 'committed suicide' | date=13 February 2000 | access-date=6 May 2010}}</ref> According to the journalist [[Lynn Barber]], in an interview in 1990, Aspinall made a slip of the tongue indicating Lucan had remained Aspinall's friend beyond the date of the alleged suicide.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/jul/02/lynnbarber.theobserver | work=The Observer | location=London | title=Lord Lucan's last secret goes to the grave among gorillas| last=Barber | first=Lynn | date=2 July 2000 | access-date=6 May 2010}}</ref>

On 18 February 2012, Glenn Campbell of [[BBC News]] reported that John Aspinall's ex-secretary (using the pseudonym of Jill Findlay) had disclosed that she was invited into meetings where Aspinall and Goldsmith discussed Lucan.<ref name="BBC20120219">{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17076512 |work=BBC News| title=Witnesses reveal Lord Lucan's 'secret life in Africa'| date=18 February 2012 | access-date=19 February 2012}}</ref> She further said, that on two occasions, between 1979 and 1981, Aspinall instructed her to book trips to Kenya and [[Gabon]] for Lucan's children. The arrangement was so Lucan could see his children from a distance, but he was not to meet them or speak to them.<ref name="BBC20120219" />

==Marriages and family==
In 1956, he married Jane Gordon Hastings, a Scottish model (sister of [[Pye Hastings]] and [[Jimmy Hastings]]); the couple had one son, [[Damian Aspinall]]. Aspinall divorced her in 1966. In the same year, on 13 December, he married his second wife Belinda Mary Musker (b. 27 November 1942), daughter of [[Major (United Kingdom)|Major]] Anthony Dermot Melloney Musker (killed in a motor racing accident on 8 August 1959) and wife (m. 2 November 1940) The Hon. Mary Angela FitzRoy, without issue.<ref>Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 1, page 1046-7.</ref>

In 1972, he divorced his second wife and married Lady Sarah-Marguerite "Sally" Curzon (25 January 1945 - 17 June 2025), daughter of [[Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe]], and Sybil Boyter Johnson. She was a widow who was previously married to the racing driver [[Piers Courage]].<ref>{{cite news|title=For the love of a dangerous man|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3608233/For-the-love-of-a-dangerous-man.html|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|year=2003}}</ref> John and Sally had a son Bassa Wulfhere Aspinall (b 1972).<ref>Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition, volume 1, page 1046.</ref><ref>Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 2, page 1988.</ref> He also had a daughter, Amanda, and two stepsons, Jason and Amos Courage.<ref name="NYT1"/> Amanda was married to musician [[Daryl Hall]] (of the musical duo [[Hall & Oates]]); she died in 2019 from alcohol intoxication.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/amanda-hall-death-inquest-aspinall-16614641|title=Author and ex-wife of 80s rock star Daryl Hall died after lethal dose of alcohol|last=Peracha|first=Qasim|date=2019-07-19|website=Mylondon.news|access-date=2019-11-21}}</ref>

Through his stepfather [[Sir George Francis Osborne, 16th Baronet]], he is step-uncle to [[George Osborne]], former [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] of the UK, who is in line to inherit the title of the Osborne baronets of Ballintaylor and Ballylemon from his father, Sir George's son, [[Sir Peter Osborne, 17th Baronet]].

Aspinall died of cancer,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/812032.stm|title=Zoo keeper Aspinall dies|work=BBC News|access-date=2 May 2009 | date=29 June 2000}}</ref> in [[City of Westminster|Westminster]], London, on 29 June 2000, aged 74.<ref name="NYT1" />

==Media==
A 1977 documentary, ''Echo of the Wild'', by Roy Deverell<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6daa4f97 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713022950/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6daa4f97 | archive-date=13 July 2023 | title=This page no longer exists }}</ref> told the story of the Aspinall Foundation and featured Damian and John Aspinall. Another Deverell documentary, 1983's ''A Passion to Protect''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6e004b63 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713021409/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6e004b63 | archive-date=13 July 2023 | title=This page no longer exists }}</ref> chronicled Aspinall's life up to that point. A book that same year, "The Passion of John Aspinall," was written by Brian Masters.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/passionofjohnasp0000mast | isbn=978-0-224-02353-5 | title=The passion of John Aspinall | date=1988 | last1=Masters | first1=Brian | publisher=J. Cape }}</ref>

Aspinall was portrayed by [[Christopher Eccleston]] in the 2013 TV series ''[[Lucan (2013 TV series)|Lucan]]''.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|John Victor Aspinall}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20180405165823/http://www.totallywild.net/ Zoo website]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aspinall, John}}
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:2000 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford]]
[[Category:English gamblers]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in England]]
[[Category:People educated at Rugby School]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Delhi]]
[[Category:People from Westminster]]
[[Category:Referendum Party politicians]]
[[Category:Zoo owners]]

John Aspinall (zoo owner) - Revision history

Mere Mentor: Made new bio first draft.