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Horace Batchelor's Infra-draw method
During the '50s and '60s an entrepreneur from Keynsham, Bristol called Horace Batchelor invented a method for winning the football pools and advertised his method on Radio Luxembourg as a money making venture.
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Some years ago, I worked for a large brewery who had just acquired the Lyons group which included Fry's chocolate. Our division was anxious to develop business within the new enlarged Group. One day during a staff briefing, our manager outlined possibilities which included the Fry's chocolate factory. So I asked the location of this factory (already having knowledge, but I wasn't going to give up the opportunity of a gag) and was told 'Keynsham' to which several of us were able to reply 'Spelt KEY N SHAM', showing the hours we had spent listening to Radio Luxembourg.
Paul Kidger
During the 1970s I was a Police Sergeant based in Keynsham. Horace Batchelor was a well known but reclusive celebrity who lived on Bath Road. One morning I heard over the radio that one of my officers had been called to his house. A short while later the officer came to the police station and told everyone, "I've just been to Horace Batchelor's house, and he's dead, spelled D E A D."
David Westwood, Ilminster
From The Times "Questions Answered" column - Jan. 10th 2003
What happened to the Horace Batchelor "method" for winning on the football pools? What were the principles behind the method and did any punter ever win any or the larger dividends?
Horace
Batchelor used to advertise on Radio Luxembourg in the '50s and
'60s. My late father and I used to try to make our fortune from
his "system" but never won more than 15 shillings on
the treble chance.
Basically, the system which was devised to pick draws was as
follows: various features of a particular game were awarded
points. For example, a local derby got points, if the away team
were a certain number of places above the home team, more points
were awarded, and so on. If I recall correctly, tghere were six
features.
The advice given by Horace Batchelor was to use one's own skill
to identify 16 games likely to be draws then the system to
identify the eight getting the most points - those eight to be
entered on the coupon. We used to run the system on all 60-odd
games (very time-consuming) but to no avail.
Apart from Horace Batchelor himself, we never learnt of anyone
who benefitted.
Peter B Baker, London, W5
I always
understood that Horace Batchelor's "Infra-draw" method
involved sending out, free of charge, different permutations of
football teams to all of his customers. Those who won were
expected to give him a percentage of their winnings; those who
lost put it down to experience.
Alternatively, he could make a nominal charge which could be
returned to those who lost, but retained from those who had
received winning permutations.
Martin Buxton, Wakefield, W. Yorkshire
I don't know about its effectiveness but Horace Batchelor's "method" was very successful in teaching an entire generation how to spell "Keynsham", and that it was located "near Bristol".
Michael Robinson, Berkhamsted, Herts
An affectionate
anecdotal journey between 1958 and 1975 by studio engineer and
producer Alan Bailey
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