Skip to content

Cheese rolling champions to be honoured in races

Maisie Lillywhite & Steve Knibbs
BBC News, Gloucestershire
PA A man with a light coloured buzzcut holds two wheels of cheeses at the foot of Cooper's Hill near Gloucester following the annual cheese rolling races. He is wearing a fuchsia coloured Nike sweatshirt. The steep hill can be seen behind him, as can a crowd of people.PA
Steve Brain is one of two cheese rolling champions who will be remembered at the event on Monday

Two "fearless" late champions of a unique British sport will be remembered at this year's event.

Thousands of spectators are expected to gather on Cooper's Hill near Gloucester on Monday to witness daring competitors hurl themselves down the famously steep slope in pursuit of a rolling wheel of Double Gloucester cheese.

This year, the first downhill men's race will be held in memory of Izzy John, who died in 2015, and the second to Steve Brain, who died in 2018. Both men won more than 30 cheeses between them.

One of Steve Brain's dying wishes was for his ashes to be scattered at the top of Cooper's Hill. His friend Lee Chapman said: "They blew everywhere. He'll always be here."

Izzy John was 13 years old when he chased his first cheese down Cooper's Hill in 1956.

But, after breaking his ankle on his first race, his mum was not happy.

"The next year, his mum was going back to Wales, so she took his daps with her," his son Danny John said.

"He borrowed two left feet - that's all he could borrow - and he went up the hill. I think he won two or three cheeses that year."

Danny John Two wheels of cheese used for cheese rolling sit on a wooden table. One bears the black and white image of a little boy holding a wheel of cheese, while the other has branding of traditional Double Gloucester cheese, with an image of cows grazing in a field.Danny John
Izzy John, whose picture can be seen on the wheel of cheese on the left, hated cheese

Mr John said his father, who passed away in 2015 at the age of 72, was adamant he had won 14 cheeses before retiring from the competition in his mid-20s - though the official record lists 13.

Despite his passion for the sport, he hated cheese.

"He would always give one [cheese] to the local old people's home," Mr John said.

"He was the first champion, it makes me very proud."

'Uncompromising, fearless'

Another champion, Mr Brain died shortly before his 50th birthday in 2018.

He won 18 cheeses during his time on the hill, and was 15 when he first competed.

Mr Chapman added that the cheese rolling champion was "an uncompromising, fearless individual".

"I suppose running down that hill was great evidence of that," Mr Chapman said.

An older man with white hair sits on a wooden bench, which has a gold coloured memorial plaque on it, in a woodland area
There is a memorial bench for Mr Brain at the bottom of Cooper's Hill

Mr Brain developed a "bit of a reputation" after scooping so many cheeses, Mr Chapman said, before his cheese rolling career was cut short by a broken ankle.

"It was a bit like a boxer not wanting to lose his title. He was very competitive, that one," Mr Chapman said.

And you can watch this year's cheese roll live on the BBC I Player and on the BBC news website and app this Monday from 11:30 BST. The first race is at 12:00.

Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.

More on this story