The remarkable life of the former head of Sotheby s in America was brought to a tragic end by an articulated lorry as he tried to cross the road in a market town near his Cotswolds estate, an inquest heard yesterday. Eton and Oxford educated Peregrine Pollen, 89, stepped out onto a Pelican crossing in the High Street, Moreton-in-Marsh, just as the traffic lights had turned green and the truck began to move forward. Mr Pollen, who walked with a stick and had mobility difficulties, was unable to get out of the way and the truck ran over him, killing him instantly, the Gloucester inquest was told.
But mystery surround the time of his death and the finding of his body. Harry Taylor was not wearing a crash helmet and was riding a motocross bike without lights and with under-inflated off-road tyres, the Gloucester inquest was told. He lost control and rode off the carriageway of Bromsberrow road, Redmarley, onto the offside verge where he hit a telegraph pole and crashed into undergrowth. The inquest heard that the only unexplained aspect of his fatal crash was when it happened - he was last been seen alive on the night of November 8, 2019 but his body and motorcycle were not found until the morning of November 10.