Edwardian and Victorian Research

Epsom Derby:

Things I’ve learnt recently:

• The Epsom Derby race track is sort of horse shoe shaped (dips at Tottenham Corner which is where Emily Davison entered the race track -the part of the track where the horses have to slow down)
• Some people thought Emily was trying to simply cross the race track thinking that the race was over completely. It is said to be tradition that once all the horses has passed that the crown walked up the track to the finish line also
• The enhanced footage of Emily entering the tracks shows her stopping in front of the King George V's horse then it appears that she reaches for the kings reins. The jockey of this hore, Herbert Jones, also recalls this
• The horse involved in the collision was called ‘Anmer’ and only suffered bruising in comparison to Jones who suffered from concussion, bruising and a fractured rib. Neither of these examples compared to Emily who never regained consciousness and died four days later from internal bleeding.

I have tried to find some of the horses names by going through some documents however I don’t believe I managed to find all of them. I believe these are some of the 1913 Epsom Derby race horse entries (Jockeys - Horse):

• Danny Maher - Prue
• Johnny Reiff - Craganour
• William Saxby - Louvois
• Frank Wootton - Shogun
• Edwin Piper - Aboyeur (Winner of the race)
• Herbert Jones - Anmer (The horse that the King George V was betting on and Emily Wilding Davison was trampled by)

Account from eyewitnesses sourced from http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/the-role-of-british-women-in-the-twentieth-century/the-derby-of-june-1913/:

Unknown

"I was watching the horses approaching Tattenham Corner, when I noticed a figure bob under the rails on the opposite side to which I was standing. The horses were thundering down the course at a great pace bunched up against the rail. From the position in which the women was standing it would have been impossible for her to have picked out any special horse. It was obviously her intention to stop the race. Misjudging the pace of the horses she missed the first four or five. They dashed by just as she was  emerging from the rails. With great calmness she walked in front of the next group of horses.The first missed her, but the second, Anmer, came right into her, and catching her with his shoulders, knocked her with terrific force to the ground while the crowd stood spellbound. The woman rolled over two or three times, and lay unconscious. She was thrown almost on her face. Anmer fell after striking the woman, pitching Jones, the jockey, clear over its head. Fortunately, Anmer fell clear of the woman, and the horses following swerved by the woman, the jockey and the fallen horse."  

John Ervine - Was standing near Emily in the crowd

"Ms Davison, who was standing a few yards from me, suddenly ducked under the railings as the horses came up. This was very near Tattenham Corner, and there was a very large crowd of people on both sides of the course.The king’s horse, Anmer, came up and Ms Davison went towards it. She put up her hand, but whether it was to catch hold of the reins or to protect herself I do not know. It was all over in a few seconds. The horse knocked the woman over with very great force, and then stumbled and fell, pitching the jockey violently onto the ground. Both he and Ms Davison were bleeding profusely, but the crowd which swarmed about them almost was immediately too much for me to see any more.I feel sure that Ms Davison meant to stop the horse, and that she did not go on to the course in the belief that the race was over, for, as I say, only a few of the horses had gone by when I first saw her leave the railings, and others had not passed when she was knocked down. I could not see whether any other horses touched her, for the whole thing happened so quickly, and I was so horrified at seeing her pitched violently down by the horse that I did not think of anything. The affair distressed the crowd very much."