The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-11-13 00:00:00

TRAGIC DEATH OF A FAMOUS
JOCKEY.

The tragic termination to the illness of A.rcher, the
celebrated jockey, has, it need hardly be /id, created
a very painful sensation outskie purely r../2ing cii cles ;
for the achievements of Archer in the saddle had been
such as to make for him a reputation far exceeding
that of ordinary jockeys. Archer was the son of a
well-known steeplechase rider, who won the Liver-
pool Grand National in 1858. When only about
twelve years of age he was bound apprentice to
Matthew Dawson, the trainer, soon after the latter
had left the employ of Mr. James Merry, at Lam-
bourne, and had come to reside at Heath House,
Newmarket. Archer from his childhood had evinced
considerable aptitude for riding, but he did not
appear in the saddle at a race meeting until
1870, when he rode a mare called Athol Daisy
at Chesterfield. It was not, however, until 1872 that
he came into prominent notice, and in the autumn of
that year he won the Cesarewitch for Mr. Radcliffe
with Salvanos, carrying the feather weight of Set 71b.
His excellent horsemanship on that occasion attracted
the attention of Lord Falmouth, whose horses were
trained in the stable where he was apprenticed, and
the next year his services as a light weight were in
great demand. So well did he ride that Lord Fal-
mouth entrusted him with the mount on Atlantic for
the Two Thousand Guineas of 1874, though he had
to put up a groat deal of dead weight. From that
day to this he has during 13 successive seasons been
at the head of the list of winning jockeys.
Season after season, he was credited with
upwards of 200 victories, and though in 1880 his
score fell to 120, as he was unable to ride for a
long time owing to an injury to one of his arms,
he has since then gone from triumph to triumph,
winning 210 races in 1882, 232 in 1883, 241 in 1884,
and 246 in 1885, these two last totals being higher
than those achieved by any other jockey of the past
or the present. He had, though still in advance of all
other jockeys, been less successful this season, as be
had ridden only 170 winners out of 512 mounts.
From Newmarket Archer went to ride at Brighton
and Lewes, but he failed to win a race on either of
the three days, and, catching a cold at Lewes, he re-
turned to Newmarket, and at once took to his bed.
! The cold fell upon the lungs, and, delirium super-
vening, Archer took advantage of the absence from
the room of his sister, who was nursing him, to shoot
himself. The tragic nature of his death is intensified
by the fact of its having occurred upon the second
anniversary of the decease of his wife, to whose death-
bed he was summoned after riding Thebais in the
Liverpool Cup of November, 1884. At the time of
his death he had ridden the enormous number of
2'749 winners.
The Press Association supplies the following addi-
tional particulars: The report turned out to be true,
but the shock it is calculated to give to his friends is
greatly mitigated by the circumstances that the shot
was fired in the frenzy of a fever. When the deceased
jockey returned from Lewes, on the sth inst., he felt
ill, and immediately lay up. He thought himself, and
his medical attendants supported the notion, that he
had caught a chill, but though they were apprehensive
that this might develop some troublesome disorder,
they were scarcely prepared for the serious turn the
illness subsequently took. Between Saturday and
Sunday unmistakable symptoms of typhoid fever
asserted themselves. The fever, acting on a spare and
delicate frame, quickly raised the most serious appre-
hensions of his friends. Its effect on his mind, though
not so outwardly observable, was, as the result showed,
even more disastrous. On Monday morning he
was very ill. There seemed, however, nothing to be
done but to await the development of the disease.
About 25 minutes after two o'clock in the afternoon
Mr. Archer's nurse left him alone with his sister,
Mrs. Colman, in order that the latter might have some
private talk with him. At a moment when Mrs.
Colman was looking out at the window Mr. Archer
suddenly got out of bed and possessed himself of
a revolver he had in his room. Mrs. Colman turned
at the moment of his rising, and sprang towards him,
but he was too quick for her, for as she caught hold
of him he put the barrel of the revolver to his mouth
and fired. He then sank bleeding and dying in
his sister's arms. Mrs. Colman was overpowered
by the sight, but she was able to totter to the
bell and ring for assistance. This was quickly at
band, but it was soon found to be unavailing.
The bullet had passed out at the back of the
neck and blood was flowing profusely from mouth
and ears. A doctor arrived very speedily
and pronounced the poor fellow to be dead.
It is needless to say that this tragic end of a
man so greatly beloved by his friends and so univer-
sally admired in the sporting world has elicited the
deepest emotions of surprise and sorrow. In New-
market he was much respected for his kindness of
heart and his achievements. As for the revolver, the
unhappy proximity of which to his hand has caused
so much grief, it appears that he had bought it in
consequence of the exposed situation of his house, and
some attentions it had previously received from the
housebreaking fraternity. Mr. Archer was a widower,
his wife having died two years ago, and he leaves one
child, a girl. Since his illness commenced, the tele-
graphic inquiries have been continuous. These were
followed by innumerable messages of condolence
for his brother, Mr. Charles Archer, his sister, Mrs.
Colman' his child, and other relatives.
Fred Archer was within two months of completing
his thirtieth year. He stood sfl. Nin. in height, so
that for a jockey he was tall, and his stature seemed
the greater because of his slim figure. He worked
extremely hard to prevent his weight increasing to a
degree that would have rendered it impossible for him
to pursue his vocation. He had to undergo a regimen
more severe than falls to the lot of most men even in
his own arduous profession. The perpetual strain of
training had undoubtedly affected prejudicially a con-
stitution none too robust to begin with. For the last
year he had not seemed his "old self" to many of his
acquaintances, though his friends who saw him more
continuously did not notice the change. All this
contributed to the catastrophe. The malignant
typhoid found a ready victim when the fever flew to
his head. This it did so suddenly that his friends
must be excused for not being more on the alert.
Dr. Wright, his medical attendant, had only left him
an hour before, and anticipated no such frenzy of the
sick man. The consulting physician, Dr. Latham,
of Cambridge, was to have visited him again on
'Tuesday.
Mrs. Colmore was on Monday night in an utterly
prostrated condition owing to the awful shock to her
nervous system, and the attention of D?. Wright had
to be transferred to her.
On the 15th of last month Archer visied Ireland for
the purpose of rifling Cambusmore for Lord London-
derry in the Lieutenant's Plate at the Curragh. He
attained the object of his visit, as Cambusmcre won
the race easily on the following Thursday, and after a
couple of other mounts on the same afternoon he re-
turned home. In order to ride St. Mirin for the Cam-
bridgeshire at something like the horse's handicapped
weight, Archer underwent great privation, and for three
consecutive days went without food, not a bit of any
sort passing his lips, whilst, on the other hand, he dosed
himself with trying medicine, and spent the best part
of his time in the Terkish bath attached to his pri-
vate residence at Falmooth House. By these means
he was able to ride St. Mirin at Bst. 71b., or one
pound overweight, in the Cambridgeshire, but the
effort cost him his life, for it left him in such a weak
state of health that after riding at Brighton and on
the first day of Lewes last week he was compelled to
relinquish his professional duties and seek rest at
home. It was at first thought that he was suffering
from cold, but on Sunday morning symptoms of
typhoid fever manifested themselves and presented
a new danger to his medical advisers. It seas, how-
ever, by his own hands that Archer's brilliant career
was ended, the poor fellow having shot himself in a
paroxysm of madness.

INQUEST AND V ERDTCT.
The inquest on the boiy of Fred ArcLer was held
on Tuesday a'; the residence of the deceasA, Fal-
mouth House, Newmarket.
Captain Bowling, a personal friend, first identified
the body. Deceased was 29 last birthday. He had,
he said, been staying in the house since the 6th inst.,
and saw the deceased every day. He could converse
to a certain extent, hut then seemed to wander. RA
was anxious about his recovery. and never expressed
any intention of destroying himself. He was vi ry
nervous because he wasted so much. Witness was
away from the house at the time deceased shot himself.
In his illness he was attended by two nurses and Mrs.
Colman, his sister.
Mrs. Colman said she lived with her brother. He
came home unwell from Lewes Races The next day
he was unable to get up, and from that time was
obliged to keep his bed. He wandered occasionally,
but seemed better on Monday movnirg. A. little
after two o'clock he wished to speak to her alone, and
the nurse left the zoom. He told her to send her out.
She did not think anything of it as he had done so
many times on previous days. 'When the nurse left
the room she walked to the window to look out, and
he said, "Are they coming ?" She heard a noise,
and looked round. He was out of bed, by the side next