The Derby of June 1913 - History Learning Site Home » The Role of British Women » The Derby of June 1913 The Derby of June 1913 Citation: C N Trueman "The Derby of June 1913" historylearningsite.co.uk. The History Learning Site, 17 Mar 2015. 16 Aug 2016. The Derby took place on June 4th 1913. Emily Wilding Davison was to achieve her place in history by giving her life for the Suffragette cause at this Derby – the world’s most famous horse race. Emily Davison suffered terrible injuries at this race and never recovered from them. She died in a local hospital four days after the race. The Derby is not only a horse race. In some senses, the race is secondary to the social importance of this event. In 1913, it was a race where society’s elite turned up, including the Royal family who traditionally had a horse entered into it. Because of its importance, it attracted a very large crowd to the Epsom Race Course. The race itself was a flat sprint.

Epsom was shaped almost like a horse shoe. The start took the jockeys along a fast straight that lead to a long and gradual bend. The bend sharpened at Tattenham Corner where the horses slowed down before picking up into the home straight to finish in front of the Royal Box. In the 1913 Derby, the king entered a horse called Anmer. The jockey was Herbert Jones. As today, all the jockeys wore their colours – a racing jersey that identified that rider to the crowd. As the horses rounded Tattenham Corner, Anmer was third from last. Emily Wilding Davison got underneath the barrier and threw herself in front of Anmer. The horse went over and Jones came off. Davison took the full force of a sprinting race horse hitting her. The impact took her clean off the ground. Emily Davison with Anmer on the right Confusion reigned to start with. Some believed that Davison was trying to cross the race course and had failed to see that not all the horses had cleared the course. It was a tradition that once the horses had gone past, the crowd went onto the the course to walk down to the finish.

Other spectators claimed that they heard a woman shout “Votes for Women” before leaping out in front of the king’s horse. A crude black and white film was taken that caught the event ‘live’. On its own it shows little as it has poor clarity. It has now been enhanced and it shows clearly that Davison stopped in front of Anmer (therefore she did not want to simply cross the course) and it appears that she tried to make a grab for the reins of the horse but the speed of Anmer and the impact on her were so great that she took a terrible blow to her upper body. Jones did what all jockeys are trained to do. Having come off his horse, he stayed where he was until all the back riders had gone past. He was taken off the course by stretcher and taken to the ambulance room at the back of the Grand Stand. His injuries included a fractured rib, a bruised face and slight concussion. He stayed the Wednesday night at the Great Eastern Hotel in Liverpool Street, London, but by Friday was back in Newmarket where he was described as “quite cheery”. Jones did recollect that he saw Davison trying to grab his reins.

Anmer, having gone over, got to his feet and completed the race minus his jockey. The “Times” the next day commented that the horse had suffered bruised shins. Emily Wilding Davison was very badly injured. She was taken to Epsom Cottage Hospital. She never regained consciousness and it appeared that her heart was damaged in the impact. On the Wednesday evening, the king enquired as to Emily’s well being but the doctors there realised that she had been seriously injured. They called for Mr. Mansell Moullin, a consultant surgeon at London Hospital, to assist them. But it was to be in vain as Emily Davison died on June 8th 1913 from substantial internal injuries. Two eyewitnesses made the following statements. The first witness is 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 who stood near to where Emily Davison was said the following: 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.

Emily Davison killed at the 1913 Derby Emily Davison killed at the 1913 Derby Enlarge Emily Davison threw herself in front of the King's horse Anmer during the Derby in June 1913 to draw attention to the suffragette campaign. Although this front page says that Davison survived, she was in fact killed in the incident. As a result of this act Davison became a martyr for the suffragette movement. In her autobiography My Own Story Emmeline Pankhurst writes: Emily Davison clung to her conviction that one great tragedy, the deliberate throwing into the breach of a human life, would put an end to the intolerable torture of women. And so she threw herself at the king's horse, in full view of the king and queen and a great multitude of their majesties' subjects. The Daily Sketch was Britain's oldest tabloid newspaper, was founded in 1909 and closed in 1971. This is one of a number of scoop pictures published in the Sketch over the years, including sinking of the Titanic.

Taken from: The Daily Sketch Date: June 1913 Epsom Derby jockey 'haunted' by suffragette death myth? - BBC News BBC News Epsom Derby jockey 'haunted' by suffragette death myth? By Hamish Reid BBC News 1 June 2013 Close share panel Image caption Herbert Jones's family said stories he was "haunted" by Emily Davison's face are "rubbish" Stories a royal jockey was haunted by the face of a suffragette after his horse struck and fatally injured her are "utter rubbish", his son says. On 4 June 1913, as the horses thundered around Tattenham Corner during the Epsom Derby, Emily Davison rushed onto the course and was hit by King George V's colt, Anmer. "The horse knocked her down, and then turned a complete somersault on its jockey, Herbert Jones," The Morning Post reported the following day. "The woman, who had a Suffragist flag wrapped round her waist, and whose name is Emily Wilding Davison, is in a very serious condition in Epsom Cottage Hospital," the report continued.

'Brutal lunatic woman' King George V wrote in his diary that "poor Herbert Jones and Anmer had been sent flying" on a "most disappointing day". Queen Alexandra sent Jones a telegram wishing him well after his "sad accident caused through the abominable conduct of a brutal lunatic woman". Emily Davison died four days later in hospital from internal injuries and a fractured skull. The debate continues about whether Ms Davison meant to kill herself, or was merely trying to attach a suffragette ribbon onto the King's horse as a protest. Jones was unconscious for a short time and suffered from concussion. He also needed to wear a sling on one arm for some time afterwards. There's nothing in there that alludes to him being "haunted" by Davison Michael Tanner, Author The King's jockey was invited to Davison's funeral, but his injuries stopped him from attending. Within two weeks of the Derby, he was back riding Anmer for the King at Ascot. On 17 July 1951 Jones's son found his father's lifeless body in his gas-filled kitchen.

The story that the 70-year-old Herbert 'Bertie' Jones killed himself after being "haunted by that woman's face" all his life has been refuted in a book by Michael Tanner. Towards the end of his life Jones became deaf and suffered from two strokes. Mr Tanner, a sports writer who specialises in horse racing, said: "His wife's death and his deafness caused him to take his life." John Jones said stories of his father being "haunted" by Davison's face were "an utter load of rubbish". Image caption Emily Davison died four days after suffering internal injuries and a fractured skull Mr Tanner, author of Suffragette Derby, described the jockey as "very gregarious, happy and contented and interested in local football and cricket and a keen gardener" until his hearing began to fail. He said his research had suggested that the story of him being "haunted" by Davison's face had only been around for the last 10 to 15 years. In 1934, a feature on the 1913 Derby by Herbert Jones, thought to have been ghost written, appeared in the Sunday Express.

"There's nothing in there that alludes to him being "haunted" by Davison," Mr Tanner said. "It's rubbish - it didn't ruin his life, as his children have told me." A suffragette, a sunken ship, and the infamous Epsom Derby of 1913 | Topics: 1913, Looking Back, Emily Davison, Bower Ismay, Titanic, Epsom Derby | Thoroughbred Racing Commentary A suffragette, a sunken ship, and the infamous Epsom Derby of 1913 Sean Magee | May 31, 2014 Share Suffragette Emily Davison was stuck by the the King's horse, Anmer, during the 1913 Epsom Derby. It was British racing’s most infamous incident, the moment suffragette Emily Davison stepped in front of the King’s horse as the field galloped round Tattenham Corner. Yet, even if that hadn’t happened, the 1913 Epsom Derby would still rank as one of the most sensational races in the sport’s history, as Sean Magee reports.

It was, according to the Daily Telegraph on the day after the race, “the most unsatisfactory, sensational, and lamentable Derby in the history of the sport” – and a year after its centenary, the 1913 renewal of “The Blue Riband of the Turf” at Epsom is still considered most extraordinary racing event of all. The race was won by 100-1 outsider Aboyeur, but will always be always be known as “The Suffragette Derby” in recognition of the moment when Emily Wilding Davison, a fanatical activist for the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), ducked under the rails near Tattenham Corner and was flattened by King George V’s horse Anmer. She sustained injuries that would prove fatal, and that would immortalise her – justifiably or not, according to your point of view – as a martyr to the cause.

But, Emily Davison was only one character in a drama that had more sub-plots than a Shakespeare play, and a dramatis personae that included royalty, feuding members of the English racing establishment, dyspeptic jockeys, and a myopic racecourse judge – plus, for good measure, the sinking of the Titanic. On the run-up to that Derby, the bare bones of the story so far went as follows: Red-hot favourite for the 134th running of the world’s most famous race was Craganour, owned by Charles Bower Ismay. Despite his exquisite racing colours – officially “Neapolitan violet, primrose hoops, violet cap” – Ismay came with a considerable amount of baggage. His shipping magnate father Thomas Henry Ismay had founded the White Star Line, whose “unsinkable” liner RMS Titanic had made its catastrophic maiden voyage some 14 months before the 1913 Derby.

The loss of more than 1,500 lives had not endeared the Ismay family to the public, and yet more opprobrium was to follow when it came out that Bower’s brother Bruce, chairman of the White Star Line, had been on board the ill-fated vessel, but had survived after taking a place in a lifeboat, leaving others to perish in the icy waters. Even before the Titanic sinking, Bower Ismay had made himself highly unpopular with certain Jockey Club members – notably Eustace Loder, a pillar of the racing establishment whose dislike for Ismay embraced more than disapproval of his racing practice. In the scene-setting Prologue of his 2013 book The Suffragette Derby, the definitive account of the whole story, Michael Tanner writes: “Loder’s distaste for Ismay cuts far deeper than suspicions of foul play on the Turf. It’s acutely personal. Quite possibly, in another era they’d have settled their differences with pistols at dawn.

Ismay has been brazenly conducting an affair with Loder’s sister-in-law, an affront to his own moral code and a slight on his family honour.” And unfortunately for Bower Ismay, Eustace Loder was a steward at Epsom on Derby Day. Craganour himself came with baggage of a sort, since he had been at the centre of a controversy in the 2,000 Guineas, when the great majority of spectators were convinced that he had beaten Louvois – even though the judge declared that Louvois had won. This led Ismay to change Craganour’s riding arrangements for the Derby, replacing jockey Billy Saxby with Johnny Reiff, one of many American jockeys making a big impact on European racing at a time when the standard of home jockeyship was considered generally poor. Reiff would ride 6-to-4 favourite Craganour in the Derby, with Saxby now booked for Louvois, a 10-to-1 chance. It can be imagined how Saxby felt about that.

On Wednesday, June 4, 1913, all these plot lines came together to produce a sensational denouement, but an event far more astounding was waiting in the wings. That morning Emily Davison – whose previous episodes of direct action had included attacking a Baptist minister on a train, under the mistaken impression that he was Prime Minister David Lloyd George – bought two suffragette flags at the WSPU office in London. She then took the train to Epsom. Although the long tradition of Parliament suspending business for Derby Day had by then ceased, the occasion was still England’s unofficial holiday, attracting hundreds of thousands of spectators to Epsom Downs. Davison joined the throng on Tattenham Hill, in the infield just short of the straight, and waited – and shortly after 3pm the cry went up: “They’re off!” There are several eye-witness accounts of what happened at Tattenham Corner, none more dramatic than that quoted by Michael Tanner, from one “Mr.

Turner of Clapham Common,” who was standing on the outside rail at Tattenham Corner – that is, on the opposite side of the track from Emily Davison: THIS WEEK’S TOP TEN Trainers in Great Britain Suffragette-Derby Epsom 1913 Suffragette-Derby Epsom 1913 Emily Davison - Suffragette Derby 4 June 1913 Suffragette-Derby Epsom 1913 - The English Derby has turned up some great races but the 1913 Derby was famous because of the death of Emily Davison who walked into the Kings horse in the cause of women's suffrage The first world war was still 12 months away and the main topic in England was not the Kaiser or the Austrian Hungary Empire but women's suffrage or should we say lack of it. Under these circumstances the 1913 Derby was to be run. Epsom is a flat only left handed race course situated in the Surrey Downs. Although there are lots of meetings at Epsom the winner of the Derby occupies a place in racing history second to none.

The Derby course is a real test of horse and jockey with a long uphill rise from the start with a sweeping descent into Tattenham corner a dip at 100 yards from the winning post and then an uphill finish. If this wasn't enough there is a camber in the track which is at it's most severe in the dip opposite Tattensall's enclosure. 15 horse were to compete for the 1913 Derby Craganour was the hot favourite at 6-4 King George had a horse running Anmer it was 50-1,there were four horse on 100-1 one of these was Aboyeur. Aboyeur's odds were indicative of his chances he had proved to be a no hoper on his previous run out as a three year old. Almost straight from the start Aboyeur took the lead Craganour was well place as were Aldegood, Shogun, Nimbus and Louvois. With one mile left the King's horse was struggling to cope with the pace and was falling further behind. Aboyeur was confounding his critics by being 3 lengths in front.

Meanwhile at Tattenham corner Emily Davison who had received instructions waited until the leading bunch of horses had thundered past then she quickly squeezed through the crowd and under the rails onto the course.managing to avoid Agadir she went to grab the reins of the King's horse unfortunately she had failed to anticipated how difficult it is to stop a horse in full gallop doing 40+ mph and all three went down. To this day no one can be certain of Emily Davison's motives or what she really intended the outcome was probably never in doubt she never gained consciousness and died in hospital 4 days later, five years after her death women gained the vote.

Suffragette Derby Result Aboyeur,Craganour, nimbus, great sport, louvois, shogun, You may wonder at the result of the race and even this was to cause contraversy the race evolved into a barging match Aboyeur was still leading on the inside with the favourite Craganour mounting an effective challenge on the stands side, with nimbus, great sport, louvois, shogun & day comet hard on the heels of the leading pair,Shogun who had gotten the best of Day Comet was now making ground on the rails when Craganour's jockey moved his mount over to the rails to lean on Aboyeur who in turn swerved left and cut off Shogun's run once more Shogun tried to get through and once again Aboyeur cut him off by this time Craganour had taken an 1/2 length lead Aboyeur's jockey took up the whip and began applying it causing Aboyeur to veer once more this time into Craganour this caused Craganour to veer to the centre of the course and interfer with Nimbus's run as the two went past the winning

 post Craganour was a head in front.with Louvois in third.

Despite all the pushing and shoving Aboyeur's jockey declared at the unsaddling that he wouldn't be objecting. The alright signal was given however within minutes the all right signal was pulled down the news spread that the Stewards had objected no one believed that the favourite could lose and odds were being given that he would get the decision. However against all the odds the second place horse got the decision. Many believe that the decision went against Craganour because his owner was the son of the founder of the White Star line who's flag ship the Titanic has sunk the previous year to make matters worse the owner had been on the ship and had survived this made him a very unpopular man at the time. Emily Davison (1872-1913) Epsom and Ewell History Explorer Emily Davison (1872-1913) Emily Davison Emily Wilding Davison was a militant women's suffrage activist who, on 4 June 1913, after a series of actions that were either self destructive or violent, stepped in front of the horse of King George V at the Epsom Derby, sustaining injuries that resulted in her death four days later.

Emily Davison was the daughter of Charles Davison [1822-1893], a retired merchant from Morpeth Northumberland, and his second wife, Margaret Caisley Davison [1848-1918] from Longhorsley Northumberland. She was born at Roxburgh House, Vanguard Park Road, Greenwich on 11 October 1872 and had two sisters and a brother as well as many half-siblings from her father's first marriage. One of these was retired naval captain, Henry Jocelyn Davison, who gave evidence at her inquest. After attending Kensington High School [1885-91] she won a place at Royal Holloway College to study literature but she was forced to leave two years later when her recently widowed mother could no longer afford the £20 a term fee. Davison now found work as a governess before spending a term [April-June 1895] at St Hugh's Hall, where she achieved first class honours in English in the Oxford University examination for women. However, as Oxford degrees were closed to women, this did not enable her to graduate.

In 1895 she began teaching at the Church of England College for Girls in Edgbaston and the following year she found employment at Seabury School in Worthing [1896-8]. Eventually she raised enough money to return to university education, graduating from the University of London with a first class honours degree in English Language and Literature. She then obtained a private teaching post with a family in Berkshire. Emily Davison In 1906 Davison joined Emmeline Pankhurst's Women's Social and Political Union [WSPU] the early aims of which were to recruit working class women into the cause for female emancipation. She quickly became involved in the more militant activities of the WSPU and by June 1908 she was one of the chief stewards at a WSPU demonstration in London; by 1909 she had given up full-time teaching to devote more time to the WSPU. Davison also became involved with the Workers Educational Association. The cover of the Suffragette magazine In March 1909 Davison was arrested while attempting to hand a petition to the Prime Minister. Herbert Asquith.

Found guilty of causing a disturbance, she was sentenced to one month's imprisonment. Four months later she was in prison again for trying to get into a hall where the Chancellor of the Exchequer, David Lloyd George, was giving a speech. Davison went on hunger strike but was released after five days. In September 1909 she received a sentence of two months for throwing stones and once again she was released after going on hunger strike. A Suffragette Handing Out Newspapers A few days after leaving prison, Emily Davison, along with Mary Leigh and Constance Lytton, was caught throwing stones at a car taking David Lloyd George to a meeting in Newcastle. The stones were wrapped in Davison's favourite words, "Rebellion against tyrants is obedience to God". The women were found guilty and sentenced to one month's hard labour in Strangeways Prison. They went on hunger strike, but this time the prison authorities decided to force-feed them. In an attempt to avoid force-feeding, Davison used prison furniture to barricade the door of her cell. A prison officer climbed a ladder and, after forcing the nozzle of a hosepipe through the window, filled up the cell with water.

Davison was willing to die, but before the cell had been completely filled, the door was broken down . A Suffragette being force fed, in a contemporary poster The leader of the Labour Party, James Keir Hardie, complained in the House of Commons about the treatment of Emily Davison. The general public appeared to agree with him. There was a public outcry about her treatment, so she decided to take legal action against the men at Strangeways who had been responsible for the hosepipe incident. On 19 January 1910, Judge Parry pronounced in Davison's favour, awarding damages of forty shillings [£2]. Lloyd George was himself an early supporter of women's suffrage, but, as a minister in the government, he was often heckled by militant campaigners of the WSPU. In 1910, believing that the proposal was principally designed to favour the Tories at the ballot box, he opposed the national extension of the vote to women (who were already entitled to vote in local elections). As a result of this the WSPU began to target Lloyd George personally.

To gain more publicity for the cause, Davison hid in the House of Commons on three occasions, including the night of the 1911 census, so that on the form she could legitimately give her place of residence as the "House of Commons". The 1911 census documents state that Emily Wilding Davison was found "hiding in the crypt" in the Houses of Parliament. The scale of her militant acts increased and in December 1911 she was arrested for setting fire to pillar boxes. According to Emmeline Pankhust's daughter, Sylvia, this action was not approved of by the WSPU and her consistent rejection of authority and unauthorized militant activities meant that she fell out of favour with the leadership of the WSPU. Davison was sentenced to six months in prison, where she attempted two hunger strikes. A Suffragette being force fed Emily Davison was now convinced that women would never win the vote until the suffragette movement had a martyr, so, on 22 June 1912, while in Holloway prison, she took the decision to draw attention to the campaign by jumping down an iron staircase.

She landed on wire netting some 30feet below, which prevented her death but left her with severe spinal injuries. By 1913 the Suffragettes were causing problems in and around Surrey and the Surrey Constabulary had to deal with three bomb outrages. The first and most famous happened at 6.10am on 19 February at the house being built for Lloyd George in Walton-on-the-Hill. On 24 February 1913, Emmeline Pankhurst was arrested in London for the bombing of Lloyd George's house, taken to Leatherhead Police Station, questioned and charged. [For further information see Emmeline Pankhurst ] The second bombing incident occurred on 19-20 March at Englefield Green, near Chertsey, when an unoccupied house belonging to Lady White was almost destroyed. Two ladies on bicycles were seen close by. One of them, Elsie Duval, was stopped by the local policeman, P.C Picket, and later charged and convicted for being in possession of inflammable material, cans of paraffin oil, wadding, firelighters etc.

On 30 April 1913 an explosion took place in the lavatory at Oxted Railway Station, where police found a basket containing petrol, a clock, a battery, two firelighters, a half pint tin which had contained burning cycle oil and a cardboard box which had probably been filled with gunpowder. Damage was slight and, after a long and detailed enquiry, no one was ever traced or charged. As a result of this incident, all railway stations and tunnels were patrolled to prevent further attacks. Front Cover of the Daily Sketch, 5 June 1913 Once Emily Davison had recovered her health she began making plans to commit an act that would give the movement maximum publicity. On 4 June 1913 she attended the most important race meeting of the year, the Epsom Derby, with fellow suffragette, Mary Richardson. Their purpose in going is unclear, but, as the horses rounded Tattenham Corner, Davison suddenly slipped under the rail and ran out onto the race course, grabbing the bridle of Anmer, the horse owned by King George V who was watching from the grandstand with Queen Mary.

Eyewitnesses at the time were divided as to her motivation, with some believing that she simply intended to cross the track, thinking that the horses had passed, while others reported that she attempted to bring the King's horse down while attaching a WSPU banner to its bridle. The horse hit her with such force that she was knocked unconscious and suffered a fractured skull. She was put into a car and taken to the on-course ambulance station and from there transferred to Epsom Cottage Hospital, where she died four days later without regaining consciousness. The horse, it was reported, turned a complete somersault, dragging the jockey, Herbert Jones, a short way along the course. He suffered concussion and minor injuries and refused hospital treatment. Epsom- born Jones was an experienced and successful jockey, having won the Derby, 2,000 Guineas and the St Leger in 1900 on Diamond Jubilee, for the Prince of Wales, hence his nickname of "Diamond Jones". He also won the 1909 Derby and 2,000 Guineas on Edward V11's Minoru.

He was forced to retire in 1923 at the age of 42 after collapsing with a pulmonary haemorrhage, but it was said that he was "forever haunted by that woman's face". In 1928, at the funeral of Mrs Pankhurst, Jones laid a wreath "to do honour to the memory of Mrs. Pankhurst and Miss Emily Davison". He never fully recovered from the incident and on 17 July 1951 his seventeen year old son found his father dead in a gas-filled kitchen. The coroner recorded a verdict of "suicide while the balance of his mind was disturbed". Herbert Jones Among the articles found in Emily Davison's possession at the hospital were two WSPU flags, a racecard, a ticket for a Suffragette rally later in the day and a return rail ticket to Victoria Station. This has prompted some historians to argue that she did not intend to kill herself but merely to bring down the King's horse and stop the race.

Sylvia Pankhurst stated that "Emily Davison had concerted a Derby protest without tragedy - a mere waving of the purple-white-and-green at Tattenham Corner which by its suddenness, it was hoped, would stop the race. Whether from the first her purpose was more serious or whether a final impulse altered her resolve, I know not. Her friend declares she would not thus have died without writing a farewell message to her mother". However, Emmeline Pankhurst has suggested that "Emily Davison clung to her conviction that one great tragedy, the deliberate throwing into the breach of human life, would put an end to the intolerable torture of women. And so she threw herself at the King's horse in full view of the King and Queen and a great multitude of their Majesties' subjects". The coroner recorded a verdict of death "due to misadventure". Extract from The Times 11 June 1913 If she had survived it would probably have meant another visit to Holloway Prison. The Director of Public Prosecutions stated, even while she was still unconscious in hospital, that "If Miss Davison recovers it will be possible to charge her with doing an act calculated to cause grievous bodily harm".

It is important to note that attempting suicide was illegal at the time and remained so until 1961. Emily Davison was the only Suffragette who deliberately risked death for her cause, but her actions did not seem to have the desired effect: the general public seemed more concerned about the well-being of the horse and jockey and for some time Davison was condemned as a mentally ill fanatic. Indeed, Queen Mary sent a telegram to the jockey wishing him well after his "sad accident caused through the abominable conduct of a brutal lunatic woman". This did not stop the members of the WSPU and the Suffragette movement from giving Emily Davison a large and spectacular funeral procession from Epsom to a memorial service in St George's Church, Bloomsbury on 14 June. 6,000 women marched through London following her cortege, to show their support. The following day her coffin was taken by train to St Mary's Church, Morpeth for burial in the family plot.

Her gravestone bears the WSPU slogan "Deeds not words" Emily Davison and the 1913 Epsom Derby | The National Archives blog Empire Marketing Board 1927-1933 poster, A Blast Furnace CO 956/260 Emily Davison and the 1913 Epsom Derby Tuesday 4 June 2013 | Briony Paxman and Clare Horrie | Records and research | 4 comments Spectators at the 1913 Epsom Derby (catalogue ref: ZPER 34/142) Today marks 100 years since one of the most famous events in the campaign for women’s suffrage in Britain. 4 June 1913 was the day of the Epsom Derby and at 15.10, just after the leading horses had rounded Tattenham Corner, Emily Wilding Davison, a militant suffragette, ran out from under the railings and into path of two trailing horses. Anmer, the King’s horse, struck Emily with his chest and pitched onto its head while the jockey, Herbert Jones, was thrown and rendered unconscious.

The injuries Davison suffered would lead to her death four days later from a fractured skull. As we have seen in recent television and newspaper coverage, debate has surrounded Davison’s actions since Derby Day 1913 1 . Was Emily Davison making a suffrage protest, disrupting the race by attaching a flag in the suffragette colours to the King’s horse? Were her actions part of a wider suffragette demonstration at the Derby or did she act alone? Was she trying to commit suicide? Or, was she simply trying to cross the course in the mistaken belief that all the horses had passed? Intrigued by all these questions, I decided to take a look at a Metropolitan Police file at The National Archives ( MEPO 2/1551 ) which contains police reports, witness statements and notes made in the hours and days following Davison’s actions. An extract from Dr Vale-Jones' account, 4 June 1913 (catalogue ref: MEPO 2/1551) One of the most vivid statements I found comes from Dr Vale-Jones, a local man, who was attending the Derby as a spectator.

He was standing near Tattenham Corner and recounts: ‘A woman opposite me threw her arms up and jumped out into the course just as the last few horses were passing. A space between gave sufficient light to show what was happening.’ Dr Vale-Jones made his way through the crowd to offer medical assistance and his dramatic statement details the medical aid he and a nurse provided before Emily was transferred to Epsom Cottage Hospital: ‘I found her suffering from concussion of the brain and heart failure and her life! ebbing fast… I called for brandy or whisky, and a policeman brought me the latter, but this had but little effect to save life. A nurse then came up to my assistance. I said to her “she is slipping out fast, I must have hot water”. None to be had I then sent a policeman to obtain a thermos flask that contained very hot tea, which I could hardly stand the touch. I then took the nurse’s handkerchief and poured some of the contents on and applied it to the left wrist.

The second application had the desired effect of restoring the heart action.’ While Dr Vale-Jones was treating Emily, jockey Herbert Jones was taken to the ambulance station where he regained consciousness, suffering from bruises, abrasions and shock. Amner, the horse, was stopped on the course and secured. Epsom Derby, 1895, view of the race (catalogue ref: COPY 1/420/777 ) Clippings from contemporary newspaper reports included in the file claim that someone hoisted a placard emblazoned ‘Votes for Women’ just after the accident, implying Emily’s actions were part of a wider protest. Metropolitan Police reports dispute this claim, indeed they indicate that at the time Emily rushed onto the race track, no one knew who she was. Sergeant Frank Bunn and PC Samuel Eady were two of the police officers on the scene and accompanied Davison to hospital. Their statements reveal that Emily’s identity was only discovered when she got to hospital and they found a handkerchief embroidered with her name. Nor was there any sign a demonstration was underway or that Emily might be acting on behalf of the suffragettes until her jacket was removed, revealing two flags.

PC Eady's statement 12 June 1913 (catalogue ref: MEPO 2/1551) A report by Superintendent Robinson dated 5 June suggests that police officers would have noticed any signs of suffragette activity, having received instructions to keep a sharp look-out following a threat received by the Jockey Club that nails would be placed on the course to disrupt the race. The funeral procession for Emily Davison (catalogue ref: ZPER 34/142) While his statement does not support the suggestion of a larger suffragette protest, Robinson’s report does imply that Emily Davison acted to deliberately disrupt the race, noting that she chose a favourable spot at Tattenham Corner where she could get through the rails and onto the track. Bunn’s discovery of two suffragette flags pinned to Emily’s jacket also indicates that she intended to make some form of protest. On her arrival at hospital, Bunn searched through Emily’s purse, where, among other items, he found a return train ticket to Victoria and a helper’s pass to a suffragette festival that evening.

All these different pieces of evidence have only fuelled speculation as to whether Emily really meant to martyr herself when she ran onto the track at Epsom. Perhaps it is in relation to this question that newspaper clippings about the Derby are included in files relating to a suicide attempt Emily made in June 1912, when she threw herself from a staircase in Holloway Prison 2 . Disparities between the newspaper reports and witness statements found in MEPO 2/1551 reveal how quickly contradictory stories emerged following this tragic event and might explain why we are still struggling to understand Emily’s intentions 100 years later. Learning more about the campaign for women’s suffrage The suffragettes and the struggle for the vote for women in history is a popular topic taught in schools up and down the country at GCSE and A level, as well as forming a part of the present National Curriculum for early secondary school pupils. Here at The National Archives, the Education and Outreach department offers a range of high quality resources and onsite teaching sessions which allow school students to work with original documents on this subject.

After all, some of the most interesting documents on this topic are kept here, including the Metropolitan Police file on Emily Davison’s protest at the Derby. Suffragettes, Annie Kenny, Christabel Pankhurst, 1906 (catalogue ref: COPY 1/494) We now offer a new ‘A’ level session called Suffragettes through Government eyes: ‘A little daylight game?’ , which examines the Suffragette movement from the perspective of Metropolitan Police and Home Office files held at The National Archives. Students can engage with the ideas of the Suffragettes and assess the impact of militant activities on the cause. If you are unable to visit us at The National Archives, this session will be launched as a videoconference in July 2013. Sign up to our Education Newsletter to find out more! In addition, we have a selection of free online resources on our education website which use documents from our collections here, including a lesson where students can explore the different tactics used by the suffragettes, police and government. There are documents which reveal information about tactics such window breaking and tax avoidance and the employment of one of the first police motorcycle men employed to capture militant suffragettes in action.

Not to forget the role played by veteran suffragette Lillian Lenton, mistress of disguise. There is also another online lesson called What’s the story? , designed to encourage pupils to apply their historical skills to a group of documents in order to find out about an arson attack on the tea pavilion at Kew Gardens. Students can also examine a census return for 1911 where another woman makes a different kind of protest in our lesson called Census Detective and her husband records his views in red ink at the bottom of the census document! Further resources include Britain: 1906 to 1918 , which contains several case studies on the origin of the movement for reform, the activities of the more moderate suffragists as well as the role of the suffragettes. And finally, a section on the suffragettes in our website on the Growth of Political Rights in the 19th Century includes a police report on the Derby the incident in 1913 involving Emily Davison along with other related sources. Notes: Emily Davison, Death at the Derby By Ben Johnson | Comments Emily Davison, influential British suffragette, was born in South East London in 1872.

She was a high achiever and won a scholarship to study literature at Royal Holloway College when she finished school. This was cut short, however, when her father died and her mother could no longer afford to pay the tuition fees. Emily became a teacher until she had saved enough money to finish her studies at London University, graduating with a BA. She later attended St Hugh’s College, Oxford for one term. At this time, academia was a male dominated world and Emily developed strong opinions about the limited opportunities available to women in society. The Women’s Social and Political Unit (WSPU), founded by Emmeline Pankhurst, caught Emily’s interest and she soon became a radical member. A more militant offshoot of the original National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), the WSPU expressed the view that by disallowing women the vote, the state was classing them as second-rate citizens. Emily rapidly became head steward of the WSPU and gave up work to dedicate more time and effort to “the Cause”.

She was quite the activist; Emily was one of the suffragettes who were found hiding in air ducts within the House of Commons, apparently just listening in to Parliament (she did this three times); she threw metal balls labelled “bomb” through windows and was sent to prison six or seven times in four years! She was sent to prison twice in 1909, each time for two months, once for attempting to enter a room where the Chancellor of the Exchequer was delivering a speech and once for hurling rocks. Both of these trips to prison ended early when she went on hunger strike. It wasn’t long before she was back in jail again however, this time for hurling rocks at the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s chauffeur driven car, each one tightly wrapped in Emily’s signature slogan, 'Rebellion against tyrants is obedience to God.' Once in Strangeways Prison, Emily resorted to hunger strike again; this time however, the authorities decided to apply force-feeding instead of early release. In response to this, Emily barricaded herself in her room. Her prison officer decided to flood Emily’s cell with ice-cold water in an attempt to force her out. Emily nearly drowned but was rescued just in time.

The public were in uproar at this appalling treatment from the prison wardens and Emily, who took the case to court, was awarded forty shillings compensation. This was certainly not the only time that Emily showed herself willing to die for the cause she dedicated her life to. She was jailed again for 10 months in 1912 for setting fire to London post boxes. During this time she again went on hunger-strike. The prison resorted to force-feeding again and, in protest to this, Emily threw herself from a balcony: “I did it deliberately, and with all my power, because I felt that by nothing but the sacrifice of human life would the nation be brought to realise the horrible torture our women face. If I had succeeded I am sure that forcible feeding could not in all conscience have been resorted to again”. This act raised questions with the authorities; they realised that women were willing to become martyrs in the name of the cause. This lead to the introduction of the Prisoners’ Temporary Discharge for Health Act which declared that prisoners could be released if they threatened hunger strike but arrested again when they had regained their strength.

Emily suspected that if she died in prison, the authorities could cover it up as an accident, therefore if she were to become a martyr, it would have to be in public and she would have to be in full control of the incident. The Epsom Derby, June 4th 1913 And what could be more public than the 1913 Epsom Derby? Thousands of people, including King George V and Queen Mary, thronged to the event. The King's horse Anmer was one of the runners in that year's Derby. And it was Anmer that Emily targeted. Epsom racecourse is shaped like a horseshoe: the start is along a straight leading to a long corner that straightens out at Tattenham Corner before finishing down the straight in front of the Royal Box. The King's horse Anmer was easy to spot among the other horses as the jockey, Herbert Jones, was wearing the King's colours. As the horses thundered around Tattenham Corner, Anmer was third from last. Emily had pushed her way through the crowds and slipped underneath the protecting rail.

As Anmer came around this final corner, he could not avoid thundering into Emily as she stood in front of him, holding the suffragette flag close to her. Jones was thrown from his seat and the horse fell, getting up again and finishing the race alone. Jones suffered broken ribs, bruising and concussion. Emily was rushed into hospital but had received fatal internal injuries and died four days later. Her funeral, organised by the WSPU, was held in London, with thousands of people lining the streets. Her body was then taken to King's Cross Station and returned to her family in Northumberland for burial. On 15th June, Emily was buried in Morpeth, a short distance from her mother's home in Longhorsley, with her mother’s inscription “Welcome home the Northumbrian hunger striker” and “Deeds not words”, the WSPU motto, on her headstone. Emily Davison is struck by King George's horse, Anmer, and knocked unconscious The Aftermath It is still uncertain whether Emily truly intended to kill herself in the name of the suffragette cause that day.

In her handbag was found a return train ticket and an invitation to a suffragette meeting that night, which do not suggest that the incident was planned. However Emily’s previous actions might suggest she was prepared to kill herself for the cause. Emily certainly believed that a sacrificial act would serve to raise the profile of the suffragette cause. However this was not so. The public viewed her actions as those of a “mentally ill fanatic” and some previous supporters of the suffragette movement were so appalled by the incident, they ceased to be associated with “the cause”. The media concentrated on the wellbeing of the horse and jockey (who seemed to never recover from the guilt he felt) rather than the cause for which Emily died. The First World War then pulled society together and took the focus away from political activism of this sort. It was not until 1928 with the passing of the Equal Franchise Bill, that women over 21 were finally allowed the vote.

Question: What was the name of the King's horse that caused the death of suffragette Emily Davison at the Epsom Derby in 1913 ?
Answer: ANMER