JOHNA.SEAVERNS

J"^

l/-^

^^viw

Ji^/J>^-^

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

REMINISCENCES

of

BERT DRAGE

Printed and Published by
DAVID GREEN, KETTERING, NORTHANTS.

1955

COPYRIGHT RESERVED

V-zV^X^ X J^il A kJ.

page

Foreword

9

Chapter I. My Family

11

II. Horse Dealing

22

III. Hunting Days

44

IV. Bloodstock and Racing .

60

V. Steeplechasing without

Tears

68

Index

78

ILLUSTRATIONS.

faces

PAGE

Bert Drage

10

Earl Spencer

12

William Drage

14

Polo Group

16

Mary Drage

20

Sam Adams

26

John Drage receiving Cup

28

Capt. Loewenstein

32

Hunting Group

36

Harry Gale

42

Bert Drage, 1931

48

Hunting Group

58

Lord Mildmay and Davey Jones

70

Miss Carter

74

Bert Drage and Sam Adams

76

FOREWORD.

Sir Alfred Munnings in his Autobiography
published in October, 1952, writes :— " Monday,
14th June, 1937. After lunch motored to Chapel

Brampton to the famous Bert Drage

saw his yearlings in some fine pastures

saw some of his hunters. A very interesting old
fellow and young and youthful for his age." ! !

When you have read these reminiscences you
will, I am sure, understand how Munnings felt.
Bert Drage is no different today except 18 years
have rolled on but he does not change. Oct. 1955

THE AUTHOR, 1955, AGED

Chapter I.
MY FAMILY.

I HAVE had a grand life — more hunting than any
man Hving, I should think. I am writing this in
bed (January, 1953). I had a fall about a month
ago and fractured my thigh. I hope to get home
in about two weeks. I have broken so many bones,
but never my thigh before. I have broken my legs
six times, collar-bone twice, ribs, both arms and
pelvis, and cracked my shoulder blade. The
broken pelvis was the worst.

I suppose I ought to give up jumping fences now,
as I have lost my grip and probably I never ought
to have come off. It was down-hill and a blind
ditch on the take-off side. It unfortunately
happened a long way from the road, and they had
to carry me across some very rough fields and then
put me down on the road-side to wait for the
ambulance, and it was raining hard. Not very
pleasant, but I was very fortunate in getting it set
right away by a very, very good surgeon, and he
tells me that I shall be quite sound.

I think I ought to be very thankful for the way I
shall finish my life. I have got a farm of about
350 acres, and I take a great interest in it and I
don't let it worry me. I am out every morning at
seven o'clock and I often have nine holes at golf

11

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

in the week. At Chapel Brampton I very often
play with Phil. Cripps, a great sportsman. Of
course he gives me a great number of strokes. I
ride every day and get a few days' racing. I don't
expect to make much money farming, but it gives
me an interest in life. My farming adviser, Mr.
Messinger, really does all that is important to be
done. I am undecided whether to give up hunting
— I know what I ought to do, and that is just to go
out on the pony and ride quietly about and see my
friends and so get the exercise ; but can I do it ?
I loved popping along and trying to keep near
hounds — I shall see if I can be sensible and do what
I feel is best for me. You see I don't want to
become a cripple.

I was born at Hannington in Northamptonshire.
My father had a farm there and also a lot of grazing
land at Faxton and Mawsley. I had two brothers
and two sisters. I was the second son, and I was
born in October, 1867. My older brother, Francis
Benyon, was about one year older, and my other
brother, John, about two years younger. My
sister, Mary, was about three years younger, and
my sister, Nelly, about thirteen years younger.

We left our farm at Hannington in about 1880,
and my father took a farm at Chapel Brampton,
about four miles from Northampton. It was on
the estate of Earl Spencer and had been occupied
by my mother's brother, John Woods, who had
an auctioneer's business in Northampton. Earl
Spencer was a good landlord and a friend to all

12

THE LATE EARL SPENCER

MY FAMILY

his tenants. It was about 400 acres. Not a good farm,
chiefly arable. My father had one brother, John
Drage, who Uved at a farm about one mile from
Holcot. He had one son and two daughters. The
son, William, was fatally injured by a fall hunting.
He was a very fine rider. He never got a bad fall un-
til about two years before the fatal one. Then, in
those two years, he had a bad fall near Market
Harborough and the following year he got very
badly hurt in jumping some high rails not far from
Cottesbrooke.

I saw it happen, but when he did not get up I
got someone to hold my horse and went to him.
I could see he was in a very bad way and I felt it
was only a matter of minutes before the end, but
as he still held on I got someone to get a conveyance
and I got in it with him expecting the end would
come before we got him home. But it was not to
be so, and we got him to his home. I used to sit
up with him through the night for about a fort-
night. He was quite unconscious, but one morning
before leaving I was talking to the nurse and we
saw him just move an eyelid and he gradually, by
very slow degrees, recovered. But it left him in a
poor way and for a long time he had difficulty in
walking, but by degrees he got so that he could ride
a quiet old pony and then he started to go out
hunting in a quiet way. One day he was tempted
to jump a little fence, but there was sheep netting
at the back of it and this gave him a terrible fall

13

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

from which he never recovered. He was taken
home, but he died in about a week.

All my relations had been fond of horses and
hunting. When we came to live at Brampton my
brother John and myself used to ride into North-
ampton Grammar School. My brother Frank
went to the Wellingborough Grammar School.
Later on he left, and John and I went to the same
school. I was very happy there and very proud
to get into the football team. We played soccer,
and I remember I played inside forward. I really
was not much good, but the man on the outside
left was very good and he made use of me when he
was in difficulties. I was very keen on the game.
I think John left a little before I did.

My father financed the auctioneer business built
up by my Uncle John Woods who died, and his
son, Cecil Woods, then carried on with the
business. When my brother John left school my
father put him into the business, but he did not
like it and so remained on my father's farm. When
I left school I was put into the auctioneer business
that my brother John had given up. I kept on for
about a year and then I gave it up and stayed at
home to help on my father's farm.

When my father died very suddenly in 1902, I
found we had got over 1,000 acres of land to con-
tend with. I was very fortunate in getting different
people to take over all the outlying portions, and
then I felt I would try to find someone to manage

14

WILLIAM DRAGE of HOLCOT

MY FAMILY

the 700 acres remaining. Failing this, I felt the
best thing to do would be to keep only the 350
acres of the home farm on which we carried on our
horse dealing, and which I felt we could manage
without it taking too much time from our business —
which really was the most important, and which
we had gradually built up.

I knew there was a man named Messenger who
was helping a farmer living not far from us, and I
knew he came of a respected family and I thought
he would be just the man we wanted if he would
care to take it on. I had never actually met him,
but I got in touch with him and he came to see me
and we went all round the farm. I said : " Well,
there it is — I don't expect you to make a lot of
money, but do you think you could take it on and
make us a reasonable profit ? My father has
always done so and there is money to carry it on."
I remember I rather liked his reply. He said :
" All right. If you like to take me I will do my
best for you." And so we came to terms and he
was with us for about 20 years when he got killed
in crossing the railway. His brother, Richard,
was at that time farming at Holdenby, and he
carried on for us in his place, and still continues
to-day. We were very lucky to have such
practical and capable and honest men to look after
out farming interests.

As I have related, I had two brothers. My
older brother was so different to John or myself.

15

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

He had no idea of the value of money spent freely.
He went to the vet. college and very soon qualified.
Then he was taken on as assistant Veterinary Surg-
eon at Windsor, but soon left and joined as V.S. to
the 10th in Ireland. I forget how long he was with
them, but not very long, I think. He left and came
back to join The Blues in London, and I believe he
was with them about 20 years. They were all very
keen on hunting and polo. My brother was a good
rider, but not so desperately keen about hunting.
I think he played polo for the regiment.

I remember having a match with The Blues at
Rugby. We played on the handicap. I think
their side was Colonel Harrison, Geoffrey Bowlby,
Lord Alastair Innes Ker and Lord Algernon
Gordon Lennox. Our side was we three brothers
and Dick Farmer. At about half-time we were
well ahead, and they complained of the handicap,
so I said : " All right, we will finish the match
playing level." We won. L think we each had
£5 on with the opposing player. I always felt
I was quite a help to our side as I think my handicap
was only about three, and I felt I could do such
good work by interferring with the opposing back.
John was a very good sound player.

My polo came to a sudden end in 1928. I was
playing at Rugby and I had a fall and was knocked
out. They took me to the Rugby hospital, but I
understood they would not take me in as I
apparently seemed all right. Anyhow, they sent me

16

u

MY FAMILY

home and I had to go to bed for several days. I have
several times been concussed. Once out hunting
with the Cottesmore. They v^^ent away on the far
side of Ouston Wood, and going down the first
field my horse put his foot in a hole, and when I
came round I found I was in a bed at Somerby.

My eldest brother, Frank, had two sons and a
daughter. The eldest son was a fine fellow. Very
good looking, a good rider and polo player, but he
had an incurable disease and died when he was
about 38. He married a daughter of Mr. Hames of
Somerby. They have a daughter Elizabeth and now
live at Ashwell. My brother's second son was
killed in a motor accident in America. The
daughter Betty was a charming girl. She married
a very nice fellow from Kansas City. Betty used
often to come and stay with us, and the husband
would come over too. He was very keen on
fiying, and would hire a plane over here and fly
about.

The first time I went up I had been playing polo
at Rugby and he flew me home. I think I must
have been very frightened, as I never went up again.
I was to have flown home once from Biarritz, but
I really was glad when the pilot refused to go up
as the visibility was bad.

To return to my niece and her husband. She,
as I said, stayed a good deal with us, but after her
last visit she returned to America and her husband
met her in New York to fly home to Kansas City.

17

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

Cut the plane caught a high tension wire and they
were both killed, so the whole family were wiped
out except the mother who still lives in America.
She comes over to stay with us about once a year.
She is an exceptionally nice woman.

My brother John Drage married Nellie Argyle
from Staffordshire about 1900 and was very happily
married. They had three daughters, Violet, Maie
and Susan. Maie and Susan followed hounds and
in their childhood often rode green horses straight
from the train from Ireland and became very keen
on hunting and went well. They are all married
and their children, who are now growing up, can be
seen out with the Pytchley Hounds. Violet,
during the last war, took over the management of
her husband's farms at Moulton and made a very
good job of it, and has enjoyed it so much that she
has kept an interest in agriculture ever since and
is a good judge of cattle. Susan worked for the
W.V.S., during the war and became County
Organiser with her sister Maie helping her. She did
a wonderful job feeding the agricultural workers
in the rural areas of the county as the W.V.S.
representative and received grateful thanks from
all the local authorities, Ministry of Food and
Agricultural Executive Committee at the end of war.
She even managed to show a financial surplus and,
a committee was formed and the money
used to purchase and endow a home
for old people in Northamptonshire. This home

18

MY FAMILY

was Blessed by the Bishop of Peterborough and
opened by the Duchess of Gloucester and is
flourishing today. These three nieces have pro-
duced between them four boys and three girls and I
must say that Alison, Belinda and Georgina do not
disappoint me, either in looks or riding.

My brother John died September, 1950. I am
afraid the last few years of his life had not brought
him much happiness. He was so crippled with
arthritis, and during the last year his eyesight
failed him. I miss him very much. You see we
started life together and did everything together —
business, hunting, polo and golf, and we never had
any serious quarrel. He bore his troubles with
great courage and patience, and no one ever heard
him complain. I think I am the only one of the
family left. John was a fine horseman and no one
could ride or show championship horses better.
He also was very fond of golf.

In 1919, after the war, I remember I said to him
that, as he and Dick Farmer were both married
and therefore had more expenses than I had, if
they liked I would hand my share of the business
over to them, and I was prepared to give my whole
time and attention to the business on the under-
standing that I lived free of all expenses at the
Grange. I hoped and thought that by doing this
they would take the business more seriously, and
that with my free help that they would do well.
I found myself working just as hard as ever. You

19

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

see I never had any desire for great wealth. I had
made and saved all the money I wanted. In
making this change I felt it would relieve me of a
lot of the responsibility, and that it would sort of
buck them up, but I found I had made a mistake.
You see the success of the business was, and had
been for 50 years, my chief ambition.

I made a big financial mistake once. My brother
Frank, through his wife's relations, owned a fair-
sized coalfield not far from Kansas City. Money
was needed to develop it, and my brother finally
persuaded me, much against my will, to let him
have a very considerable sum of money. I think
it was about ;£ 10,000. I told him I thought it was
very foolish and that I would promise to help him
with a sufficient income to enable him to live
comfortably, but if he had this money that he asked
for to work the coalfield I should feel I had done
all he could expect of me. They built some
miners' cottages and got it working, but it ended in
a failure. I have been very lucky in recent years,
as my niece married Sir Hardman Earle, a stock-
broker whose sound advice has done me very
well.

My dear old mother died about 18 years ago.
I was terribly cut up. She was beloved by every-
one. My sister saw what trouble I was in, and
after the funeral took me back with her to London
for a week.

I attend church every Sunday morning. I am,

20

MARY DRAGE, MY MOTHER

MY FAMILY

and have been churchwarden for a good many
years.

21

Chapter II.
HORSE-DEALING.

As a young man, I was very keen on hunting and
was very upset when my father told us that we
could not hunt on the opening day. I had so
looked forward to it. As a result of this I decided
to leave farming with my father. I agreed with
my brother to try to work up a business in selling
hunters and thereby get into the hunting field.

I had somehow saved about £100 and I said if
we went broke I should try to get a whipper-in job.
I was determined to hunt. Anyhow, we were
very lucky. We bought two horses with the ;£100
and sold them pretty quickly for £300. We went
to work very carefully and made about £1,000
the first year.

My father would not give us any capital, but he
gave the Bank a guarantee for £1,000. He also
gave up some of the farm premises which we
converted into stabling. I worked very hard
in those days, travelled about to buy horses. I
would go to Yorkshire on the 6 p.m. train every
other week. I bought some very good horses
out of the Sinnington country. I got to know
Bob Colling, who was a jockey in the North and
who was very good in going round with me and
introducing me to a lot of hunting farmers. Then

22

HORSE-DEALING

I was recommended to get in touch with a Mr.
Arthur Topham who Uved in York. So one
evening I went to see him. I so well remember
seeing him sitting in an armchair by the fire. I
rang the bell, and we had a good talk. I arranged
to pay all his expenses and to take a house in Dublin
and give him a good salary if he would go and live
over there and buy all the good horses he could.
He agreed. I had found it too hard work and
very difficult to do from England, and I was
wanted too much at home.

I remember one very enjoyable week I had. I
crossed to Ireland on the Sunday and hunted there
three days. But I heard the frost was going in
England so I got back to Dublin on the Wednesday
night and crossed over to England. I forgot to
wire my brother that I was coming, so there was
nothing to meet me at Northampton. I had to
walk home. I found my brother had arranged to
take two horses and hunt in Warwickshire, so I
went with him. We boxed to Daventry and had
quite a good day, but when we got back to Daventry
we found our box had been sent away, so we had to
ride home. It was about 20 miles from where we
left off. The next day I hunted with the Quorn,
and with the Cottesmore on the Saturday. A
pretty strenuous week.

As things went on, I felt that my brother needed
some help in our growing business. A young
friend of mine, Richard Farmer, was living on the

23

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

adjoining farm helping his uncle. He was a fine
rider and much liked by everyone, and he agreed
to join us. I felt that one of us ought to get more
in touch with people hunting in Leicestershire,
so I took some stabling just outside John Gaunt
station. Eventually I bought the stabling together
with the house. I used to hunt three or four days
a week there, and the other days with the Pytchley,
and so got in touch with some very good customers.
I never stayed at John Gaunt. I used to go down
each morning by train and back at night. It was
pretty strenuous work as the horses I had to ride
there were chiefly horses recently over from
Ireland, and then I had letters to write and things
to arrange. So it was after eight o'clock before I
got to the Red House where I lived, and then I had
to be up at the Grange early the next morning.
I was not physically very strong, but I was wiry and
fit, and I just loved the hunting. I think I liked
the Cottesmore country the best. I felt I could
hold my own better in that country than in the
Quorn or Fernie.

A great friend of mine. Major Hughes Onslow,
gave me a very good tip. He said : " Let your
horse gallop on down the hills, and don't hurry him
up the hills." It was a hilly country and I found
his advice was very helpful.

About that time I felt I should have to make a
change with our buyer in Ireland, Mr. Topham.
When I hunted from John Gaunt I came across two

24

HORSE-DEALING

brothers both dealing in hunters in a quiet way.
They were William and Harry Gale. I felt they
would not be too pleased to see me open up in their
country. I felt it might be a friendly and wise
thing to do if I bought a horse or two from them.

I felt that Harry Gale was just the man we wanted
to live in Ireland and buy horses for us. I asked
him if he would care to come for an outing with
me to the Dublin Show. I said : " Of course, I
will pay all expenses." When we got to the show
I said : " Now, you look round and, if you see a
horse that you really like, you just buy him without
trying to consult me, or you may lose him." He
soon found one and said : " I've bought you a
horse." Not long afterwards, he came to me and
told me he had sold him again at a good profit,
and so I determined to try to arrange with him to
go and live and be our buyer in Ireland. I can
honestly say it was the best day's work I ever did.

It was not a very pleasant job breaking this news
to Mr. Topham, but I made him a good present
of a substantial sum and I undertook to put him
back in York free of all expense to him. I told
him that, if he liked to act as our agent in the north
of England, I would give him a good commission
on all he found for me, but he felt that he would
rather stay in Ireland and do a little on his own
account. It ended disastrously for him as I felt
sure it would, and he eventually came back to me
and acted as our clerk.

25

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

I was also very fortunate in my head man — Sam
Adams. I could not possibly have had anyone
better. It was funny how I came across him. He
was working for a butcher in Northampton who had
a pretty good horse he wanted to sell. He sent
Sam out on him for me to try with hounds. I
told Sam not to jump my horse, but just quietly
to ride him behind and keep him fresh for me to
ride when I had tried his horse. But I found Sam
was not doing as I told him, but was joining in the
hunt, so I pulled back and lectured him, but all I
could get out of him was : " All right, sir." But
it had no effect. I bought the horse and I took
on Sam.

About that time (1885) we had six or seven
horses stabled in rough boxes at the field barn.
Sam did them all himself and lived in the barn.
I put a cooking stove in and made it as comfortable
as I could for him. I soon found out that Sam's
horses were better done than were our 20 best
horses at home and, against my brother's advice,
I had Sam away from the barn and put him in
charge of all our horses in the stables. I realised
it was a bit risky putting this young man as head of
all the others, but they soon realised that I meant
it to be so, and it was a very great success.

Our horse dealing business grew to be one of
the biggest hunter and polo businesses. When

26

HORSE-DEALING

the 1914 first world war broke out, we had close
on 120 horses and polo ponies and were
owed about ,£90,000. I remember on

the Sunday I had been, I think, to Weedon. On
my way back I came across Colonel Alexander,
who was secretary to the Pytchley Hunt at that
time, and he said : "I don't know if you are aware
of it, Bert, but I happen to know that the army
buyer has orders to come to you directly war is
declared and to get as many horses as he can find
in your stables." So, in order to be prepared, I
had the rugs taken off all the most valuable horses,
and turned them out. I got in a good many that,
for various reasons, were not so valuable. I also
went round the countryside and got together all I
could from various people. I remember the
buyer turning up, without any warning, but, very
fortunately, I was ready for him.

The buyer was Colonel McKie. No nicer or
more capable man could they have found. I
think he took 68 that time, and I so well remember
that when he had seen 10 or 12 which were sent
out to him for inspection he suddenly turned to
me and said : " When are you going to show me
some of your own, Bert .'* " I hardly knew what
to say to that. Anyhow, it went off all right, and
I remember my brother seeming very depressed
when he saw them go down to the station. I said :
" I don't feel like that about it, John. Suppose

27

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

you could have them all back, what on earth could
we do with them ? " I think we were about
£3,000 losers over it.

We had some very good horses left, and sold
them privately very well. I had a good order to
find the Cheshire Hunt horses, and then we sent
a good many to America.

Dick Farmer, joined up, and John volunteered
but did not pass and I wrote to the War
Office offering my services in the various
horse depots. But they wrote back and said the
way we could help them best was to collect all the
suitable horses we could and give the buyer a show
as often as we could. Of course, it just suited
us, and we must have sold hundreds of horses and
cobs and draught horses.

I set several capable fellows to work to help to
find them, and I got Gale over from Ireland, too.
The place was full of horses, and they were tied
up all round the cattle yards too, and a lot in the
fields.

We had visits from various army buyers, and it is
gratifying to know that we never got censured for
anything that we sold. Directly we could see that
the war could not last much longer, we set to work
to buy again, as I knew what a good demand there
would be for hunters.

I took exception to the way two of our customers
behaved. They wanted to return horses bought
by them during the summer to hunt in the winter.
This, I thought, was very unfair to me, as my

28

HORSE-DEALING

business was finished and it was impossible to say
if it w^ould ever revive. One was Lord Castlereagh,
and the horse he wanted to send back was a horse
he had bought for Lady Castlereagh. He said it
was a very poor performer and no use to Lady
Castlereagh. He had mounted two or three of
his friends on the horse, and that was their opinion.
I did not w^ant to have a row, and suggested that,
in fairness to me, I should go down and have a day
with the Cottesmore on him. I went to stay the
night with Mr. Strawbridge, who was then Master
of the Cottesmore, so that I should be on the spot
for the next day. We had a very good hunt. I was
careful not to take on anything too big at first,
but when I got him going he carried me brilliantly,
and I remember Lady Castlereagh coming up to
me and saying : "I shall never send that horse
back." So that ended well.

Then I sold a horse to an American hunting
in the Duke of Beaufort's country. He wrote to
me that the horse was no good to him and that
he wanted to return him. I said before you do this
I will come dow^n and have a hunt on him. I
remember I went to stay with the Rev. Jack Gibbs,
a well-known sporting parson. Again I went very
carefully to w^ork, and only took on small places.
But the horse soon regained confidence and
carried me the best. You see he had not hunted
in a stone wall country before, and my client had

29

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

let him refuse. Anyhow, he kept him and Hked
him very much afterwards.

I had a rather interesting episode with the late
Lord Lonsdale. There was only one way to do
business with him, and that was to let him do just
what he liked ! It was all a bit difficult, but
worth doing. I remember once the fox went to
ground at Exton. I was riding a good grey horse,
and I felt I should like to try to sell him to Lord
Lonsdale. He was watching them dig the fox
out, and I rode up to him and said how very much
obliged I would be if he would just sit on my
horse and tell me what weight he was up to, as,
being a very light-weight, I did not feel quite
competent to say. He said : " Very well," and got
on him and rode him for a short time, then said
he was not up to his weight. I thanked him
very much, and said all I wanted to know was what
weight he was up to, so that I should know who to
recommend him to. Anyhow, that evening I had
a message from Barley Thorpe telling me to send
the horse to his stables. He was a great success.

I also remember having a wonderful hunt with
the Cottesmore. I was riding a thoroughbred
horse that we bred. He had not done much
hunting, so I went very cautiously with him until
he got confidence. We killed the fox near to
Burrough, and that night I had a message from
Barley Thorpe to send the horse to Lord Lonsdale's
stables there. I told the man to tell Lord Lonsdale

30

HORSE-DEALING

that I would do so if he wished, but that I was
afraid he would be disappointed with the horse.
He sent word back that he had watched the horse,
and that I was to send him.

I had some very good customers in those days.
I suppose Mr. Harry Whitney was about the best.
I had an order from him to find about 30 horses
for himself and his friends who were coming over
for a season's hunting. I felt sure price would not
matter, but I knew he would be very disappointed
if the horses did not carry him and his friends well.
None of them had ever hunted in England, and
they were not very good riders, so I set out to buy
all the best and well-hunted horses I could find.
I think they were well satisfied. I remember
giving ;£500 for one magnificent horse, and when I
sent in my bill I put him down at ;£500. I did not
feel I could ask for any profit on him, as he was
terribly dear but I knew he would carry any of
them well.

Mr. Whitney was out on him one day and so was
the man I bought him off. He went up to Mr.
Whitney and said : " I see you are on the good
horse I sold to Drage. I wonder what he charged
you for him ? " Mr. Whitney said : "I guess
that is hardly a fair question, but I will tell you
what I gave if you will tell me what Drage gave
you." Mr. Whitney told me all this, and it did
me a lot of good.

One of the best friends I ever had, and also one

31

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

of my best customers, was Captain Alfred
Loewenstein. He bought every horse he had off
me and paid good prices. He was a rich Belgian
financier. I got to know him in this way. I bought
two very good horses at Tattersalls, and someone
told him of this and so he came down to Brampton
and bought them. I found for him a very nice
house and stabling and a small farm at Thorpe
Satchville on the border of the Quorn and
Cottesmore about three miles from my stables at
John Gaunt. He and Major Burnaby, the future
Master of the Quorn, became great friends.

Poor Alfred Loewenstein had a sad end. He
fell out of a plane fiying back to Belgium. This
happened on a Wednesday. On the previous
Sunday, he rang me up to say he was quite alone at
Thorpe Satchville and would be glad if I would go
and spend the day with him. I found him all
dressed for riding, lying on his bed. We spent the
day together riding about, and in the evening I
left him and he went to dine with Major Burnaby.
The next day he came to Brampton and spent the
day with me on his way to London and on the
Wednesday the tragedy occurred.

I felt his death very, very much. I liked him so
much apart from all the advice he gave me
financially. I remember so well that he said to
me when riding round that he wondered why he
went on with his big financial schemes as he at that
time could have packed up with about £16 millions.

32

Capt. LOEWENSTEIN

HORSE-DEALING

Of course, after his death all his interests slumped
to about eight millions. He was very, very kind to
me, and we became close friends. He had a little
steeple-chase course made at Thorpe Satchville,
and we very often used to compete over this. He
had a very charming wife, and a boy named Bobbie
— both dead. Bobbie was killed flying.

We had another pretty good customer in Sir Henri
Deterding. He was head of Shell Mex. One
morning in the winter my brother and I were
having breakfast and there was a tap on the door
and, on opening it, I saw a short man, not very
smartly dressed, with leggings round his trousers.
He wanted to know if I had any hunters to see,
so I went round with him and showed him two
or three that I said I wanted £150 and £\20 for.
Then he asked me if I could not show him some-
thing better. I suddenly felt this man might be a
millionaire in disguise, so I asked him if he would
give me ;£500 for a horse, and he said he should
like to see him. I suppose the fact of me wanting
so much made him feel he must be a very good
horse. Anyhow, he bought him and took him
to hunt in Kent. He was a very good horse, but
no earthly use to him. He was a thoroughbred
horse called Sprinkle Me, and hit his fences rather
low.

I soon heard from Sir Henri. He was very angry,
and said that he had been told that we were a very
respectable and reliable firm of dealers, etc., etc.

33

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

I replied that I was very sorry he was disappointed,
but that I did not know just what he wanted.
If he would come up again I would do my best to
fit him out with a horse that should suit him. So
he came up, and I had a very suitable horse for
him that I had bought in the Pytchley country —
short tail black horse, easy to ride and a very good
jumper. So we changed over, and it made a
friend and a very good customer for life. He
had two sons. One of them lives and farms near
Daventry.

I remember so well having a talk with Sir Henri,
and I said I thought he was making a great mistake
in putting his son to work in London. I told
him : " When you started. Sir Henri, I suppose
you had not much money and had to work in the
city. Now that you are a very rich man, what
object is there in spoiling your son's life making
him do something that he is not cut out for .'' "

The son was very fond of country life and sport,
and I found him a good farm and a good house.
I am sure he would tell you he has been very happy
there. He was keen on race-riding and won quite
a few steeplechases. He bought a horse from me
that I think he won two races on in one day at
Norwich. What with hunting, racing, polo, golf
and farming, and a charming wife, I am sure he
has had a very happy life.

Major Burnaby was a very good customer of
mine. When he took the Quorn he got me to find

34

HORSE-DEALING

all the horses and fodder, and a good stud groom.
He was a charming man, and very much liked by
everyone. He often made us laugh when con-
trolling the field. I remember one day he called
out : " Gently, ladies ! please let the good-looking
ones go on, and the others more quietly." I
remember, too, him calling out to a Major Johnson :
" Hold hard ! please, you go so well and get too
near the hounds, and, naturally, all the ladies try
to follow you."

That reminds me of an incident one day when I
was out with the Oakley. A member of the hunt,
who rather prided himself on being a hard rider,
was called to order by the Master, Mr. Esme
Arkwright. " Hold hard there," he called out.
** Nothing stops you only a fair sized fence." This,
before all the field, hurt the rider's feelings very
much.

I once had a very lucky deal. I bought a pony
that I saw in a pony cart going along the road.
I liked the look of him, and got the owner to
bring him up to the stables and I had a ride and
gave him ^£40 for him. He turned out an ex-
ceptionally good polo pony, and I sold him for
;f 700 the same year.

We had a lot of very good customers, among them
Lord Annaly for himself and the Hunt servants.
I must mention another of them, Mr. Merthyr
Guest who had the Blackmore Vale. I found the
horses for himself and his wife and all the Hunt.

35

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

It was not easy, as the horses had to be all greys.
I used to go down and stay with them, and we
drove a pair of grey horses to the meet. The old
gentleman nearly always was smoking a short clay
pipe. I once paid £500 for a horse for him.

I remember he wired to me to go and buy him
the best horse I could going up for sale at the
Leicester repository. I wired back : What was
the most I was to give ? " "He wired back :
" Refer to my telegram." So I bought this horse
sent up by Mr. R. C. Swan. Mr. Swan was very
annoyed with me. He did not want this particular
horse to be sold, so he put ;£500 on him as he felt
sure no one would go to that."

The late King George VI. was a very good
customer, and no one could have been more kind
or considerate. He was not what you would call
a hard rider, but he was a very good horseman and
went quite well. I remember there was a brown
mare which I sold him that would occasionally
refuse with him. He said to me : " You have a
day on her." She carried me awfully well. It did
not need a particularly good rider to keep her
straight, but, you see, I knew the mare and had
little trouble with her.

I remember we rode back together to Naseby
Wooleys, where he was hunting from, and our pre-
sent Queen, Elizabeth then a little girl, came to see
us dismount. She asked me if the mare was going
to have her pudding, as the groom was giving the

36

HORSE-DEALING

mare her mash. We went in, and the Duchess of
York, now Queen Mother poured out tea for us. I
remember so well her asking the Duke of York,
how the brown mare went. He said : " Why,
of course, she went all right." Anyhow, I thought
it best to take her back, and sent him another in
her place.

I was very sorry indeed when the King gave
up hunting. I wrote to the King and told him
that, if it would help, I would keep two or three
really good hunters for him, and that all he would
have to do would be to let me know when he
wanted to hunt and I would have the horse at the
meet. He wrote me a charming letter to say how
much he appreciated my offer and how sorry he
was he could not accept it. I have several letters
from him and books he gave me with his best
wishes which I prize very highly.

Here are some letters which he wrote and which
express his sorrow at giving up hunting.

145, Piccadilly,

W.l.

May 12th, 1931.

Dear Drage,

I was sorry not to have had another chance of
seeing you before I left Thornby, as I wanted to
have a talk with you about the brown mare. But
seeing that I had not a chance I am sending you a
cheque for ** Hildebrand " with the hope that you

37

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

will send me a cheque soon for the brown mare
when you have disposed of her. It is such a pity
she turned out so badly after all our hopes, as apart
from that one fault she is perfect.

I have got all the horses turned out now at
Windsor and I hope that '* Hildebrand " will look
something different next season (if there is one).

Yours sincerely,

(Signed) : — Albert.

Glamis Castle,

Glamis,
Scotland.

September 17th, 1931.

Dear Drage,

Thank you for your letter and for your kind
suggestion re my hunting this year. I fear that
it will not be possible, and I must tell you the
tragic news that I am going to sell all my horses
at Leicester on October 31st. It is a very sad
for me as I do really enjoy my hunting, and after
all you have done for me it seems such an ungracious
thing to do. But facts are facts and I must do it.
I will send you my card giving particulars when it
is printed, and you may perhaps know of some
possible buyers of really tried out horses.

I shall miss my hunting more than I can say

38

HORSE-DEALING

and this winter will be a long and depressing one
for me.

Again so many thanks for your kind suggestion.

Yours very sincerely,

(Signed) : — Albert.

Sandringham,

Norfolk.

10th January, 1952.

My dear Mr. Drage,

The King wishes me to thank you sincerely for
your kind letter, which he much appreciates ; also
for your good wishes for 1952 which His Majesty
warmly reciprocates.

Yours very truly,

(Signed) : — A. Lascelles.

Herbert Drage, Esq.,
Chapel Brampton,
Northampton.

I must relate a very pleasant experience I
had at Newmarket, in 1950. It was on
the July Course. I was in the enclosure, and saw
rather a crowd of people coming along. I saw
that it was the King and Queen, and so we all
stood back to let them pass. But he caught sight
of me, and beckoned to me, and both he and the
Queen shook hands with me. I said how honoured

39

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

I felt that he should do this. ** Oh I " he said,
" I like to meet my old friends."

When I was very young, I rode down to Kelmarsh
several times to take a horse out hunting with the
Fernie Hounds. He belonged to Mr. R. C. Naylor.
He was Master of the Pytchley for a few years.
I was to try to sell the horse, and I was to have all
I could make over £300. As I said, I was very
young and inexperienced, and really had no earthly
chance of making £300 of the horse, but I was
keen and, anyhow, enjoyed hunting on the horse.

I once got up very early in the morning to go out
with the Quorn cub hunting. I had arranged to
try a horse that belonged to, I think, the present
Lord Radnor. The then Lady Helena Fitzwilliam
had arranged it all. I liked the horse very much,
but I found that he was a slight whistler. So I
told Lady Helena that she must reduce the price.
Funny that I should remember her reply. She
said Lord Radnor was adamant about that being
the lowest price, so I had to give it, and he turned
out very well and paid us a good profit.

I think it was in the year the war broke out in 1939
that there was going to be a change in the Mastership
of the Quorn. The present Lord Beatty had
agreed to be Master. I remember we stood
together as hounds were drawing Ashby pasture.
Lord Beatty was telling me that he would like to
rely on me to find all the Hunt horses. They
found a fox and, early in the hunt, Lord Beatty

40

HORSE-DEALING

had a very bad fall, and that ended the idea of him
becoming Master.

During several seasons' hunting, we kept the
horses that we had sold to Michael Beary and
Fred Lane, and they hunted them from my place.
Beary was a first-class man to hounds. We used
to have quite a number of people in for tea after
hunting. Their horses were stabled either with
us or nearby. I was out hunting on two occasions
when there were fatal falls. One of them was
Hugh Owen, who was killed jumping a fence not
far from Harborough. I was to have gone next.
The other was one day when I was out with the
Grafton. I forget the name of the rider, but the
horse fell right on top of him and, before we could
release him, he was dead.

Two further incidents occurred in my life —
both connected with the late Lord Beatty. One
relates to a horse I sold him, which he had a fall
on when jumping a fence in cold blood. When
he fell, the horse kicked him and fractured his jaw.

The other little incident happened one day when
hunting with the Quorn. Hounds had gone along
by the railway, and the field all stood crowded under
the bridge. Then the huntsman wanted to come
through, and, of course, the field made way for him.
I tried to slip in behind him, but Lord Beatty
drew across me and, in a very jocular voice, said :
" No you don't, Bert."

We had some other amusing incidents connected
with our business. We once sold a horse to

41

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

Col. Lawson, but he rang up to say he wanted to
return him as he had a hunt on him and could not
get on with him. So he sent him back. He
then came up and tried several horses, and this
one among them. He liked him and bought him
again ! He didn't recognise him as the horse he
had returned. When he got the horse to his
stables his groom said : " Why, you have bought
him back, master ! "

Once we sold a horse to a Colonel Colman.
It was the same horse that Colonel Colman had
been to see in Norfolk. I remember selling a
horse to a Captain Allfrey, and about the same time
one to Lord Cowley. They both said the horses
were no good, so I took them back and I sold the
horse returned by Lord Cowley to Captain Allfrey,
and the one returned by Captain Allfrey to Lord
Cowley. When they met out hunting, they said
to each other : " Why, that is the rotten horse I
returned to Drage ! " Anyhow, they were both
well-satisfied, and, when arguing with each other
about the respective horses, they made a match over
the country near to Adam Gorse. It was a very
good race, and I forget which won — only by a few
lengths.

I have just read an account of the death of
Mr. Cecil Sanders. He used to ride over from
his home at Wollaston to hunt our horses with the
Pytchley. He did them a lot of good, as he was a
fine rider and went so well to hounds.

Another hunting man who I mounted about

42

HORSE-DEALING

two days a week in Leicestershire was Phillip
Hubbersty. He lived about six miles from my
stable at John Gaunt and hunted every Tuesday
and most Saturdays with the Cottesmore. He was
a very good man over a country.

A very sad thing happened a few months ago —
the death of Harry Gale. I had known him a
great many years, and he worked for us buying
horses in Ireland. I could not possibly have had
a better man — so capable, so absolutely honest.
I had the greatest admiration for him. He had
not an enemy in the world, and he had a host of
friends. He had lived in Northampton after leaving
Ireland, and he always came over to pay me a visit
two or three times a week.

Again I was very lucky in having such a good
girl, Miss Marriott, in the office. You could not
improve on her in any respect — so intelligent and
capable, and so nice to everyone, rich and poor
alike.

Show Horses.

Alarm John Peel

Brampton All Gold

Red Eagle King Edward

Chatterbox Bridge

Miss Peel Chatterbox II.

Red Shanks Wood Pigeon II.

Wood Pigeon

43

Chapter III.
HUNTING DAYS. 1885-1953

During the course of my life I must have hunted
with a dozen or more Packs of Hounds in many
parts of England and Ireland and I call to mind the
admiration I have felt for Huntsmen. They are a
brave race of men and I would like to say that I
think the most outstanding ones wefe Frank
Freeman and Tom Firr. Huntsmen such as Leaf,
Agutter, Laurence and Gilson were in the top
class, but, at the present time, Stanley Barker is
hunting his hounds as well as Frank Freeman
before him. He has great patience, is a good
huntsman and has a steady nerve — all these
attributes are very necessary to make a good
huntsman. Stanley is deservedly one of the most
popular Huntsmen in the history of hunting I
should guess.

Among the many good hunts I enjoyed was one
from Sanders covert in the Pytchley country.
They went away straight down to the Spratton
brook. A Mr. Walton, who was hunting from
Weedon, went at it, but the horse jumped short
and he went in. I was about 18 at that time but
very keen. I was riding a horse belonging to a
Mr. Phillips who was hunting from Harlestonc.
I had a go and got over with a peck. John shouted

44

HUNTING DAYS

to me : '* What shall I do ? " He was riding a
four-year-old, a very good young horse. I said :
" Send him at it, John ! " He jumped it
brilliantly. The whole field had galloped off to the
Merry Tom crossing, and so John and myself were
alone with hounds. I remember I was so excited,
and did not pull up quite soon enough and so
jumped a gate going on towards Spratton. Then
they turned left, and ran on to Holdenby. No one
with us.

Another very good hunt I had all to myself was
one day with the Quorn. I was riding a very good
horse of Captain Loewenstein's. They found at
Prince of Wales' covert. I had the luck to get over
a very nasty fence which the field had passed by,
and so I was alone with hounds for quite a long
time. I don't really know why it should give one
such pleasure to be alone with hounds. Hunting
was grand in those days — no wire about.

Brother John was a very fine rider and went
awfully well in his younger days. My sister was
very good, too. She married Sydney Loder in '18
and they always took a house in Market
Harborough and hunted with three or four packs
throughout the season. Her nephew, Giles Loder,
was very keen, too, and went well to hounds.
Both my sister and John were especially good on
horses that wanted driving at their fences. I did
better on a hot horse.

I had some rare fun hunting in America —

45

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

especially on Long Island. I had the riding of all
Mr. Whitney's horses which he had bought of me.
I remember once being out with Meadow Brook
drag hounds. The fences were all made of strong
high timber. My horse had carried me brilliantly,
but at this fence he took off a bit too soon, turned
over, and gave me a bad fall. When I regained
consciousness I was in a bed in a hotel in New York.

I enjoyed other hunts in America where they
had what they call snake fences .In Long Island I
found these snake fences about 4ft. 6 inches
made of timber posts and covered fencing erect-
ed at right angles so that in taking off to jump,
your horse must go either to left or right — not very
nice on hard going ! People over there
were most kind to me. I stayed a good deal with
Mr. Strawbridge. I returned to England with a
lot of orders for horses.

Another good gallop I had from Brampton's
Fox covert. It was in the cub hunting time. I
was going to cross to America that day, but I felt I
should like to go out for an hour or two. They
found at once, and ran hard and straight to Crank
and killed him. I galloped straight home and
changed. My things were packed, and so I was
able to catch the train at Rugby for Liverpool.

Another good hunt I must record from Sanders
covert was right at the end of the season, and very
late in the afternoon. They found at once, but
came away towards Brampton, so I felt that was

46

HUNTING DAYS

the end. I had just turned for home when I
heard a holla away on the far side, so I started off
with them and they ran hard and straight to, I
think it was, Elkington. Anyhow, it was getting
dusk when I pulled up at Cold Ashby. I rode such
a good young horse, and sold him to Major
Macdonald Buchanan. Sanders covert was a certain
find in those days, and I remember three good
hunts from there to Scotland Wood.

I once enjoyed a hunt very much from Hardwick
Wood. They came away over the road and ran
down towards the Red House, Hannington. I
got the best of the start, but I came to a gate that
I could not open. The field came tearing down,
and I remember Lord Spencer said : " If you
can't open it, let me come." Of course, I ought
to have got off and opened it for him, but I had
caught sight of the fence on the right as I came
down to the gate, and so I just jumped the fence
and went on alone with hounds.

They caught me up at Gibb Wood, and I
remember Lord Spencer taking off his hat as he
galloped by and said : " Thank you very much."
Captain Bay Middleton was just behind him.
He was very red in the face and shouted at me. I
remember Lady Frederick was dining at his house
that night, and she told me what Captain Middleton
said, and how he had given me a bit of his mind.
He was a fine rider, but he broke his neck riding
in a point-to-point.

47

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

A very good hunt was from Lilbourne, and
hounds ran straight and fast across the old Rugby
racecourse and beyond Ashby St. Ledgers 8 mile
point. I pulled up there as I had promised to go
with my nephew Charles to see some horses near
Manchester.

I had a very bad fall in 1894. I was riding a
horse of Sir James Fenders. It was late in the day
when they found a fox below Welford, and they ran
bearing right over the Welford road towards Sulby.
I came to a fence with a wide ditch in front, and
one had to pop over the ditch on to a bank and
then over the fence. I thought my horse was
doing it perfectly, but something held him and he
came right down on top of me. They killed the
fox just close to where I lay. They carried me
across the field and put me in one of the old four-
wheel cabs and took me to a house in Welford
where a hunting man lived whose name I cannot
remember. But what I do remember was how
very kind they were. My mother came over and
used to sit up or be in the bedroom with me.
I was there about two weeks when they took me
home by ambulance and I was in bed the whole
winter. This happened the first Wednesday in
November.

I stuck it all right until one morning when my
brother looked in as usual, all dressed for hunting.
I completely broke down, as I felt I should never
hunt again. I remember they gave me some

48

HUNTING DAYS

champagne, and that cheered me up. I lay awake
one night, and I heard the doctor talking to my
mother, who was sitting by the fire. I heard him
say to my mother : " He shan't die for the want
of attention, Mrs. Drage." Not very pleasant for
me to hear. Then, one morning, I opened a
letter directed to my brother, offering sympathy
at my death. Funny how one remembers these
things.

I got better by degrees, and eventually could
walk about, but I was not to ride. I remember
standing in the yard one day and a horse was being
led round. I just could not resist the temptation
to get up on him, and I started off down the home
field and back full gallop, but I made a poor show
of it that winter as I had no grip and so had to cling
to the saddle with my hand.

That was a nasty fall when I broke my arm. I
was hunting with the Cottesmore, and the horse
fell and I got hung up. But, fortunately, when the
horse kicked at me it released me.

I remember one day out with the Cottesmore I
was riding a very good horse called Sprinkle Me.
He was a good bold horse, but never quite got
up at his fences. I was riding him and we came to
the Whissen dine. I held back a bit, and rather
funked it. A hunting man I knew who had got
over it shouted to me to come on, and Sprinkle
Me just skimmed over it. It was the same horse

49

REMINISCENCES OF DERT DRAGE

that, as I have recorded, I sold to Sir Henri
Deterding.

I once had a fortnight stag hunting, and I so well
remember being entertained by the father of the
present Lord Fortescue. I fear I made a very bad
impression when I said, during lunch : " I don't
suppose you take this stag hunting very seriously.
Lord Fortescue ? " I remember there was dead
silence. You see, it was to them the same as
fox hunting was to me.

Another amusing incident I must relate. I was
in the train on my way to John Gaunt. I had not
shaved, and so I took off my coat and went into the
lavatory to shave. The train pulled up at
Brixworth, and I heard the station-master say :
" It is only Mr. Drage, my Lord." Of course I
had to come out, and there sat Lord Chaplin —
very amused.

On one occasion when I broke my leg out hunting
with the Quorn I was taken back to John Gaunt.
My leg was bound up and I travelled home in the
guard's van — a very unpleasant experience. I
once had a hunt late in the day and had to ride into
Nottingham and box my horse back to John Gaunt.

I can never forget riding to the meet one day
with " Ikey " Bell. He would ride straight
across country, and he took a nasty fall and arrived
at the meet with his hat smashed and covered with
dirt. But that did not trouble him. He was
such a good fellow and a great friend of mine for

50

HUNTING DAYS

many years. He came to see me a short time ago.
He is very, very lame, so crippled with arthritis —
but alv^^ays cheerful. A very keen huntsman and
very good over any country. I remember one
day out with the Quorn we were drawing a covert
lying below where we all stood. I think someone
below thought he saw a fox go away and so he
gave a holloa. Anyhow, off went ** I key " down
the hill and jumped the gate at the bottom, but
hounds had not gone, so of course, he had to come
back.

In 1911 there was a very good hunt from Badby
Wood. Lord Annaly and Frank Freeman were
having tremendous sport and I should like to
include this hunt by recording Frank Freeman's
own words.

"It was in 1911 in March. That was the year
I killed one hundred and four brace of foxes, a
record for the Pytchley country. We'd met at
Daventry. There had been a lot of rain the night
before, but it was a fine but cold morning. It
must have been about twelve fifteen, just as I was
beginning to fear Badby Wood was blank, that
Ted Molyneux, who was my first whip then,
holloaed a fox away by the lodge over the Banbury
Road. He took the usual line out by Ryton Hill
right-hand round Arbury Hill pointing for
Staverton. Here a silly fellow holloaed in his face
and he turned back for Badby Wood, but could

51

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

not get through the crowd on the Banbury Road,
so ran down beside the hedge towards Byfield
where hounds checked. Mr. Paget, who lived at
Brixworth then, was riding a new horse he could not
hold, so he jumped it out of the road on the other
side, where he saw Gaylass and Garnish hit off
the line down one of those Fawsley doubles.

That Garnish was the best bitch I ever had.
Hunt a line on the hardest dusty road, and always
in front. Gaylass was her sister by Desperate ;
they were both almost black with white collars.
Garnish never bred anything half so good as herself,
but Gaylass did. It was extraordinary how
they picked the line through all that crowd on the
road. I saw most of the field turn and ride up
the road back to Badby Wood as I clapped my
hounds over the road. They started to run like
hell. The Fawsley doubles are almost unjumpable,
and the hand gates delayed the field, which gave
the hounds a real chance of settling down, not that
they could have been interfered with much that day
they were running that hard.

They just touched Church Wood, but they
never stopped for a second, and I am sure they
never changed there. Beyond Preston Capes they
ran over an easy country into the heart of the
Grafton. They only went through a corner of
Ashby Bushes. At Adstone Bottom, about a mile
or so on, there were a lot of falls — even Lord
Annaly had a scramble there and lost his whip —

52

HUNTING DAYS

but there was no time to pick it up. Garnish and
Gaylass, and a Hght-coloured bitch called Dimple,
I could see were leading, but you could have
covered the whole pack with a sheet.

Near here Mr. Pat Nickalls and Mr. Tweed saw
the fox only about four hundred yards ahead of
hounds, going straight for the railway, which was
crossed by Plumpton Wood, which would be
about six miles straight from Arbury Hill. It is a
great big wood, half the size of Badby, but the fox
ran down the middle ride most of the way. Here
I saw Postscript and Fatal turn sharp to the left.
I don't think we could have changed there as they
never left the line for a moment. They ran on,
still going very fast by Wocdend, pointing for
Wappenham, to the railway straight over the brook.
Lord Annaly was the only one to fly it, and I heard
several fall in, and a lot of horses were too done
to face it. I struck it lucky by a ford. There's a
bit of a plough near Greens Park, but it did not
seem to slow them down. Rarity, Garnish and
Gaylass I noticed were still leading.

They left Weedon Bushes on the right and turned
right-handed for Aswell Mill, and then turned
left after crossing the stream, over some more
plough, for what a Grafton gentleman told me was
Crown Lands, a huge, great woodland. Just
before w^e got there we ran into a little wood called
Priests Hay, where hounds divided. I was a bit
puzzled which lot were right, but I thought I had

53

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

better trust the hounds who had been leading.
Molyneux and Tom Peaker, who were both up,
soon stopped the others, but two foxes had gone
on and hounds divided again near the allotments
below Silverstone Village. I at first thought my
fox must have turned into Bucknells Wood and
asked Mr. Paget, who was close to me, to stop the
lot which were running between Crown Lands and
Bucknells Wood.

Mr. Garrard, of Welton, went with him, and
they jumped the gate which was wired up into the
allotments, but my lot threw up, so I blew my
horn, the first time I had used it since recrossing
the Banbury Road, to prevent those gentlemen
stopping hounds. I thought all was over when, as I
had hoped, the fox did not run on but turned in at
the furthest corner of Bucknells Wood, a
tremendous grat place, bad scenting and full of
foxes.

Here Lord Roseberry, Lord Dalmeny he was
then, caught a glimpse of a beaten fox with a couple
of hounds close behind him. He could not tell
me which they were. I got the rest of the pack on
to the line, and they carried it right through the
wood and out on the Wappenham side. A man
from the village told me the couple had hunted up
to the hedge by a stream, where they had checked,
and I was afraid he must have got in somewhere,
which would have been a terrible disappointment
to the hounds after such a hunt. I cast round to

54

HUNTING DAYS

make sure and returned to the hedge, when I saw
Rarity's hackles go up and she dived into the ditch
and pinned him. He was a great greyhound of a
fox, and had all his teeth — not at all an old fox.
He went quite stiff the moment he was dead, and
stood up to face the hounds. Molyneux was sure
he was the same fox he viewed away from Badby
Wood.

The time was two hours and five minutes from
find to kill, a fourteen-mile point and about twenty-
two miles as hounds ran. I think it was about
half-an-hour after entering Bucknells that we
killed, which shows how fast the pace had been.
If Garnish and Gaylass were the hounds his
Lordship saw in the wood they had never left the
line for a second. Not a hound was missing.

I am sorry I cannot tell you much about the
people. When one is hunting hounds one has no
time or thought for anything else. I was luckily
on one of the best horses I ever rode, called
Starlight, who was quite fresh at the end, as were
the two whips', which speaks well for Mr. Gibbs,
the kennel studsman. Not a single second horse
arrived at the kill. They had all waited at Preston
Capes.

I remember his Lordship kept the mask and gave
Lady Dalmeny the brush, and Mr. Tweed, Mrs.
Borrett, Mr. Romer Williams and Captain
Elmhirst got the pads. The last two came up from
Wapping Village just as we killed. I saw Captain

55

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

Sowerby's little grey lying down in Bucknells
Wood, but it recovered.

Lord Annaly ordered hounds home from here.

We had about twenty miles home, and his
Lordship told us to go into the Pomfret Arms as
we passed through Towcester ; but Captain
Elmhirst said we would have to stop at his place at
Blisworth if we put in at twenty Pomfret Armses.

He rode on and had port and cake waiting for
us in the road as we passed ; as we were finished
Lord Annaly passed us in cab he had hired in
Towcester. There were not many motor cars or
telephones in those days.

Mr. Tweed rode all the way home with the
hounds to Brixworth, where we found some
champagne and sandwiches in the feeding house,
sent by one of the gentlemen who lived in the
village.

I think it was the best day I ever had."

Frank Freeman

(I include this with the very kind permission of
" The Field.")

I remember some good fun I had in Ireland. I
went over with Captain Lowenstein. A well-
known dealer mounted us, and, as I expect he felt
that Captain Lowenstein might be a good customer,
he put him on a high-class blood horse. I was on
a much commoner horse. Captain Lowenstein
was getting on very badly with his horse, as he was

56

HUNTING DAYS

inclined to be hot and did not do the banks well.
So he asked me if I would change horses. The
dealer was not very pleased !

I once had a fall that shook me up. I was out
with the Whaddon Chase, and, galloping up a
field, a cow crossed me and it turned my horse over,
I went on however I

Once I was riding a pony and standing near to a
ditch. I expect I was standing over a wasp's nest,
and the pony got badly stung and eventually
kicked me off and broke my collarbone. I was
never more than about 9 stone 7 lbs., and I think
my bones must have not been very strong.

I must tell of a very good hunt I had with the
Quorn. Mr. George Drummond kindly mounted
me on two very good horses. They carried me
brilliantly. We drew Prince of Wales Covert and
found immediately, after a fast run we ran into the
Belvoir country about a 10 miles point. I was
so grateful to Mr. Drummond. It was from
Pitsford Hall after the First World War that the
Prince of Wales began his hunting, as the guest
of Mr. George Drummond.

I had four or five very enjoyable days with the
Old Berks. Tommy McDougal was the Master,
and he eventually bought all his horses off us.
He once had a bad accident. Standing on the
platform to entrain he slipped and lost his foot.
This did not stop him hunting however. He was
real Beau Brummel.

57

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

I remember what was rather amusing to me. I
had broken my right leg three times and the
insurance company refused to insure that leg again.
Then I had a bad fall, but this time I broke the
leg that was insured, so, after that, they refused
to insure me.

I should like to tell of another nasty fall
I had. I was hunting with the Quorn, and I took
on some rather high rails with a ditch on the landing
side. I expect the horse, in trying to refuse,
swerved, and Captain Frank Forester, the Master,
was just behind me and knocked me and the horse
over the rails. I remember all he said was :
" Why the 'ell do you come in front of me on a
refusing 'ors3 — he had no ' H ' in his vocabulary.

Since the last world war I have had some good
hunting, principally with the Pytchley. I also have
had some very good days when I went with that
great sportsman Gerald Glover to hunt with the
Quorn and with the Grafton. He used to box
me to the Meet and usually mount me. He is very
fond of hunting and no one goes better. He has
some useful mares at his Stud at Pytchley House,
where he breeds bloodstock and farms some 400
acres.

I have always been interested in the different
styles adopted by various Masters of hounds and
they do vary a great deal. I think one of the most
popular Master of Hounds was Major Burnaby of
The Quorn ; also Charlie McNeil and C. W. B.

58

HUNTING DAYS

Fernie and Sir Charles Lowther and the third
Lord Annaly. were outstanding. The best com-
bination the Pytchley ever had were Annaly and
Frank Freeman.

Having mentioned these names of famous
Masters I cannot conclude without recording that
in my opinion one of the best Fieldmasters is our
present Master of the Pytchley, Colonel Jack
Lowther. His quiet but commanding manner is
respected by all.

I lost my dearest and best friend when Lady
Frederick died in 1948. She collapsed just when
her maid was putting her to bed. The doctor
came over here at once and took Miss Carter back
to be with Lady Frederick's maid. I felt her
death very much. I had known her for 60 years.
She and her brother bought all their horses from
me. There was hardly a week passed that she
did not pop over to see me or I went over to
Lamport. She was beloved by everyone.

59

Chapter IV.
BLOODSTOCK AND RACING.

I WON quite a number of races on the flat with
horses I bred. I had a very good horse called
Prince Umbria. When I bought him I had not
arranged who to send him to. I was walking up
the street at Newmarket with Charlie McNeill.
I was talking to him about this and I remember
saying : "I wish I could get Fred Darling to
take him." CharHe McNeill said : " Why, there
is his father just in front of us. I will introduce
you to him." And I so well remember Mr. Sam
Darling (Fred's father) saying : " Why, I would
start training again myself if my son cannot take
the horse."

I had never seen Fred but I soon felt
he would become a noted trainer. He won several
races for me, but once he gave me bad advice.
I was ofl^ered 6,000 for Prince Umbria, and,
naturally, was very keen to sell. It was a large
sum of money to me, but Fred was very opposed to
selling him. He said that he thought he would be
one of the best of his year. I felt I must give way,
as, you see, Fred had brought the horse on and
taken so much trouble with him. But he dis-
appointed us, and eventually I had to take 700 for
him. He won a race with a filly called Hardistone.

60

BLOODSTOCK AND RACING

I bought her very cheaply off a farmer and then
sold her pretty well.

When Fred became such a fashionable trainer I
wrote him that I felt my horses were not class
enough for him to bother with. He wrote me a very
nice letter back saying that he would always be
pleased to train any horse for me. I forget just
what other horses he had of mine, but I know he
did very well for me.

I have had horses with several trainers — Basil
Jarvis, Sadler, Leach, Vasey at Hambleton, Matthew
Peacock, Captain Renwick and Peter Gilpin.
I remember being very lucky with a race I won at
Ripon or Redcar, I forget which. It took place
on a Bank Holiday and I caught an early train from
Harborough. When I got to Derby I popped
out and sent a wire to Captain Renwick to put me
£15 on. Then, when we got to Leeds, I realised
that my only chance of seeing the race was to get
a taxi straight to the course. Of course, the man
at the gate wanted me to pay, and I said : " Do
let me in, I've got a horse in this race." He said :
" The race is just over." I met my trainer leading
the horse in, and he congratulated me and said he
had told a Mr. Wilson (one of his patrons) to
put my money on. Then I came across Mr.
Wilson, who also congratulated me and said :
" I put your £S0 on." He misunderstood Captain
Renwick, who he thought said it was £50 I wanted
on, so I won ;£300 as the horse started at 6 to 1 .

61

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

I was also very lucky with a horse I ran — I think
it was at Wetherby. He was made a favourite
and a Mr. Wilson, whom I have previously
mentioned, was talking to me just before the race.
He said how lucky I was with only about two horses
in the stable and both likely winners, so I said :
*' Why not buy my horse now before the start,
and then you will have a winner, I feel sure."
We agreed on the price, but, I regret to say, he was
beaten. I am afraid he never won.

I ver}^ nearly got into a lot of trouble. I had two
horses in training at Newmarket, Ayot and Faiza,
but with no success, and so I had them sent home
in the autumn. Then I arranged with an old friend
of mine, named Matthew Peacock, to take them,
and I told him just to win any race he could with
them, and sell them. He won with one somewhere
up North and sold it. Then, as racing was nearly
over, he sent the other one home to me. Naturally,
I went to the box when it arrived and, to my dismay,
I found he had sent the wrong horse. When I
sent them to him one was a two-year-old and the
other a three-year-old, and he had got them mixed.

I had an animal (I forget its name) in partnership
with my sister. It was in a race at Hamilton Park.
We met at Carlisle and then went on together.
We won easily and I sold the animal to Lord
Lonsdale for ;£700, which paid us very well. I
remember winning a race — I think that was at
Redcar. My horse was trained by Vasey at

62

BLOODSTOCK AND RACING

Hambledon. He was a very fine colt, but this
was his first race. Somehow the pubUc had
heard a good account of him, and he started
favourite. I think the price was 3 to 1. I had
;£300 on him. When the field came into sight
he was leading and looked like winning easily, but
the nearer they got to the finish the closer they
got to him. But he won by a head. I felt he
probably was not very game, and decided to sell
him — also another, a very useful horse I had.
They both made good prices, but I was well out
as they never won again.

The one he won with was a year older than the
race was made for, so he was carrying the weight
of a three-year-old whereas he was a four-year-old.
I was in such a fright, and I wired straight away
to Weatherby's to say I was coming to see them
with regard to what had happened. I felt if anyone
got there before I had reported it I should probably
be warned off. Anyhow, after my explanation
they did not take it as seriously as I thought they
would. I think I was right when I told them I
would forego the stake which I could have stuck
to if I had liked, but I felt it would have been very
unfair to the man who was second. It is all
reported in Ruffs Guide, I believe.

I got involved in another objection in the same
year. I had bought a very good mare for Captain
Lowenstein, called Lady Starlight, but he, for
some reason, did not want to keep her. So I

63

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

bought her from him and I sold a half share to a
Mrs. Ambrose Clark. She was in a race at York.
I wired to Mrs. Clark in America asking her if
she would care to sell her share, which she did.
This all happened a short time before the race, so,
to avoid any trouble, I wired to Weatherbys office
to say the mare was my sole property. She won
all right, but Lord Glaneley, whose horse was
favourite, was second and he objected to mine.
His objection plea was described as wrongful-
ownership. You see, this mare had just been
entered in Captain Lowenstein's name and then as
Mrs. Clark's. Anyhow, I met Lord Glaneley
in the sale paddock at Doncaster the following
week, and he said how much he regretted having
to object : " But, you see, Bert, so many of my
friends had backed mine, and so I was sort of
bound to do it, but I had met Mr. Weatherby just
before and he told me I had nothing to fear."

We went before the Stewards at Doncaster, and I
remember Lord Hamilton was again the Chief
Steward. Anyhow, they rejected the objection
and fined Lord Glaneley £2S. I remember
meeting Lord Hamilton in the paddock at the
races, and he came across to me and said : " Now,
if I were you, Bert, I should give up racing. You
seem to be all the time in trouble." He was a
charming man, and a very good customer of mine.

I bred a very useful horse out of Wild Rose.
I think we named him Rose Wreath, but as a

64

BLOODSTOCK AND RACING

yearling he developed spavin. I always feel that
the most permanent cure of a spavin causing
lameness is to let the animal gallop and trot as
much as he likes in a field. What causes lameness
from a spavin is the roughness of the bone, but if
the horse uses the hock a lot it wears smooth and so
is not so likely to cause lameness.

Anyhow I had the colt castrated and turned him
out for six months. He got quite sound and I
sent him to Bert Randall to train. He was a big
colt and I though the best plan was not to run him
early in the year. I put him in four races right
at the back end. I told Randall not to hurry but
just have him ready at the back end. I remember
his first race was at Leicester. When I saw him
in the paddock I was very disappointed, as I thought
Bert had hurried him in his preparation and I told
him so as tactfully as I could, and after the race I
should like him to go straight up to Peacock at
Middleham. Bert rode him and won comfortably.
I felt such a fool, and I told Bert that I was very
sorry and that he had better take him back. I
never had anything on him.

His next race was at Lewes, about two weeks
later. He was favourite, and I backed him, but
he was easily beaten. Then, in about a fortnight
he ran again at Leicester and won. The next week
he ran at Warwick and won again. The only time
I backed him was when he got beat — not very
clever.

65

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

I once bought a half share in a very good horse
called Alan Breck — he had been bought for 4,000
by Peter Gilpin and Donald Eraser. I was abroad
at the time, so I wired Peter Gilpin that I would
give him 4,000 for his share. So I was an equal
partner then with Donald Eraser. We stood him
at Donald Eraser's place for, I think it was, two
years, and then sold him for 18,000gns. to go
abroad.

The following are some of the bloodstock : —

Brood Mares.

Wild Rose

Self Sacrifice

Perfelfla, Vol. 24-

-25

Bay Duchess, Vol. 22

Mesquite, Vo. 27

Harem, Vol. 22

Most Beautiful

Caltha

Erantic

Chalcedony

Miss Ray, Eoaled 1910

Caragh

Judith, Eoaled 1909

Tingitana

Bay Duchess, 22

Harem, Vol. 22

Racehorses.

Lady Starlight

Malna

Golden Miller

Rose Wreath

Sprinkle Me

Eaiza

Merry Tom

John Lambton

Prince Umbria

Bay Duchess

Hardingstone 23

Brown Magic

66

BLOODSTOCK AND RACING

Chapel Brampton Chatham

Fiat Wild Oats

Rose Ronald Palma

Spitalfields Prevail, see 1921

Ayot Osiris

67

Chapter V.
STEEPLECHASING WITHOUT TEARS.

I was once rung up very early one morning by
Captain Loewenstein. He said : *' I wish you
would go down to Cheltenham to-day, Bert, and
buy me the best horse you can that has some chance
of winning the Grand National, So, of course,
I went and I came across Percy Whitaker who was
very much in the 'chasing world. He advised me
to try to buy Easter Hero, which I managed with
his help to do. I agreed to give 7,000 for him and
another 3,000 if he won. He was in a ;£500 race
later in the day, but I took him out of it as I felt
if, by chance, he got beat I should not look to have
spent Captain L's. money very well and if he won
the ;£500 race it would not count for much.

I let Percy Whitaker have him to train, and I
went down and saw him do some work over fences.
I never saw a horse skim over them at such a pace
as he did without hitting them. So I went with
Capt. Loewenstein to Liverpool to see him run.
It ended disastrously as he fell at the fence at the
canal turn. The jockey said it was the people on
the stand at the turn which put him off. I saw
the race with Captain Loewenstein from the Grand
Stand. No one could have behaved more sportingly.

He never grumbled or uttered one word

68

STEEPLECHASING WITHOUT TEARS.

of complaint but it must have been a great dis-
appointment to him.

His next race was the big steeplechase in France.
We had the same jockey, who was reckoned to be
the best at that time. He fell at about the first
fence, nearly opposite the Stands. Captain
Loewenstein was very annoyed, as he had advised
Percy Whitaker to get the best French jockey he
could.

Another fine sportsman but unlucky owner who
tried to win the Grand National was Lord Mildmay
and his son Anthony. Here is a letter from him
just after the 1936 Grand National which shows
what a chancy business chasing really is !

Dear Bert,

You will have seen of the disastrous experiences
of my son and his horse in the Grand National,
and you will like to know something about what
happened.

Through riding, last year, a chance mount, of
the jumping powers of which he knew nothing,
over the Liverpool course, my son had the most
ghastly and crushing fall — broke his arm, two ribs,
bad concussion with such resultant shock to the
heart that the official doctor gave him up when he
was brought by ambulance to the stand. He was
desperately keen to ride this year, but I felt that
the risk of a chance mount must not be run again.
The one necessity was a good jumper, and such,

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

I heard was " Davey Jones," which was one of
the very few horses of the Grand National entry
to come into the market, a horse with a quite
beautiful fore-head and shoulders : and so, to cut
a long story short, I bought him from the trainer,
Grayson, at no great price, as he was tubed. He
had won some selling races of small value on the
flat, and had never run over a country before last
October. Grayson stipulated, after the bargain
was struck, that, before handing Davey Jones
over to me, he should run in his (Grayson's) name
in a steeplechase at Manchester, in which he had
entered him. Grayson put up his own jockey,
and a proper mess the horse made of the race,
coming in nowhere — the jockey must have ridden
him badly, I thought that I had been thoroughly
" had." I never imagined that he would eventually
run so well. You know the sequel.

Anthony dashed him off quicker than any other
horse, and he led over the first fence, a considerable
advantage in such a crowd of horses, five of which
fell at the obstacle. I asked him what had
emboldened him to make the running from start
to finish for 4i miles, which had never been done
before in this race. He answered that, after
jjmping off first and striding along in the lead,
he found himself galloping at no greater pace
than the horse (he knew) could go with ease to
himself — at that very pace, indeed, no faster and
no slower, which would enable Davey Jones to

70

STEEPLECHASING WITHOUT TEARS.

get to the winning post in his best time. This
being so, in his judgment it was obviously best to
let him continue indefinitely to gallop along in
front, where he would run no risks of being brought
down by horses falling in front of him. As some
of the most experienced of racing men have since
told me, his judgment of pace was absolutely
correct, for no one tried to get in front of him, for
all felt that the pace was fast enough, nor did
they lay out of their ground (hang back) since they
could not feel that Anthony was making the pace
too fast. He deliberately rode a " waiting race in
front " — one of the hardest things to do in racing.

You will have read the published account of the
race, and I am not going to repeat it. I only say
that, at the last turn, with only four or five fences
to jump, all the runners had been tailed off except
Reynoldstown, who was a couple of lengths behind
him, and it was then that their duel was fought.
Reynoldstown's rider forced him up to challenge
Anthony, and to the astonishment of everybody,
Davey Jones prevailed. In the course of this
effort, Reynoldstown made a very bad mistake
at the fence near the turning, shooting his rider,
Walwyn, on to his neck as he landed. Though
Walwyn made a wonderful recovery, getting back
into the saddle, this gave Anthony a lead of five
lengths, with Davey Jones still going " on the bit,"
with ease to himself. You will have read the rest.

It was only just before the last fence, when both

71

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

man and horse were on the happiest terms with
each other and balanced, that the catastrophe
came and the reins broke — when Anthony had won
his race as was subsequently admitted by the
winning rider himself.

As to what really happened to the reins. It
seems that all present-day steeplechase jockeys,
when they come to the fences, and especially such
big obstacles as those at Aintree, have to let the
reins run through their fingers right out to the
buckle, in order that the horse may be given
sufficient rein and liberty to recover when landing,
or in the case of any mistake, and in order that
they themselves may be able to lie right back on
the horse's quarters.

As at every other obstacle, Anthony let the
reins out to their fullest extent at the last fence
but one. But the buckle was rotten, and parted.
The reins, being greasy with the perspiration of
the horse, flew off on either side, leaving him
quite powerless. He tried to keep the horse
straight with his whip, and by hitting him with his
hand, but it was no good. I have since been told
by expert jockeys that he was but doing what is
invariably done.

As to the breakage itself, it was not the leather
which broke, but it was the steel tongue of the
buckle which parted, a very bad business !

It was hard luck, but Anthony took it wonder-

72

STEEPLECHASING WITHOUT TEARS.

fully well, and said to me, '* Never mind — I'll
win next year ! "

Discussing with him after the race why Davey
Jones had run so wonderfully well, I said that the
horse must be an extraordinary stayer. " No,"
said he, he did not think that he was. " You
must be talking nonsense," I answered. " No,"
he replied, " I believe that his success was due
to the fact that the Aintree fences are so big that
each means an exhausting effort to the competing
horses. Davey Jones is such a jumper, he takes
his fences in such effortless fashion, with such
ease, he correctly and intelligently times his stride
to the varying requirements of each of the greatly
differing fences, that he gets over the formidable
obstacles with a minimum of effort, and gains a
length every time on any other horse." He ' floats
over them,' to use Lady Daresbury's expression
in her letter to me.

I have written at wicked length, and will have
bored you.

It was a sad ending, but I am very proud of the
horse, and of Anthony.

Yours sincerely,

(Signed) Mildmay.

I rode a few times at Rugby and Towcester.
I did win one point-to-point. John won a good
many. He had the right temperament.

73

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

One day Major Macdonald Buchanan asked me
if I would go down to Lavington stud to see a
thoroughbred horse there, that he had taken out of
training and tell me whether I felt the horse would
be likely to win a premium at the show in London
as a hunter sire. When I got back I told him that I
felt certain he would win a premium, and probably a
super premium, so he asked me if I would have him
at Brampton and get him in form for the show,
which I agreed to do. He won, as I felt sure he
would — also a super premium and King's Cup.
Then he asked me if I would let the horse stand
at Brampton for the season. Now came the
tragedy. I can't really remember, but I think he
had a severe attack of colic. Anyhow, it ended fatally.
I was really very upset, and I think he realised this.
He came over and spent an hour with me — not to
complain, as he never did, but just simply to cheer
me up. I can never forget this kind action, one
of many that I received from him.

When the second world war broke out Major
Macdonald Buchanan, who was then Joint Master
of the Pytchley, came over to see me and he
asked me if I would take charge of his farming
operations while he was at the war. Of course, I
said I would do anything I could for him. He had
always been so very kind to me. I advised him to
appoint a Bailiff and young Mr. Messinger got
the job. He is still in charge.

To go back to my father's affairs. He had always

74

I

Miss CARTER

STEEPLECHASING WITHOUT TEARS.

kept a good hunter sire, but the time came when
he was without one, so he and I went to the
December Sales at Newmarket and, after spending
three days there, and not finding what we wanted,
we had decided to come home. I was watching
a string of horses walking round preparatory to going
into the sale ring, and I was very struck with a
brown horse and so, really just out of curiosity, I
looked it up in the catalogue. When I saw how
he was bred I felt sure he would make a big price,
but, to my astonishment, they could not get anyone
to start him. Eventually, I think, he was started
at about 200, so I found my father and persuaded
him to bid for him. I think we got him for about
360. He was about the only thoroughbred horse
that I heard Tattersall give a guarantee of soundness
with. He was a very good looking horse by
Galopin out of Spinaway (winner of the Oaks).
No better bred horse existed. He made a wonder-
ful Hunter Sire.

I must relate a very amusing incident in my life.
We used to break a few horses into harness, and
we had one of those tall skeleton brakes that one
sits high up on. The late Lord Spencer happened
to call one day and saw me get up, and he said he
would like to come with me. I was a very poor
coachman and Lord Spencer criticised the way I
was driving. I was rather nervous with him sitting
perched up by my side and we nearly had a spill.
He ended up by teaching me how to drive.

REMINISCENCES OF BERT DRAGE

He was very, very kind to us in our early days on
the farm.

I remember he made me laugh one day. The
Mr. Messinger who managed our farm for us
lived in ahouse on the Merry Tom Farm, and he
complained to me that his living room was too
small so Lord Spencer said he would like to see
it. The room was certainly small, but he had a
table in it. Lord Spencer said : ' Surely,
Messinger, your table is too big." How we all
laughed — including Mr. Messinger.

Stallions.

Chanteur Cock-a-Hoop

Drummonds Pride Alan Breck

Adam Bede The Weaver

Pytchley Markab

Hanover Square Solomons Seal

FINALE.

I am now mcII again, playing golf and riding
but do not jump, for at 88 I leave it to the younger
generation.

I am very, very fortunate in having
such a nice person. Miss Carter, to keep house for
me and look after me. Candidly, I don't think I
should be alive to-day if it had not been for her
care and prompt attention on several occasions.
She has been with me about nineteen years. I

76

STEEPLECHASING WITHOUT TEARS

should be just lost without her. She is a fully
trained nurse, and has been twice called to
Buckingham Palace to be decorated for her war
services.

I must thank Mr. Robert Colville of "The
Field" for assisting me in arranging the material.

77

INDEX

Adam, Gorse, 42

Adams, Sam, 26

Adstone, Bottom, 52

Agutter, 44

Aintree, 72, 73

Alexander, Col., 27

Alison, 19

Allfrey, Capt., 42

Annalv, Lord, 35, 51, 52, 53,

56, 59
Arburv, Hill, 51, 53
Argyle, Nellie, 18
Arkwright, Esme, 35
Ashby, 40

Ashby St. Ledgers, 48
Ashwell, 17

Badby Wood, 51—55

Banbury, 51 — 54

Barker, Stanley, 44

Barley Thorpe, 30

Bearv, Michael, 41

Beaufort, Duke of, 29

Beattv, Lord, 40, 41

Belinda, 19

Bell, I key, 50, 51

Belvoir, the, 57

Berks, The Old, 57

Biarritz, 17

Bishop of Peterborough, 19

Blackmore Vale, 35

Blisworth, 56

Blues, The, 16

Borrett, Mrs., 55

Bowlby, G., 16

Brixworth, 50, 52, 56

Buchanan, Major Macdonald,

47, 74
Buckingham Palace, 76
Bucknells Wood, 54, 55
Burnaby, Major, 32, 34, 58
Burrough, 30
Byfield, 53

Carlisle, 62
Carter, Miss, 59, 76
Castlereagh, Lady, 29
Castlereagh, Lord, 29

Chapel Brampton, 12, 14, 32,

46, 74
Chaplin, Lord, 50
Cheltenham, 68
Cheshire Hunt, 28
Church Wood, 52
Clark, Mrs. Ambrose, 64
Cold Ashbv, 47
Colling, Bob, 22
Colman, Col., 42
Cottersbrooke, 13
Cottesmore, The, 17, 23, 24, 29,

30, 32, 43, 49
Cowley, Lord, 42
Crank, 46
Cripps, Phil, 12

Darling, Fred, 60, 61

Darling, Sam, 60

Daventrv, 23, 34, 51

Derby, 61

Deterding, Sir Henri, 33, 34, 50

Doncaster, 64

Drage, Elizabeth, 17

Drage, Francis, 12, 14, 17, 20

Drage, John, 12—16, 18, 19, 27,

28, 44, 45, 73
Drage, John, Senior, 13
Drage, Maie, 18
Drage, Mar>s 12, 20
Drage, Nelly, 12
Drage, Susan, 18
Drage, Violet, 18
Drage, William, 13
Drummond, George, 57
Dublin, 23, 25
Dulmeny, Lord, 45, 55

Earle, Sir Hardman, 20
Elhirst, Capt., 55, 56
Elizabeth, Queen, 36
Elkington, 47
Exton, 30

Farmer, Dick, 16, 19, 23, 28
Faxton, 12
Fernie, C. W. B., 59
Fernie, The, 24, 40

Firr, Tom, 44

Fitzwilliam, Lady Helena, 4U

Forester, Capt. Frank, 58

Fortescue, Lord, 50

Fraser, Donald, 66

Frederick, Lady, 47, 59

Freeman, Frank, 44, 51 — 55, 59

Gale, Harrv, 25, 28, 43

Gale, William, 25

Garrard, Mr. 54

George VI., King, 36, 37, 38, 39

Georgina, 19

Gibb Wood, 47

Gibbs, Rev. Jack, 29

Gibbs, Mr., 55

Gilpin, P., 61, 66

Gilson, 44

Glammis, 38

Glaneley, Lord, 64

Gloucester, Duchess of, 19

Glover, Gerald, 58

Grand National, 68, 69 — 73

Grafton, The, 41, 52, 58

Grayson, 70

Greens Park, 53

Guest, Merthyr, 35

Hambledon, 63
Hames, Mr., 17
Hamilton, Lord, 64
Hamilton Park, 62
Hannington, 12, 47
Harlestone, 44
Hardwick Wood, 47
Harrison, Col., 16
Holdebrand, 37, 38
Holcot, 13
Holdenbv, 15, 45
Hubbersty, Philip, 43

Ireland, 16, 18, 23, 25, 43, 44, 56

Jarvis, Basil, 61

John, Gaunt, 24, 32, 43, 50

Johnson, Major, 35

Kansas City, 17, 20

Kelmarsh, 40

Ker, Lord Alistair Ines, 16

Lamport, 59

Lane, Fred, 41

Lascelles, A., 39

Laurence, 44

Lavington, 74

Lawson, Col., 42

Leach, 61

Leaf, 44

Leeds, 61

Leicester, 36, 38, 65

Lennox, Lord Algernon Gordon,

16
Lewes, 65
Lilbourne, 48
Liverpool, 46, 68, 69
Loder, Giles, 45
Loder, Sydney, 45
Loewenstein, Capt. Alfred, 32,

45, 56, 63, 64, 68, 69
Loewenstein, Bobbie, 33
Long Island, 46
Lonsdale, Lord, 30, 62
Lowther, Col. Jack, 59
Lowther, Sir Charles, 59

Manchester, 70

Market Harborough, 13, 41,

45, 61
Mawsley, 12
McDougal, Tommy, 57
McKie, Col., 27
McNeil, Charlie, 58, 60
Messinger, Mr. 12, 15, 76
Messinger, Richard, 15, 74
Middleton, Capt. Bay, 47
Mildmay, Anthonv, 69, 70
Mildmay, Lord, 69
Molyneux, Ted, 51 — 55
Moulton, 18

Nasebv, Wooleys, 36
Naylor, R. C, 40
Newmarket, 39, 75
New York, 46
Nickalls, Pat, 53
Norfolk, 42

Northampton, 12, 23, 26
Northampton Grammar School,

14
Norwich, 34
Nottingham, 50

Onslow, Major Hughes, 21
Onsten Wood, 17
Owen, Hugh, 41

Paget, Mr., 52
Peacock, Matthew, 61, 62
Peaker, Tom, 54
Penders, Sir James, 48
Pitsford Hall, 57
Phillips, Mr. 44
Plumpton Wood, 53
Preston Capes, 52, 55
Pytchley, 34, 42, 51
Pytchlev House, 58
Pvtchlev, The, 27, 40, 44, 58,
59,' 74

Quorn, The, 23, 24, 32, 34, 40,
41, 45, 50, 51, 57, 58

Radnor, Lord, 40
Randall, Bert, 65
Redcar, 61, 62
Renwick, Capt., 61
Ripon, 61

Roseberry, Lord, 54
Rugby, 16, 46, 48, 73
Ryton Hill, 51

Sadler, 61
Sanders, 46, 47
Sandringham, 39
Saunders, Cecil, 42
Scotland Wood, 47
Shell Mex, 33
Sinnington, 22
Silverstone, 54
Somerby, 17
Sowerby, Capt., 56
Spencer, Lord, 47, 75, 76
Spratton, 44, 45
Staverton, 51
Strawbridge, Mr., 29, 46
Sulby, 48
Swan, R. C, 36

Tweed, Mr., 53, 55, 56

Vasey, 61, 62

Wales, Prince of, 57

Walton, Mr. 44

Wappenham, 53, 54

Wapping Village, 55

Warwick, 65

Weatherby, Mr. 64

Weedon, 27, 44

Weedon Bushes, 53

Welford, 48

Wellingboro, Grammar School,

14
Welton, 54
Wetherby, 62
Whaddon Chase, 57
Whitaker, Percy, 68, 69
Whitney, Harry, 31, 46
Williams, Romer, 55
Wilson, Mr., 61, 62
Windsor, 16, 38
Wollaston, 43
Woods, Cecil, 14
Woods, John, 12, 14

Tattersalls, 32, 75
Thornby, 37

Thorpe, Satchville, 32, 33
Topham, Arthur, 23, 24, 25
Towcester, 56, 73

MERCURY & HERALD, FRIDAY, DECE >I

COUNTY PARADE ^^

88, HIS FIRST BOOK
JUST BEEN PUBLIS

COPY of a remarkable new book appeared on my
desk this week. And remarkable is the right word,
for it has been written comparatively recently by a
Northamptonshire man who is new "getting c>n for 89,"
to quote his own words.

He had never written anything for publication
befo-re, not even an article — let alone a complete and
fully illustrated volume that runs to 77 pages!

''Reminiscences of Bert Drage" (David Green, Ket-
tering, 10s.. 6d.) is the book. And the Bert Drage of the
title is Mr. Herbert Drage, of Chapel Brampton.

This is how the auto-j,

biography starts off: ''I]
have had a gnand life — I
more hunting thian anyj
man living, I should think. |

"I am writing this in bed,
(January, 1953). I had a fallj
about a month ago and fractured j
my thigh .... I have broken so
many bones, but never niy thigh
before. I have broken by legs six
times, collar-bone twice, ribs,
both arms and pelvis, and '■
cracked my shoulder-blade. ThCj
broken pelvis was the worst. !

'• I supipose I ought to give up
jumping fences now, as I have
lost my grip and probably I oeveT
ought to have come off-"

Yes, startled reader, it was a
fall from a horse that broke Mr.
Drage's thigh ! Although in his
middle 80's, he was still out hunt-
ing with the Pytchley !

Turn to the end of the book
and you will read what I think Is
an equa.lly surprising FINALE :
"I aim now well again, playing
golf and riding, but do not jump,
for at 88 I leave it to the younger
■generation."

23, 1955.

I 'think this is one of the most
telling sententces I have ever
read. Here Is the essence of an,
obviously great personality. At:
88, he -4«a^ves jumping to the i
'younger generation" — those, I
presume, in their fifties
sixties !

an-d I

His enthusiasm

Most of the book is lake that.
Calm understatement, a wealth
of (local colour, and tremendous
enthusiasm for field sports and
everything to do with them.

That enthusiasm is understand-
able. Mr. Drage, a bachelor, has
been a horse-dealer, bloodstock,
'hunting, racing, and steeple-
ichasing man tliroughout his
adult life.

He records it ail. Successes
■and failures ; the moments of
excitement, humour, and traigedy
that every dndividual experi-
ences.

I rang Mr. Drage a't his home
this week and aisked him why he
decided to write the book.

" Well, I was in hospital and
did it to pass the time," he said.
" It took me about six weeks.

"Then I left the matter with
my nephew, Major Gerald Glover,
of Pytchley. He did everything
else. I only wrote the 'book."

" I only wrote the book " . . . -
there we go in that matter-of-
fact manner again.

Two sayings spring to mind :
'* You're never too old . . . . " aind
, . . . " There's One good book in
everybody."

Both certainly apply in the case
of Bert Drage.