Still Going after All These Years: Truth, Text and the Racing Calendar

When The Turf was published in 1976, Wray Vamplew could not have imagined that his contribution to the economic and social history of horseracing had only just begun and was to span the next thirty years. [1] None of his subsequent books, articles or conference papers on racing topics as diverse as the impact of the Victorian railways, the demise of the Edwardian gentleman rider, the bizarre and often dangerous life of the twentieth-century professional jockey or the rise and fall of the Jockey Club could have been written – let alone quantified – without recourse to ‘the official organ of the racing authorities’, the Racing Calendar. [2] This paper will briefly outline its history, analyse its contents and attempt to evaluate its worth as a comprehensive and reliable source. It will then seek to illustrate some ways in which historians of racing can still use this extraordinary sporting series

A Blinkered Approach? Attitudes Towards Children and Young People in British Horseracing and Equestrian Sport

This paper will consider the ways in which children take part in two distinct branches of horse sport, equestrianism and horseracing, focusing on their historical separateness and their more recent rapprochement through the development of pony racing. Using material from a recent study of children and horseracing, it will demonstrate that most racecourses still see youngsters as passive consumers rather than active participants while preliminary research into the specifically child-centred equestrian organisation, the British Pony Club, suggests a participant culture and an institution prepared to countenance change

"No time for recreations till the vote is won"? Suffrage activists and leisure in Edwardian Britain

The women who took part in the campaign for female suffrage in Britain are often portrayed as dedicated, serious and devoted to the cause, with little time for other interests. Although this may be true for the most active suffragists, there were many who joined local societies and supported the movement while continuing to live ordinary lives. This article demonstrates that a significant sample of activists of all ages and backgrounds were enthusiastic sportswomen and espoused a wide range of other pastimes. Many also belonged to a ladies' club, particularly those in London's West End, in which they could dine, conduct business or relax away from home or work. By taking part in the increasingly diverse social, cultural and sporting environment available to middle-class Edwardian women, they struck a further blow for female emancipation

Grass Roots: the Development of Tennis in Britain, 1918-1978

Most research on British tennis has focused on social exclusion at the tennis club, on its middle-class image, and on the 'shamateurism' of the pre-1968 era. This paper will chart the development of the sport at grass-roots level. It will demonstrate that tennis in the workplace and public parks allowed lower income families to play and that significant numbers did so in less formal settings than those overseen by regional Lawn Tennis Associations. It will suggest that a concentration on the wealthy south-east of England has distorted our impression of the sport itself and the 'average' club. Evidence from club histories, official handbooks, company archives and detailed local studies presents a very different picture from that of the suburban 'garden party'

A Window of Opportunity? Preliminary Thoughts on Women’s Sport in post-war Britain

Although much research has been undertaken into women's sport in the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, little attention has been paid to the mid-twentieth century. Focusing on Britain's highly successful but largely forgotten elite female athletes of the period, this paper will demonstrate that they were acclaimed at the time by press and public alike and provided a variety of sporting role models for girls growing up in the 1950s. Previously under-researched material, including newspapers, magazines, television, biographies and coaching manuals, suggests a more positive sporting culture for females than gender historians have led us to believe. It would appear, however, that the potential for significant change was not realized and that this window of opportunity for women athletes closed in the late 1960s

The Archive, the Press and Victorian Football: the Case of the Glasgow Charity Cup

Introduction ‘The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.’ [2] The well-known opening line from L.P. Hartley’s classic novel, The Go-Between, might easily be applied to the story of sports history, from its beginnings as an academic sub-discipline to its current state of play. If the subject matter of this article had appeared in print thirty years ago, it would probably have been presented as a simple narrative. What happened, to whom, when and where, and with what consequences would have unfolded in a straightforward, chronological fashion. Even in the 1970s the word ‘antiquarian’ might have been applied to a paper that outlined the origins of an early football cup competition as represented in the contemporary press and football authority yearbooks. It is possible that a critique of these sources might have been undertaken in an effort to lend credence to the mass of ‘facts’ uncovered. It is certainly to be hoped that our 1970s’ scholar would have contextualised his research – it would almost undoubtedly have been ‘his’, female sports historians being virtually unknown in those days – within the development of amateur football and the Victorian city. It is unlikely that a rationale for his study would have been deemed necessary at a time when the whole field of sports history lay open to discovery

Captains Courageous: Gentlemen Riders in British Horseracing 1866-1914

Gentlemen riders played a significant role in British horse racing before 1914, particularly in National Hunt, where higher weights and less stringent legislation encouraged greater participation than on the flat. Men from the hunting field and the military took their skills and courage to the racecourse and often competed successfully against professional riders. However, racing's intimate association prevented an amateur ethos from emerging and too many gentlemen riders were guilty of dubious practices. National Hunt racing was a sport in which shamateurism developed on a considerable scale, with supposedly amateur jockeys making money from the sport

Sibling Death in Childhood: An Evaluation of the Literature Regarding Inclusion of Minority Cultures, 1990–2002

This evaluation seeks to determine the extent to which the professional literature concerning bereaved children in the United States includes African American, Hispanic American, and Asian American children whose siblings have died in childhood. A literature search identifies 58 articles, published between 1990 and 2002, concerning children under age 19 living in the United States whose siblings have died. Articles are sorted by time frame and classified by type. There are 31 descriptive articles consisting of five literature reviews, five commentaries, five case studies, and 16 narratives; there are 27 research articles. Analysis determines the extent to which race, culture, and ethnicity are included in article comments and discussions, and in research samples. The 31 descriptive articles include 11 brief discussions or comments regarding race, ethnicity, or culture. Changes in the descriptive literature over time are calculated using the ratio of the number of comments/discussions as compared to the number of articles per time period

Who Rules Sport Now? White and Brackenridge Revisited

Research over the past 20 years has suggested that the role of women in British sports governance is limited and may even be decreasing. A study by White and Brackenridge, published in this journal in 1985, provided convincing evidence that women had little influence at the top level of sports management and administration and predicted that there was little chance of improvement. That view has been maintained ever since but with little empirical evidence to support it. The present pilot study, based on contact with a range of organizations, suggests that the overall situation is improving, particularly amongst newer authorities and commercial clubs. Preliminary findings indicate that women have in fact been appointed in increasing numbers to senior jobs in sports governance

It wasn't just Emily Davison! Sport, suffrage and society in Edwardian Britain

The suffragette Emily Davison was killed by King George V's horse during the 1913 Epsom Derby while trying to draw attention to the campaign for women's suffrage. However, this much-publicized and shocking incident was not the only connection between sport and political protest in the early twentieth century. This paper will show how British suffragettes carried out a series of violent acts against sport and sportsmen that were unparalleled in the English-speaking world. At the same time it will demonstrate that female suffragists, like many Edwardian women, took part in a wide variety of sports, suggesting that it was possible to be both a feminist and a sportswoman