George Matthew Ede (22 February 1834 — 13 March 1870) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

first-class

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er and a

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...

winning jockey. A founding member of

Hampshire County Cricket Club Hampshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Hampshire. Hampshire teams formed by earlier organisations, principal ...

, he was the club's first

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

from 1864 to 1869. In horse racing, he was one of the most successful amateur riders of his age, winning 306 races, including the 1868 Grand National. He was killed two years later from injuries sustained in the

1870 Grand National The 1870 Grand National was the 32nd renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 9 March 1870. This was the fifth and final time George Stevens rode the winner in the Grand National ...

Early life and education

The son of Job Ede and his wife, Catherine, he was born alongside his twin brother,

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

, at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in February 1834. He was educated and boarded at

Abingdon School Abingdon School is a day and boarding independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The twentieth oldest independent British school, it celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2006. The school was described as "highly ...

in 1851, with his brother Edward. His older brother Frederic boarded at Abingdon in 1840. He was also educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

. After completing his education, he became an agriculturalist at

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

under Lord Spencer, before returning to Southampton.

Cricket career

Ede first appeared for

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

in minor matches in 1861 and recorded the first

century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

at the

Antelope Ground The Antelope Ground, Southampton was a sports ground that was the first home of both Hampshire County Cricket Club, who played there prior to 1884, and of Southampton Football Club, who played there from 1887 to 1896 as "Southampton St. Mary' ...

in 1862, scoring 122 for South Hampshire v East Hampshire. A founding member of

in 1863, he scored over 1,200 runs for the club in its founding year. He made his debut in

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

in the clubs inaugural first-class match against

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

the following year, with him captaining the side. Ede played first-class cricket for Hampshire until 1869, making fifteen appearances. In his third match, against Sussex, he scored 52 in Hampshire's first innings, by doing so he became the first batsman to score a half century for the county club. Playing as a batsman in the Hampshire team, he scored 257 runs at an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

of 9.51. During his playing period, he was also honorary secretary of the club until 1867, when he resigned and was replaced by William Eccles. Following his death, he was succeeded as Hampshire captain by

Clement Booth Clement Booth (11 May 1842 – 14 July 1926) was an English first-class cricketer and administrator. Booth played first-class cricket for several teams, but was largely associated with Cambridge University, Hampshire and the Marylebone Cricket ...

Horse racing career

Coming from the age of the public school educated all round sportsman, it is perhaps as an accomplished

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

jockey that Ede is better remembered, riding for several years as one of the top Victorian amateurs in

steeplechasing Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse raci ...

. He was considered, following the retirement of

Josey Little James Lockhart Little (November 14, 1821 – February 17, 1877) known as Josey or the captivating captain was a soldier and steeplechase rider whose most notable racing victory was on board Chandler to win the 1848 Grand National. Lockhart was bo ...

, to be the first gentlemen rider of his age, not only in England but the world. Racing under the pseudonym 'Mr Edwards', he first competed as a rider in September 1856 at

Warwick Racecourse Warwick Racecourse is a horse racing course in Warwick, England. It is a National Hunt racing course and has a programme of 25 meetings throughout the year, many of which are televised. The first stand was built in 1808, and its most recent red ...

. Between 1856 and 1870, Ede rode 306 winners. Amongst his greatest achievements came in 1868, when he won the Grand Annual at Warwick on

Musketeer A musketeer (french: mousquetaire) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare particularly in Europe as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a pre ...

, and the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...

Aintree Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, north-east of Liverpool city centre, in North West England. It i ...

Lamb Lamb or The Lamb may refer to: * A young sheep * Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep Arts and media Film, television, and theatre * ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut * ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...

, owned by Lord Poulett. These feats were made even more remarkable by the fact he had been seriously injured in a fall just a few months earlier at Croydon Racecourse, followed by a complicated recovery. It was at Aintree where Ede would suffer the injuries which ultimately cost him his life. Having competed in the

, Ede was leaving the course when he was approached by a trainer to ride a horse named

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village ...

in the following day's

Grand Sefton Steeplechase The Grand Sefton Handicap Chase is a National Hunt racing, National Hunt Steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged six years or older. It is run at Aintree Racecourse, Aint ...

over the notorious big fences. He had not planned to ride the following day, and it was widely believed that he would be announcing his retirement from the saddle, but when presented with a mount the following day he accepted. His close friend and riding colleague Arthur Yates implored him not to take the ride, which had already been refused by many of the top professional riders, stating "Don't ride the brute George, he'll kill you!" Yates' words were to prove prophetic. At the Monument fence, today known as The Chair, Ede fell from Chippenham and although the initial fall did not injure him, it was when the horse tried to rise that he was fatally injured when Chippenham stumbled and crashed heavily onto him, causing crush injuries to his chest and several broken ribs, in addition causing a serious head injury. Ede succumbed to his injuries three days later at the Sefton home of horse trainer Ben Land, without regaining consciousness.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ede, George 1834 births 1870 deaths Twin sportspeople English twins Cricketers from Southampton People educated at Eton College English cricket administrators English cricketers Hampshire cricketers Hampshire cricket captains English jockeys Jockeys who died while racing