Heber-Percy, Alan

In 1934 the four-mile National Hunt Chase was still the most valuable race of the big meeting at Cheltenham, with winning prize money almost double that of the Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle. It was the first year that the BBC had filmed the meeting and the Corporation opted to broadcast just the one race on 7th March 1934, the National Hunt Chase.Heber-Percy, aged 26, was on board 33/1 outsider Killadar as the twenty-six runners lined up at the start of the marathon. He must have held hopes of a good ride as he had already won two point-to-points on the horse. But they got no further than the first fence, where a crashing fall left Heber-Percy with fatal skull injuries. He died immediately.

The anguish of Heber-Percy’s family was heightened as his parents had recently banished him from their home following a scandal. His younger brother Robert, also an amateur rider, had sensed ill-luck earlier in the day when driving under a bridge while a train was passing overhead. For the rest of his life, Robert would stop his car if he saw a train approaching.

Alan Heber-Percy is buried near the family home, Hodnet Hall in Shropshire. His funeral was marked by the singing of hymns written by his great-grandfather Bishop Reginald Heber.