John Faulkner
1828 - 1933
1828 - 1933
John Faulkner was born in Piccadilly, London, on March 12, 1828.
John Faulkner was born in Piccadilly, London, on March 12, 1828.
He died at Appleford Berkshire on January 25, 1933, aged 104.
He died at Appleford Berkshire on January 25, 1933, aged 104.
He smoked and drank every day for ninety years.
He smoked and drank every day for ninety years.
Surrounded by ploughed fields and country lanes, John Faulkner lived in a picturesque cottage in Appleford, Berkshire. The mutton-chopped whiskered ex-jockey loved nothing better than to potter about his garden and to receive visits from any one of his thirty-two children. One day, on a visit to a friend's farm, he was kicked by a mule, smashing his thigh.
Surrounded by ploughed fields and country lanes, John Faulkner lived in a picturesque cottage in Appleford, Berkshire. The mutton-chopped whiskered ex-jockey loved nothing better than to potter about his garden and to receive visits from any one of his thirty-two children. One day, on a visit to a friend's farm, he was kicked by a mule, smashing his thigh.
This was three weeks after his 100th birthday.
This was three weeks after his 100th birthday.
The sensation was nothing new for, as a jockey, he had broken almost every bone in his body.
The sensation was nothing new for, as a jockey, he had broken almost every bone in his body.
Able to pass the scales at 4 st. 7 lbs, he had ridden on the flat, over hurdles, over fences and even at some local 'flapper' meetings. He had ridden in Epsom's City & Suburban and the Great Metropolitan. He'd ridden in the 1856 Cesarewitch. He once received threepence for riding a horse into a place at Epsom.
Able to pass the scales at 4 st. 7 lbs, he had ridden on the flat, over hurdles, over fences and even at some local 'flapper' meetings. He had ridden in Epsom's City & Suburban and the Great Metropolitan. He'd ridden in the 1856 Cesarewitch. He once received threepence for riding a horse into a place at Epsom.
In the first race that he ever rode in, a drunken sailor ran across the course, bringing horse and jockey crashing to the ground. The sailor was killed.
In the first race that he ever rode in, a drunken sailor ran across the course, bringing horse and jockey crashing to the ground. The sailor was killed.
He once bought a horse and rode it at a meeting that used to be held on the site of the old Caledonian cattle market. After winning the race, he sold it for £15.
He once bought a horse and rode it at a meeting that used to be held on the site of the old Caledonian cattle market. After winning the race, he sold it for £15.
John was still riding in the Abingdon races up to the age of 70.
John was still riding in the Abingdon races up to the age of 70.
Relating the story of his first steeplechase win, he said: 'The wickedest course I ever rode was, strangely enough, where I won my first chase. I refer to Totnes, in Devon, of which other jockeys have painful memories. There were no fences or water jumps in the ordinary sense, just great banks and a brook or two. These banks were six feet high, were fairly broad on the top, and the horses had to jump up then jump down again. In one race, I got away all right and negotiated the first jump which was under a railway arch. The horse was far from a great jumper, and I was soon trailing. However, I pushed on, determined to finish the job I had in hand. Then I lost my bearings, and the fool who I asked to direct me sent me back the way I had come instead of showing me how to complete the circuit. The consequence was that I was taking the horse the reverse way of the jumps, which meant nearly seven feet of wall each time. Lord! It was like riding on the side of a house. When we got back to the river the tide was coming in fast. I tried to take the horse across before the water was up to my stirrup leathers. Some men saw my plight, and took me off in a boat, but the horse had to swim across.'
Relating the story of his first steeplechase win, he said: 'The wickedest course I ever rode was, strangely enough, where I won my first chase. I refer to Totnes, in Devon, of which other jockeys have painful memories. There were no fences or water jumps in the ordinary sense, just great banks and a brook or two. These banks were six feet high, were fairly broad on the top, and the horses had to jump up then jump down again. In one race, I got away all right and negotiated the first jump which was under a railway arch. The horse was far from a great jumper, and I was soon trailing. However, I pushed on, determined to finish the job I had in hand. Then I lost my bearings, and the fool who I asked to direct me sent me back the way I had come instead of showing me how to complete the circuit. The consequence was that I was taking the horse the reverse way of the jumps, which meant nearly seven feet of wall each time. Lord! It was like riding on the side of a house. When we got back to the river the tide was coming in fast. I tried to take the horse across before the water was up to my stirrup leathers. Some men saw my plight, and took me off in a boat, but the horse had to swim across.'
He continued 'Once at a smaller meeting in the Midlands the horses had to race across a common through a sort of yard with cottages on either side. One race day a housewife, forgetting about the races, had hung the family washing out to dry. When the horses came to that spot they had to be pulled up while the old dame took the clothes and the line in. Another time, riding at Salisbury on a bitterly cold day, we noticed as we raced past the judge's box that it was unoccupied. The judge had gone to the weighing room to get warm.'
He continued 'Once at a smaller meeting in the Midlands the horses had to race across a common through a sort of yard with cottages on either side. One race day a housewife, forgetting about the races, had hung the family washing out to dry. When the horses came to that spot they had to be pulled up while the old dame took the clothes and the line in. Another time, riding at Salisbury on a bitterly cold day, we noticed as we raced past the judge's box that it was unoccupied. The judge had gone to the weighing room to get warm.'
John's young grandson once won the Salisbury Bowl, a race that John had won 74 years earlier.
John's young grandson once won the Salisbury Bowl, a race that John had won 74 years earlier.
He married twice. There was a forty-one-year gap between his eldest child and his youngest.
He married twice. There was a forty-one-year gap between his eldest child and his youngest.
Born on March 12 1828, John was a heavy smoker who always drank two pints of beer a day. He was also a very good singer. He always walked at least two miles every day. John once said 'The rough and tumble of life demands the best of us, not the line of least resistance. If life is not full of fight against the odds, it isn't a life - it's a groove, another name for a grave.'
Born on March 12 1828, John was a heavy smoker who always drank two pints of beer a day. He was also a very good singer. He always walked at least two miles every day. John once said 'The rough and tumble of life demands the best of us, not the line of least resistance. If life is not full of fight against the odds, it isn't a life - it's a groove, another name for a grave.'
John Faulkner died on January 25th 1933 aged 104.
John Faulkner died on January 25th 1933 aged 104.
Jimmy Faulkner, son of John, also became a jockey and he, too, lived a long life, dying when 97.
Jimmy Faulkner, son of John, also became a jockey and he, too, lived a long life, dying when 97.
He had his last ride at Windsor, aged 62.
He had his last ride at Windsor, aged 62.
He literally went one better than his father, having 33 children. There was a fifty-one-year gap between his eldest child and his youngest.
He literally went one better than his father, having 33 children. There was a fifty-one-year gap between his eldest child and his youngest.
He had 83 grandchildren but lost track of his great and great, great-grandchildren.
He had 83 grandchildren but lost track of his great and great, great-grandchildren.
Jimmy married three times.
Jimmy married three times.