Gwyn Davies played for the South Wales Cricket Club during 1882, before making a first-class appearance the following summer for Hampshire. However, he is better known in the world of horse racing than cricket, having won as a jockey the 1896 Welsh Grand National, besides being placed in the race at Aintree in 1897 and 1900, before becoming a successful trainer.
Born in Pembrokeshire in 1865, Gwyn was the son of Arthur Henry Saunders Davies of Manordeifi. After attending prep school in Slough, he went to Winchester where the right-handed batter was in the school’s eleven in 1881 and 1882. His success the latter summer, both for the school as well as Tenby CC, saw Gwyn being selected for the South Wales Cricket Club’s annual tour to London where he played at Lord’s against the MCC and scored 85 opening the batting in their second innings. He also played at The Ovall in the match with Surrey Club and Ground and during August made further appearances at the Arms Park against Clifton CC as well as the return contest with the MCC.
1882 was a busy time for Gwyn because he had his first ride that year, in the Lawrenny Hunt Cup – one of the premier steeplechases in the point-to-point calendar in Pembrokeshire and the following year he rode his first winner at the Tivyside Hunt – another premier event in the hunting scene in West Wales. 1883 also saw Gwyn played for Hampshire against Sussex at Hove, with the young Welshman top-scoring with 42 and 3. However, he opted to become an amateur jockey rather than a cricket and from 1885 until 1888 further developed his knowledge of equine matters by working in Argentina and Brazil.
After returning to South Wales, Gwyn rode in a total of 1,068 races, on both the flat and over jumps. He rode 322 winners, besides being placed in 364 races. One of his finest hours in the saddle came at the Ely Racecourse in Cardiff in 1896 where he won the two-and-a-half mile steeplechase on a horse called Cloister. His mount had won the 1893 Grand National at Aintree carrying 12stone 7 pounds and at the age of twelve was regarded by many to be in the autumn of its career. But Gwyn gave the horse a brilliant ride, making all the running and winning in a canter to loud applause form the crowd of 4,000 before being carried shoulder-high by the enthusiastic throng!
Gwyn also finished fourth the following year in the Grand National riding Prince Albert. In 1899 he was aboard the well-backed The Sapper but his mount fell at the second fence. However, Gwyn enjoyed better fortune in the famous race at Liverpool in 1900 as he finished fourth on Breemount’s Pride. By this time, he had moved away from South Wales, living initially in Staffordshire before moving in 1897 to Cheltenham and then Weyhill in Hampshire where he started to train.
He quit the saddle in 1903 and focussed on his training career. He duly saddled O’Donovan Rossa to win the Stewards Cup at Goodwood at odds of 66/1, as well as training William the Fourth which was third in the 1909 Derby at Epsom. Gwyn retired from training in 1928 having moved after the Great War to new stables at Mytle Grove Farm near Angmering in Sussex.
Gwyn changed his surname to Davies-Scourfield in 1921. His fourth son Gris won the Military Cross after his bravery in the Defence of Calais in 1940 before escaping from Stalag XXI-D in Poznan and from Colditz Castle later in the Second World War. Born in 1918, he had also attended Winchester College as well as the Royal Military College at Sandhurst before joining the 60th Rifles. His first escape in Poland came in May 1941 before the second during September 1943. He was re-captured again and returned to Colditz Castle. He later wrote his wartime memoirs and was awarded the MBE.
DAVIES, Henry Gwyn Saunders (later HGS Davies-Scourfield)
Born – Pentre, Pembrokeshire, 2 February 1865.
Died – Patching, Sussex , 4 December 1934.
