It seems impossible to believe that over 60 years have passed since I saw a notice in the dog papers of an inaugural meeting of the proposed "Bristol Collie Club". I was surprised when I entered the little back room of the Railway Hotel to find some fifteen or sixteen people assembled there. Some of them had travelled long distances to get there, others unable to make it in those days of difficult travel, had written letters of support.
It was agreed there and then to try and form a Club to be named the Bristol Collie Club and seek sponsorship from the only two* collie clubs in existence. the British and Collie Association. The other requirement of the KC was that 25 founder members should put down £2.00 each to be banked for the future of the club. This proved more difficult. The average weekly industrial wage was £3.00 a week. The agricultural wage about £2.00 a week. Women earned considerably less [as they still do]. My wage in the women's land army was just over £1.00 per week for 48 hours. My future husband earned just 50p per week, for being shot at nightly in a Lancaster bomber flying over Germany, still this went up if you were lucky enough to reach the age of 21, which many did not. But now the war was over and a new spirit of optimism and hope for the future pervaded in that dingy room. Somehow the money was found and a few months later the British Collie Club agreed to sponsor us, provided we changed the name which had the same initials as theirs. All this took time and it was two years later in 1949 that the KC finally recognised "The West of England Collie Society", [Now often referred to as WECS].
Mr Finlay from Paignton, who had put the original notice in the dog paper was elected Secretary, Mr Armitage of Downend, Bristol was made Chairman and Mr Fred Dawes who owned an egg packing factory in Fishponds was made President. By the time we ran our first show I had taken over the secretary ship and none of us having had any experience in running show, approached our first Open show with some trepidation. We knew that any venue had to be within walking distance of a Railway Station and the Bristol Cattle Market, adjacent to Temple Meads was chosen as our first show. We had chosen a prestigious judge in Ada Bishop and she had drawn an entry of 66 which was both Roughs and Smooth's [One and the same breed in those days], as Chows still are today. We have really lost a link with history when we recently lost this daughter of the legendary W.W.Stansfield and his World influential Launds.
I remember little about the actual show, except sitting up the night before polishing cups and putting the prize money into little envelopes to be pinned on the back of the prize cards. I know it was considered a great success, partly due to the efforts of the ladies providing refreshments. How they provided these when food was still rationed and only 2 ozs of tea and 4 ozs of sugar were allowed per person per week, was a mystery but provide them they did, and WECS hospitality has remained a tradition of the Club to this day. For several years we held shows at the YMCA Hall before moving to Yate, still in Bristol, the home of the Club, and the reason the Clifton Suspension Bridge showing a collie looking westward is still part of our logo. By this time Marie Hope had taken over as Secretary but it all ended in disaster and it was Terry Taylor who resurrected the club with May Young as Chairman and myself as President. Eventually we got the secretary we wanted, in Peter Chave who, under May's guidance and with his matchless efficiency led us into the happy and prosperous position in which we find ourselves today. When Peter was promoted to Chairman, Jane & Bob Gay took over the onerous positions of Secretary and Treasurer and after many years of sterling work have now handed the torch to Anita Stanley and Jim Torbet.
Now that our annual CC's have been restored to us the future looks bright. If we can find a suitable date we are investigating the possibility to hold the Championship show in the Summer to avoid the gales of the equinox that usually accompany our Autumn Ch Show. In 2009 we will be holding our Diamond Jubilee Year which we plan to make a very special occasion. We look forward to seeing you all there.
The London & Provincial Club, although formed many years before we applied had become ‘defuncked’ and was not restarted until we had applied.
Written by Hazel Hunt, founder member and current President of WECS.