History

SEGS was formed in 1952 by a group of gundog enthusiasts. The following memories of those early days are by Gordon Smith, one of the founder members, and first appeared in the 'Golden Jubilee Year Book' in 2002.

It all started in 1949 when I purchased a yellow Labrador as a belated wedding present for my late wife, Phyllis. We got involved with showing and it was at a Show that we learned about a gundog training class to be held at Wrotham.

We were introduced to a gentleman who would start us off on the right track. After it was explained what was expected of a working retriever, handlers and dogs were taken into a field and shown some basic training methods. The fun started when we were instructed to sit our dogs, command them to stay and walk away. This we did. There were dogs everywhere, with handlers trying to catch them, all except one which was still sitting. The gentleman came up to me and said, "You're having me on – you've done this before!" So I explained that my wife went shopping with the dog, which was told to sit outside the shop and therefore knew the ‘stay’ command. In due course I learnt that our instructor was none other than Peter Moxon whom I came to know well in later years. I not only ran dogs under him but also judged with him.

Our group stayed together for three years as a branch of a large Society. However, a number of the members felt that the branch was not making much progress. So, when it was learned at a subsequent AGM that certain documentation had not been submitted to the Kennel Club, it was decided that a club would be formed that would adhere to the Kennel Club Regulations, thus gaining recognition to run trials as soon as possible.

The South Eastern Gundog Society was born, with Mr Bentley in the Chair, Mr Eric Mackintosh as Honorary Secretary, Mr Tom Hendley as Honorary Treasurer and Mr Bill Hickmott and Mr George Williams as trainers. A working party was formed and on 3rd March 1952, at an inaugural meeting attended by fifty people, Mrs H. J. Morgan was elected President. With the enthusiasm and hard work of the Committee and members, the Kennel Club soon gave full recognition to the Society and we were able to run our first trials. The Committee, not entirely happy with the running of their first trials, raised the matter at the next meeting. The Field Trial Secretary gave a brief reply: 'Goodbye and b......r you!' with the result that I had the job for the next ten years.

In those days it was done with typewriter and duplicator and, with the helpful advice of Mr Holland-Buckley at the Kennel Club, everything seemed so friendly. A day’s trial was a ‘day out’ and a two-day trial was ‘a short holiday’.

Without a doubt the Society’s success is very much due to those wonderful people who have let us use their grounds for Field Trials, Working Tests and training. Whilst it is not possible to mention them all by name, my mind goes back to Norman Mullins at Holborough and his keeper, Rodney; John Luttmer, who gave us his ground for our first two-day trial; and our President, Richard Greenwood, and his keeper, John Lewis, who have always ensured that there has been ground available.

In those early days, Jean Train (later Lumsden) won the Retriever Championships with ‘Cala’ and, because gundog work was all so new to the majority of members, this magnificent achievement was not fully appreciated.

No Society can reach such a prominent position in the gundog world as the South Eastern Gundog Society without a lot of hard work by the various secretaries, treasurers and general committee members, including Tony Casserly, who seems to have been around for ever as trainer and committee man!

Lastly, I remember dogs. Was Eric Mackintosh’s super-going dog a Labrador or a Golden? This was never solved! Mr Bentley’s lovely dark Golden Retrievers; Jim Child’s ‘Flight’; Betty Simpson’s ‘Mascot’; Bill Hickmott’s ‘Stubblesdown’ Goldens; June Atkinson’s ‘Holways’ and many others, not forgetting the ‘Palgrave’ Labradors and Goldens and the one and only ‘Lacygreen Pillar of Wingfield’, who got me into the world of gundogs.

Founder members are getting fewer. Whilst we cannot expect to be around in another 50 years time, we trust that what we helped start will still be going strong.