NWSBTC History

Founded in 1946, the North West was the fourth Stafford breed club to be registered with the Kennel Club. The leading lights behind its formation were brothers-in-law, Albert Rawnsley and George Heyes, from East Lancashire in collaboration with Jack Worsnop from Bury who contacted as many Stafford owners as they could about the idea of forming a club. Receiving   encouraging responses it was full steam ahead.

Following discussions with members of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club down at Cradley Heath (The cradle of the SBTC and thus the Stafford as a show dog), a meeting was held at a pub in Bury called the Claybank with an attendance of about fourteen.

Some of the Yorkshiremen in the Northern Counties SBTC, founded in 1943, considered that another Northern club was not required but with typical Lancashire bluntness they were told where to go in no uncertain terms. Fortunately other Northern Counties’ members were supportive which led to long term friendship and co-operation.

Thus, with the full support of the Midlanders of the SBTC, the North West came into being, with George Heyes as Chairman, Jack Worsnop as Secretary and Albert Rawnsley as Treasurer. The first President was Mrs Charlotte Melling whose son Harry, who died in 1941 when only 34 years of age, had been well known in Stafford circles pre-war.

The photo below is of Harry with his mother and Tom  Walls (right).

Surprisingly, little was said in the canine press of these events. There seems to be no report of the meeting held at the Claybank and the first apparent mention of the North West is a notice, signed by Jack Worsnop as Secretary, in Our Dogs on 26th July 1946 of a meeting, the second one in fact, on 10th August in Britons Protection Hotel in Lower Mosley Street, Manchester. This venue, which still exists across the road from the GMex centre, was chosen as it was adjacent to the local bus station which allowed easy access. The attempt to form the North West was reported by Joe Dunn, the breed correspondent for Our Dogs, in his column on request and anyone interested was to contact the secretary.

Next mention was the granting of the Club’s title by the Kennel Club in November 1946 along with notice of a meeting about holding the Club’s first show.

This was duly held at Bradshaw’s Motormart in Upper Brook Street in Manchester in March 8th 1947 and was the first of many, when clubs were allowed to hold four per year, leading to the Club enjoying ever-increasing strength. Joe Dunn reported there was a good entry at this inaugural show, congratulating  the  Club’s officials on a successful venture, but regretted he could not stay to the end due to a prior engagement.

Staffords were far from unknown in the North West prior to the Club’s formation, as was to be expected. All those behind the formation of the club naturally owned them, but the best known of the early fanciers was undoubtedly the aforementioned Harry Melling, a Preston photographer. He was a founder member and later president of the SBTC and a founder member, and committee member, of the Southern Counties SBTS on its inauguration in 1937.

The dogs with which he is usually associated are Tough Guy, which won a CC soon after they were awarded to the breed, and his favourite bitch Lioness, photo below.

Photographs of both are to be found in early Stafford books and literature, including the well known picture taken at Crufts in 1939 which includes Melling with Tough Guy plus the first champions Ch Gentleman Jim and Ch Lady Eve. Tough Guy came from the well known Westall strain from East Lancashire.

The Westalls were a family of butchers in Great Harwood who had kept their own line of Staffords for decades and there is a print and a painting in existence purporting to be of a Westall dog from the 1870’s. Verification is a problem and the existence of various copies is likely.  Another butcher involved with Staffords pre-War, and latterly after the North West had been formed, was Jack Webster of Wigan. He seems to have been a rather unsavoury character if accounts are to be believed, and not to be tampered with. On several occasions in the late 1930’s he placed adverts in the canine press claiming to be ‘the largest and oldest breeder of ye olde Staffordshire Bull-terriers’ in the British Isles, backing his claim with a challenge for fifty or a hundred pounds; there were no reports of any takers!

Interestingly, John F. Gordon, who is best known for his books on Staffords and many other breeds, was active in the Lancashire show scene immediately after the War, living in Wilmslow at the time. He apparently attended the first meeting at the Protection Hotel but was never active in the Club as he returned to his native Essex at the end of 1946.

Once the North West was up and running, the late forties saw many who were to become doyens of the breed becoming North West members. These included the Bywaters (Wawocan), the Lathams (Topcroft), the Pringles and a young Les Aspin (Scarthwaite).

However special mention must be made of Arnold Thomas who joined in the very early days serving the Club well until his death in the ‘eighties. Arnold was involved with the breed on a national level and was a leader in trying to get a breed council formed in the early days. His contribution to the Stafford is almost certainly underestimated.

Along with other North West colleagues, he was part of the Club’s contingent at the 1948 meeting that reviewed the Breed Standard. Despite only being a couple of years old, the North West did make a major contribution although the basic policy was to ‘go along with Cradley’

Arnold’s well known dog Ch Iron Bill Of Phylmajar is seen below, in the 1961 Dog World advert. Also advertising is Lady Bowen Buscarlet, a prominent NW member at the time with her Firestreak dogs

Through the ‘fifties and ‘sixties, many who were to become successful exhibitors and notable North West men and women joined the Club adding to its standing and strength. To name them all would be impossible but again in the 1961 Dog  World NW  advertisers (above) include the Bywaters (Wawocan); Evie Hill (Kinderlee) and Mrs Jolly who was the Club President at the time, with her Ch Peter The Bomber.

The early success of the North West was such that it gained Championship status in 1956, the third breed club to do so, only ten years after its formation. The late Nap Cairns (Constones) was influential in helping the club to gain this, and was given the honour of judging the first Championship Show.

The Club has retained its status to the present day although the current rotation system means that there is not a Championship Show every year. Most if not all of the top dogs over the years have been exhibited at the Club’s shows with the pinnacle being the Golden Jubilee Championship show in 1996. This drew a record entry with a massive display of champions which attracted great interest.

Similar interest was shown in the champions at the Diamond Jubilee Championship Show on 2006 but there was no attempt to match 1996 when no effort was spared to make it ‘a year to remember’.

Throughout its history the North West has always tried to be innovative with various ‘firsts’ to its name. Although things have become harder in recent times with changes in social conditions, the advent of the electronic age and different attitudes of exhibitors and owners, the Club has always been in the forefront in running seminars and similar events. Naturally it has had its ups and downs during its sixty year plus history, but the efforts of its founders and officials of its early days, which often included putting ‘one’s hands in one’s pocket’, must not be forgotten and is something the present custodians of the Club’s well-being and future are acutely aware of.

One outstanding achievement was the publication of the Golden Jubilee Book in 1996, which is now out of print. No attempt was made to give a historical account of the Club’s first fifty years but there is a wealth of information on the Club’s founding and development over the years within it, plus much on the Stafford in general. In addition there are many personal experiences from those who had been active in the Club and breed from 1946 onwards, amply illustrated with photographs of dogs and people alike.

For those interested in the Club and its history it is well worth a read if you can beg, steal or borrow a copy.

A Short History of the Stafford

About two hundred years ago, with the decline in popularity of the baiting of bulls and other animals, the ‘sportsmen’ of the day, who came from all strata of society from the aristocracy down, crossed their bulldogs, which were longer legged and more athletic than the present day Bulldog, with terriers to produce a smaller faster dog usually referred to as the bull and terrier which they used for rat killing contests and dog fighting. Despite being made illegal in 1835, dog fighting remained popular in many areas throughout the land, especially the cities. Bouts were highly organised with dogs being matched by weight and strict rules adhered to. Sadly dog fighting has never ceased completely, being popular in some areas up till the Second World War and even afterwards. It still exists today but is now associated with gang culture or serious organised crime. In rural areas, bull and terriers were also used for badger digging. While we are rightly appalled by such barbaric pursuits today, we should not condemn those involved, judging them by today’s ethics, they were simply men of their times.

These bull and terriers had the courage and tenacity of their bulldog forefathers allied to the speed of the terriers. This made them ideal for the pursuits for which they were employed, although they required considerable training and many did not make the grade. An essential characteristic of all these bull and terriers was the ability to be handled as necessary. In a fight, the handler, or second, had to be able to pick the dog up without risk at the end of each round but there was an even more important reason. In many areas, notably the Black Country in South Staffordshire, which is a mass of small interlocking towns, the bull and terrier was extremely popular with the chain makers and those in the local heavy industry. Sometimes they were fought in the hope of winning a little cash to help feed the family, but they lived in the cramped homes of the time and had to be totally reliable with the usually large brood of children.

Thus there evolved a type of dog, courageous, spirited but a lover of humans and children, which was the forefather of today’s Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Many studio photographs of the late 19th and early 20th centuries include family dogs with clear physical characteristics of today’s Staffords. It is unclear when they began to be called Staffordshire Bull Terriers rather than bull and terrier or just bull terrier, or even other names. However the name was in use by the closing years of the 19th century and it may have been to differentiate it from the white Bull Terrier (sometimes erroneously called English Bull Terrier) developed about two or three decades earlier and when recognised by the Kennel Club managed to ‘steal’ the name. The coloured Bull Terrier was developed in Edwardian times by crossing the white variety with Staffords of the time. On close scrutiny, many adverts of ‘bull terriers’ for sale, in those days and later, are actually for Staffords, although not specified as such.

During the early decades of the 20th century, Staffords increased in popularity and by the early ‘thirties were a topic of debate in the canine press covering size and other characteristics, even whether they were suitable for women to own! In 1935 the Kennel Club, clearly in response to pressure from Bull Terrier and Stafford aficionados alike, recognised the Staffordshire Bull Terrier as a separate breed and the first club, The Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club (the first of eighteen in the UK), was formed, with its membership coming from all walks of life. The Club did a great job when writing the first breed standard in reconciling the variations in weight, height and other characteristics, between dogs from different areas. Most significantly, Mr Joseph Dunn, the first Club secretary and a driving force behind its formation, stated categorically that the Stafford was a companion animal, something his peers must have agreed with! Although some were dubious and some objected outright, 1935 also saw the birth of the Stafford as a show dog. The SBTC held its first show soon after its formation and general societies began scheduling them. The second club, Southern Counties Staffordshire Bull Terrier Society, covering London and the Home Counties where the Stafford was already very popular was founded in 1937, the breed gained CC status in 1938 and the first champions, Ch Gentleman Jim and Ch Lady Eve, both gained their titles at the Bath Ch Show in 1939.

The Second World War, apart from a dip in the early years, did not stop the Stafford’s progress. The third breed club to be formed was Northern Counties in 1943 although it was not able to be registered with the KC till 1946, the same year that the North West came into existence, making it the fourth Stafford breed society. This led to the formation of more breed clubs, although one or two were from joint Bull Terrier – Stafford clubs splitting, in conjunction with a steady increase in the breeds popularity over the years.

By the late 1980’s, the Stafford had become the most popular of terriers in the show ring and with the general population. Then in 1991 came the disastrous Dangerous Dogs Act in response to attacks on people by pit bulls, which inevitably belonged to irresponsible individuals. Like any hastily drawn up legislation, the DDA solved nothing and only caused more problems, especially to innocent owners and their dogs. Pit bulls had been brought into the UK some years previously but not from good American stock; the stock was said to be ‘proven’ which highlights the malign intentions of the importer. The problem for the innocent Stafford and its owners was that many pit bull owners, in an attempt to circumvent the law, cross bred their dogs with Staffords, which have a similar smooth coat and colour range although there are significant anatomical differences, not least size. Making matters worse they then started to call these crosses ‘Irish’, ‘Old Tyme’ or ‘Long Legged’ Staffords. There are no such breeds! Unfortunately, many, even some vets, do not now know what proper Staffords looks like. While, thanks to the unstinting efforts of many, the Stafford was not included as a banned breed under the DDA, it has not been so fortunate in some other countries or regions where the breed is not so numerous and cowardly politicians have taken the easy way out, disregarding expert advice and banning it along with anything that includes the word ‘bull’.

Fortunately, now being well into the 21st century, matters may be improving. Thanks to the combined efforts of many, including the Kennel Club, the Battersea Dogs’ Home, the Dogs Trust, the Stafford fraternity, and many other bodies, there is increasing pressure to reform the DDA. ‘Deed Not Breed’ is the slogan aiming to put any blame on irresponsible or criminal owners and not on a dog on account of its looks. This would help the Stafford enormously. If successful, it would reduce the appeal of any breed to those who need a ‘status’ dog to boost their fragile egos or those who like to be anti-authority and scorn the laws of the land. It might also reduce the numbers of Staffords and ‘staffy crosses’ coming into the various dogs’ homes and Stafford Rescue. The Stafford would benefit and again be recognised by all as the finest of family dogs.