The History of South Wales Boxer Club.
A meeting was convened in the Old Arcade Hotel, Church Street, Cardiff on the 1st of November 1951, with 27 people
present, to form the South Wales Boxer Club. The meeting elected as Chairman - Mr Kirkham, as Secretary - Mrs Aster and as Treasurer - Mr L. Thomas. The annual subscription fee was fixed at one guinea and joint membership at one and a half guineas. The first Annual General Meeting was held on 10th March 1952 at the Pavilion, Cardiff Arms Park.
The Club held matches and film evenings, and sponsored classes at local shows. As a result of a turbulent meeting on 11th
November 1952, there were several vacancies on the committee and a Special General Meeting was called for 4th December to fill them. An Open Show was suggested for the 21st February 1953, and these measures gave the club the impetus to proceed. Cups were donated (some of these are still on offer today) and Mrs Dibbie Somerfield was asked to judge, the show commencing at a stately 2.00 pm. It was a success and another Open Show was proposed for 14th or 21st November. (It is interesting to note that this is around the time we now hold our Championship Show).
Judges during the fifties were: Mrs M. Fairbrother, Mrs J. Dunkles, Mrs H. Gamble, Mrs. Hullock, Mrs C. Wilson-Wiley,
Mrs F. Price, Mr. Mulhouse, Miss J. Grover and Mrs O. Kelly, most of them were to have a big influence on the breed in the fifties, sixties, seventies and beyond.
In those days there was a great choice of venues, but the shows ran at a loss. Matches were held regularly with the Gwent
Boxer Club (now the Cotswold Boxer Club) with a shield provided by the SWBC. These were revived in the eighties but support from the South Wales Club was limited and so the teams were generally unbalanced.
At the April 1960 show there were 39 exhibits making 107 entries, but whether it made a profit or not is not recorded. The
committee dug deep into their pockets for raffle prizes and prize money for each class. Draws were held on the Grand National, the Derby and the St. Leger for funds, and generally it was a tough time financially for the club. In July 1962
funds stood at£147.4.1d. at which time the committee decided to invest £100 in a Building Society.
The Club first applied for C.C. Status in 1966 for 1968, but at this time were not successful. By the end of the sixties
the Club had settled into a regular pattern of two or three shows a year, and inter-matches with local clubs or breed clubs.
In 1970 the charges for catalogues were 4/-, entrance 3/- and OAP 1/6d.
In the early seventies an attempt to change the Club’s name to the Welsh Boxer Club was refused by the Kennel Club. In
1973, for the 21st anniversary, a film and slide show was suggested with a 21st birthday dinner.
In 1980 the committee decided that the cups were too valuable to be given out as several had been lost, and rosettes were to
be given in lieu. Also in 1980 the Club was involved in the inaugural meeting of the Working and Pastoral Breeds of Wales.
In 1981 the Club held a special meeting at Llandaff to inform members about P.A. Dr Bruce Cattanach showed the P.A. film
and answered members’ questions. This was a worrying time for most breeders. 1984 was a celebration year for the 100th show was held in November. Half-price entries, prize money, rosettes and a free catalogue for each exhibitor made it a
bumper show. The judge was Dr Cattanach, with 142 dogs making 230 entries it was the best entry so far.
After the AGM in 1985 the committee decided that cups should once more be given to members winning at shows. Many new cups were donated and to date they are still on offer.
At last in1985, CC status was granted for 1987. Pontypool was chosen as the venue for the Championship Show because of
its accessibility from England. Also in 1985 the SWBC became involved in the docking issue writing to the Foreign Secretary, and in May 1986 it sent a representative to the proposed Council for Docked Breeds.
In September 1986 a new Club logo was designed, and a newsletter called “Pup Chat” was started and ran for several issues.
The first Championship Show was held on14th November 1987 and was judged by Mrs V. Tripe (dogs) and Mrs M.Best (bitches) there were 250 dogs entered, the entry fee for members being £4.50 and £5.50 non-members. Texaco generously
donated a new set of cups for Best in Show etc., and several members have since donated cups for most classes. Prize money was on offer and the first of the Club’s series of collectable pottery plates was given to winners of each class.
At the Championship show in 1989 the committee decided to hold a parade of imported dogs. Permission to do this was
granted by the K.C. although at the time the K.C. hadn’t realized that all imported Boxers at that time had cropped ears, but by then we had done it! It provided a showcase for dogs that many had never seen.
November 1993 saw the 40th Anniversary, and at the Championship show that year a special class with £40 prize money for the winner was included. The referee Mrs Mary Foan judged it after the main show was completed.
1994 saw the first of what was to become a series of very successful weekend Judging Seminars, the first one being held at
Duffryn House, Nr Cardiff. These were held bi-annually and were a major event in the boxer calendar attracting around 80 delegates from all over the country. In 1998 the venue moved to the Parkway Hotel & Conference Centre, Cwmbran.
Unfortunately due to spiralling costs the last seminar was held in 2002. The club were very proud of what they had achieved with these seminars and believe that as yet they have not been rivalled.
The Club currently has a good working committee and puts on three shows a year. In 2004 to try and increase entries the Limited show held in January was upgrade to an Open show. The 2nd. Show again an Open show is held on May bank holiday. In 2006 saw the club move from the Memorial Hall in Usk to the Agricultural College in Usk. The move was forced on the club by the Memorial Hall, which was due for re-furbishment. However the move has been a success both for the club and the exhibitors. The Championship show is held in November and again a move of venue resulted in the show moving from Pontypool to Cwmbran for one year, which was not as suitable as first thought. However in 2006 the Eastern Leisure Centre was booked and proved a popular choice to all.
We hoped that these moves would be the last, however things do keep on changing and after a disappointing Championship show in 2011 we made the decision to move. At the same time it was agreed the date of our Championship show would also change. In 2012 the Chamionship show will be held at the Chepstow Leisure Centre and in 2013 the date will move from the third Saturday in November to the third Saturday in March. Hopefully these changes will prove popular with exhibitors and we can look forward to a more settled and successful future.
We have representatives at Boxer Breed Council, and try to promote the Boxer as a healthy family dog by following a Code of Conduct, and we are currently drawing up guidelines for Boxer breeders.
A meeting was convened in the Old Arcade Hotel, Church Street, Cardiff on the 1st of November 1951, with 27 people
present, to form the South Wales Boxer Club. The meeting elected as Chairman - Mr Kirkham, as Secretary - Mrs Aster and as Treasurer - Mr L. Thomas. The annual subscription fee was fixed at one guinea and joint membership at one and a half guineas. The first Annual General Meeting was held on 10th March 1952 at the Pavilion, Cardiff Arms Park.
The Club held matches and film evenings, and sponsored classes at local shows. As a result of a turbulent meeting on 11th
November 1952, there were several vacancies on the committee and a Special General Meeting was called for 4th December to fill them. An Open Show was suggested for the 21st February 1953, and these measures gave the club the impetus to proceed. Cups were donated (some of these are still on offer today) and Mrs Dibbie Somerfield was asked to judge, the show commencing at a stately 2.00 pm. It was a success and another Open Show was proposed for 14th or 21st November. (It is interesting to note that this is around the time we now hold our Championship Show).
Judges during the fifties were: Mrs M. Fairbrother, Mrs J. Dunkles, Mrs H. Gamble, Mrs. Hullock, Mrs C. Wilson-Wiley,
Mrs F. Price, Mr. Mulhouse, Miss J. Grover and Mrs O. Kelly, most of them were to have a big influence on the breed in the fifties, sixties, seventies and beyond.
In those days there was a great choice of venues, but the shows ran at a loss. Matches were held regularly with the Gwent
Boxer Club (now the Cotswold Boxer Club) with a shield provided by the SWBC. These were revived in the eighties but support from the South Wales Club was limited and so the teams were generally unbalanced.
At the April 1960 show there were 39 exhibits making 107 entries, but whether it made a profit or not is not recorded. The
committee dug deep into their pockets for raffle prizes and prize money for each class. Draws were held on the Grand National, the Derby and the St. Leger for funds, and generally it was a tough time financially for the club. In July 1962
funds stood at£147.4.1d. at which time the committee decided to invest £100 in a Building Society.
The Club first applied for C.C. Status in 1966 for 1968, but at this time were not successful. By the end of the sixties
the Club had settled into a regular pattern of two or three shows a year, and inter-matches with local clubs or breed clubs.
In 1970 the charges for catalogues were 4/-, entrance 3/- and OAP 1/6d.
In the early seventies an attempt to change the Club’s name to the Welsh Boxer Club was refused by the Kennel Club. In
1973, for the 21st anniversary, a film and slide show was suggested with a 21st birthday dinner.
In 1980 the committee decided that the cups were too valuable to be given out as several had been lost, and rosettes were to
be given in lieu. Also in 1980 the Club was involved in the inaugural meeting of the Working and Pastoral Breeds of Wales.
In 1981 the Club held a special meeting at Llandaff to inform members about P.A. Dr Bruce Cattanach showed the P.A. film
and answered members’ questions. This was a worrying time for most breeders. 1984 was a celebration year for the 100th show was held in November. Half-price entries, prize money, rosettes and a free catalogue for each exhibitor made it a
bumper show. The judge was Dr Cattanach, with 142 dogs making 230 entries it was the best entry so far.
After the AGM in 1985 the committee decided that cups should once more be given to members winning at shows. Many new cups were donated and to date they are still on offer.
At last in1985, CC status was granted for 1987. Pontypool was chosen as the venue for the Championship Show because of
its accessibility from England. Also in 1985 the SWBC became involved in the docking issue writing to the Foreign Secretary, and in May 1986 it sent a representative to the proposed Council for Docked Breeds.
In September 1986 a new Club logo was designed, and a newsletter called “Pup Chat” was started and ran for several issues.
The first Championship Show was held on14th November 1987 and was judged by Mrs V. Tripe (dogs) and Mrs M.Best (bitches) there were 250 dogs entered, the entry fee for members being £4.50 and £5.50 non-members. Texaco generously
donated a new set of cups for Best in Show etc., and several members have since donated cups for most classes. Prize money was on offer and the first of the Club’s series of collectable pottery plates was given to winners of each class.
At the Championship show in 1989 the committee decided to hold a parade of imported dogs. Permission to do this was
granted by the K.C. although at the time the K.C. hadn’t realized that all imported Boxers at that time had cropped ears, but by then we had done it! It provided a showcase for dogs that many had never seen.
November 1993 saw the 40th Anniversary, and at the Championship show that year a special class with £40 prize money for the winner was included. The referee Mrs Mary Foan judged it after the main show was completed.
1994 saw the first of what was to become a series of very successful weekend Judging Seminars, the first one being held at
Duffryn House, Nr Cardiff. These were held bi-annually and were a major event in the boxer calendar attracting around 80 delegates from all over the country. In 1998 the venue moved to the Parkway Hotel & Conference Centre, Cwmbran.
Unfortunately due to spiralling costs the last seminar was held in 2002. The club were very proud of what they had achieved with these seminars and believe that as yet they have not been rivalled.
The Club currently has a good working committee and puts on three shows a year. In 2004 to try and increase entries the Limited show held in January was upgrade to an Open show. The 2nd. Show again an Open show is held on May bank holiday. In 2006 saw the club move from the Memorial Hall in Usk to the Agricultural College in Usk. The move was forced on the club by the Memorial Hall, which was due for re-furbishment. However the move has been a success both for the club and the exhibitors. The Championship show is held in November and again a move of venue resulted in the show moving from Pontypool to Cwmbran for one year, which was not as suitable as first thought. However in 2006 the Eastern Leisure Centre was booked and proved a popular choice to all.
We hoped that these moves would be the last, however things do keep on changing and after a disappointing Championship show in 2011 we made the decision to move. At the same time it was agreed the date of our Championship show would also change. In 2012 the Chamionship show will be held at the Chepstow Leisure Centre and in 2013 the date will move from the third Saturday in November to the third Saturday in March. Hopefully these changes will prove popular with exhibitors and we can look forward to a more settled and successful future.
We have representatives at Boxer Breed Council, and try to promote the Boxer as a healthy family dog by following a Code of Conduct, and we are currently drawing up guidelines for Boxer breeders.