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Early History of ECCKCSS Back in the 1960s/early 70s it was quite common for dog show exhibitors to band together and hire a coach or mini bus to go to championship shows. It was on the way back from one of these shows that Molly Marshall suggested to her co-travellers that it would be a good idea to form a society for Cavalier owners in the East of England. There were regional clubs in some other parts of the country but not one that covered the East Anglia region. After a few meetings with exhibitors in the area an application was made to the Kennel Club on 6th August 1974 for the registration of the Society. The objects were to cater for the interests of the owners of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire and surrounding areas. Seven weeks later the Kennel Club announced that their committee had approved the application and advertised it in the Kennel Gazette. There were no objections to the application and it was sponsored by The Cavalier Club. Subsequently the founding members drafted the rules for the society and a formal application was sent to the Kennel Club who granted registration on 2nd April 1976. The Society's first organised event was held in Newmarket on 18th July 1976 and consisted of the first General Meeting where a committee and officers were elected and rules of the Society were agreed. The original officers were: President, Miss M. Marshall (Kormar); Chairman, Mrs S. V. Barwell (Charlottetown); Secretary, Mr R. Ford (Hazelbury); Treasurer, Mr R. Fox-Carter (Janton). The committee comprised of Mrs H. Alvarez (Fairchild), Mrs D. Archer (Jia), Mrs P. Cousins (Fentiger), Mr P. Nunn (Petsendas), Mr W. Pettit (Jellibank), Mrs H. Seager (Waggoners), Mrs P. Thornhill (Kindrum) and Mr G. Walker (Breklaw). Following a meeting there was a match judged by Betty Miller of Otterholt Cavaliers.
In the October of that year the Society held a judging teach-in led by Pat Thirkell and Michael Quinney. It was at this event that the club decided on an amendment to the rules and remove the geographic restrictions to the membership. Although the club would be running events within the Eastern Counties area it would still be open to membership from people from outside of this area. The very first show held by the Society was a Limited Show held on 16th January 1977 with Susan Burgess of Crisdig Cavaliers judging an entry of 109 from 87 dogs. Best in Show was Pam Thornhill's Kindrum Carousel. The following June the club's first Open Show was held which attracted 144 dogs. This show was judged by Lady Forwood and Best in Show went to Pam Thornhill's ruby Kindrum Jason.
It was in the summer of 1980 that the Society held their first Championship Show on the Rowley Mile Racecourse at Newmarket with Barbara Stanley judging dogs and John Evans judging bitches. Bitch CC and Best in Show went to Amantra Harbour Queen of Milkeyn and the Dog CC went to Ch Huntbank Vagabond. Over the years the Society has held many of its events at Newmarket, mainly because it is situated quite centrally within the Eastern Counties area. But coincidentally Newmarket has a great historical connection with Charles II after whom our dogs are named. Throughout his reign he spent virtually every summer in Newmarket and the Rowley Mile Racecourse is named after his favourite horse, Rowley. Apart from his beloved spaniels, (and his many mistresses!) horse racing was his other great passion. With the Society now firmly established they set up their own regional rescue service and began holding events for their members. Over the years the Society have invited guest speakers along to meetings to speak on all manner of topics such as judging procedures, caring for young puppies, tips for photographing dogs, etc. In addition there have been many social events such as dinner/dances, a barn dance and a great many Christmas parties for members and their dogs.
In 2013 the Society had the privilege of organising the Joint Cavalier Clubs Championship Show which was held in July at Peterborough. This event is rotated around the UK Cavalier Clubs and is an additional set of CC's which is awarded to the breed annually by the Kennel Club. It usually incorporates some form of social event and encourages a weekend of 'doggy fun' similar to the past Amice Pitt Rallies.
In March 2014 we were sad to report the death of our President Molly Marshall at the age of 98. She was one of the original founders of our Society and had been President since day one. She had been involved with the breed since the 1950s and specialised in wholecolours. Probably her most famous dog was Ch. Don Miguel of Kormar, a black and tan born in October 1958 and bred by Mrs K. Plowright. He was sired by one of Molly's own dogs, a black and tan called Ramon of Kormar out of a tricolour bitch known only as Kathalan. Don Miguel was quite an important wholecolour stud dog in the early sixties and through his breeding Molly managed to produce both solid black Cavaliers and black and whites. She tried several times to get the solid blacks recognised as a colour but this request was rejected by the Cavalier Club. Amice Pitt was complete against the idea of blacks and black and whites being accepted and claimed that they were merely black and tans and tricolours with the tan missing. In the meantime Molly continued with her wholecolour lines and became quite an influential wholecolour breeder in the 1960s.
She was fluent in several languages and during World War II she actually worked for the Secret Service behind enemy lines. As well as Cavaliers she also kept cats and was a successful breeder of rare breed chickens, having great success exhibiting her poultry at the London Championship Show that used to be held at Alexandra Palace. She was also heavily involved with the Ricardian Society, an organization that aimed to exonerate and promote the life and memory of King Richard III. She would often turn up at our shows wearing a badge featuring a portrait of Richard III. For many years she lived in a cottage with no electric power and kept many of her chickens inside her house. Despite her eccentricities she was a highly intelligent woman with a very wide knowledge of a vast array of subjects. RIP Molly.
15th January 2017 saw the Ruby Anniversary of the very first show held by the Society almost 40 years to the day. Our Open Show judge was Mr Evan Ryan and during the lunch break members were treated to a celebratory drink and a piece of cake. The entry was 117 dogs slightly up on our first show entry of 87.
Best in Show winners at ECCKCS Society Championship Shows
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