In loving memory of Mollie Robinson

When I was asked to write about my prefix it was very tempting to just name the many Champions, especially abroad, which I have bred both past and present, but I have tried to work backwards from my present dogs I am showing to my original ‘Craigleith’. I hope that it will prove that in years to come that the Craigleiths have contributed to the breed in some way.

All my life I have had a dog: when we were young, my twin brother and I had a Border Terrier. After our home broke up, through our Mother’s illness, we went to live with an Auntie at Stansted, Essex who always had a Pekinese. On my 11th birthday I was given a Cocker X Sussex Spaniel and on my 13^th birthday the book “The Cocker Spaniel”, by H.S. Lloyd, which I have just had rebound. My little spaniel went with me to some of my posts after my Aunt got married, including Mrs. Shirres of the well known Felbrigg Cockers. The last time I saw her she was nearly 100, at a nursing home in Worthing, surrounded by photographs of her beloved dogs: she had me in fits of laughter over the stories she told me about the shows and exhibitors in her younger days. I didn’t think anything could be worse than now but believe me it was, -I have never been hit over the head in the ring with a walking stick!!

My family said I would ramble on about other things, so to get back to Me. When at Stansted at about 9 years old, we used to go to Bradford for our holidays and stayed with Auntie’s old Nanny: her married daughter, Addie, lived in Idle, Bradford and was Private Secretary to Mr. Watmough of the publishers of the Dog World for many years .She used to bring home the Annual for me and I read it from cover to cover. I later attended the Herts. & Essex High School at Bishops Stortford and collected the Dog World from the station kiosk and twice got into trouble for reading it under the desk before being sent to the Head!

I saw a show -I think the Herts. & Essex Border Society -advertised, held at the Corn Exchange at ‘Stortford and persuaded my Aunt to take me. This first show changed my life when, at aged eleven, I met the Misses Winifred and Helen Booth who were showing their Colmere Cockers. Win was like a Mum to me. I spent part of my holidays there: it was a very sad day for me when she died, aged 83, in the autumn of 1989. Now we keep in touch with Helen, visiting her about every six months, but unfortunately both Len and I have been in hospital and moved house this year, we have to find a new route in the spring. Helen, believe it or not, will be 100 years old on January 25^th-still living in a bungalow built on the corner plot of Wormingford and her cottage next door where she lived for so many years. Her nephew and his wife live with Helen but she is very independent and still does her own cooking. She bakes a cake for Len every time we visit, part of which we take home with us. We also kept in touch with Addie in Bradford and visited her always when attending the Yorkshire Cocker Club Ch. Show in Harrogate. She sadly died in the autumn of 1988 - a part of the past.

On leaving school, my Father and Auntie arranged for me to train as a kennel-maid for 6 months at the famous Soham Yorkshire Terrier kennels; afterwards I went to Colmere and then to Felbrigg, where I worked for Mrs Shirres for about three years.  At the beginning of the War as beds were needed, my Father once more came out of hospital, where he went for Rheumatoid Arthritis, they did not give’ spare parts, unfortunately, in those days. I kept house for him in Streatham and went to work in a Bank, as I could only do Maths at school; never English, as no doubt by now you have discovered!

Alas -we were bombed out, my Father went to live with friends and I went back to Colmere. I enlisted in the Land Army. While working on a farm in Suffolk I read an advert for a Land girl-come kennel-maid at the Beulah Rough Collies. My Father bought me 3 Cockers: a Red, a Black and a Blue Roan from Colmere in 1944, I was going to breed from them at ‘Beulah’ but I sold the solids and came back to Streatham to be with my Father, where I met Len and married him in 1945.

We decided that in order to breed from ‘Berra’, Colmere Connelly, we must have a Prefix and that a honeymoon. was as good time as any to choose it. After the week was over we were still no further so why not call it after the hotel where we stayed, CRAIGLEITH at Bournemouth; imagine my horror when 10 years later going to judge in Edinburgh, Dr. Joyce Collie (Collieston Cockers) met me and where we caught the bus was the Craigleith Bus Depot! However some years later my sister in law living in Scotland told me that her friend tried to get the same prefix and that Craigleith was a beauty spot and a beautiful hill, so now I am happy.  Berra, now Colmere Conelly of Craigleith, went back to Sir Galahad and Whoopee of Ware, Ch. Foxham Migrant, Dowbrow Duke and Harley Study and of course the Colmere bitch line, so a good foundation bitch. She was a very pretty, light blue roan with a lovely head and did some Open show winning. Mated to Valster Classic she produced Silver Belle, not shown as I was bringing up the children. She was mated to Colinwood Son-of-a-Gun and had Quaker Girl, a lovely Black White and Tan who won too at Open shows and when mated to Ch. Colinwood Cowboy produced a number of winners.

In her first litter was, amongst others, a Black White and Tan and an Orange and White bitch, all reared in the kitchen. I wanted to keep the tricolour but after arranging to sell the Orange and White, my son, then about 6 years old, came to me with 2/6 or half a crown he had secretly saved up and said he would buy her, and has still, or I have, the receipts! So that is how I started with my ‘special’ Orange and Whites, she was Geisha Girl- the tricolour Country Girl went to the late Bert Green in the North instead.

Geisha Girl won the Kennel’s first C.C. at the Cocker Club Ch. show in 1957 under Leo Wilson, her first 1st prize was at Manchester Ch. show under Lady Helen Berry ,(now Viscountess Kensley she came to me for an Orange and White bitch some years ago, as she always liked to have one). She won her first Reserve C.C. as a Junior at Southern Counties and had four more. Her greatest value was as a brood bitch, in her first litter to Blackmoor Brand she produced my first Stud dog Mikado (he was Gail’s special pet and she always paid for his licence and I always remember the Police came round for it when he died). He sired C.C. winners in this country and also Ambassador who went to Karlene Bennett in Australia, where be became a Champion and a leading stud force.

Geisha Girl had two more litters both to Ch.  Colinwood Silver Lariot; I was not able to keep more dogs at that time so four of her sons became Champions for other people and her daughter Madam Pompadour became a South African Champion. Another daughter, Heathermaid produced my first Champion, Cinderella who won 8 C.C’s- 4 Reserve C.C. ‘s and qualified in the field.  One of Geisha Girl’s sons was Sh.Ch. Colinwood Cheyenne, who won Best in Show at Paignton Ch. Show in 1961; Cinderella won the bitch C.C. on the same day. Ch. Cinderella produced Can. Ch. Redcoat, S. African Ch. Most Happy Fella, Australian Ch. Dream Girl, Italian Ch. Casanova and also an orange and white bitch Princess Ida. Dream Girl in Australia produced many Champions mated to’ Fargo ‘s brother Wonder Boy of Weirdene, so Princess Ida was mated to Sh.Ch. Wells Fargo of Weirdene to produce the next Show Champion, Maggie May, Cinderella’s  litter brother was Vagabond King who sired Oliver, Sh.Ch. Goldenfields Geisha Girl and many more Ch. show winners before being exported to Canada where he quickly became a Champion and leading sire. Heathermaid’s next litter produced The Boy Friend; he made his mark as a Stud dog immediately by siring, in his first litter, Darnmill Dolly Dimple who won 2 C.C. ‘s in this Country before becoming an Australian Champion. The Boy Friend was consistently successful in the ring winning Reserve C. C. to his grandson Sh. Ch. Blueprint of Broomleaf Sh. Ch. Maggie May produced Sh.Ch. & S. African Ch. Sweet Charity (40.C.’s) and the C.C. winner Floradora. Sweet Charity’s grandson The Magic Flute became a Canadian and American Champion and a leading sire in both countries. From Sweet Charity the continuing bitch line was The Marquise, Star, Lady Be Good and Carousel dam of The Magician, a Junior Warrant Winner.

Floradora mated to The Boy Friend produced Happy Go Lucky, dam of The Waltz King and Easter Parade. Waltz King sired the Orange and White The Waltz Dream, four C.C.’s and Best of Breed Crufts 1981 and Easter Parade sired the Orange and White Reserve C.C. winner Candyman.

Sh.Ch. The Waltz Dream produced The Great Waltz to Crooner (brother to Carousel) The Great Waltz is grandsire of my present Orange and White Bowmar Sunmaiden at Craigleith and Candyman is grandsire of The Midas Touch -so all the present Craigleiths in the ring descend from the original ‘Berra”.

Craigleth Candy Kisses
Drawn by Rudy Feyaerts Candyman and Sh.Ch. The Waltz Dream were from my favourite Orange and White Candy Kisses, who herself descended from the Black and White Arabella who was bought as an outcross mate for Mikado in 1958. Their daughter was Sabrina Fair who mated to Sh.Ch. Wells Fargo of Weirdene produced Calamity Jane who mated to The Boy Friend produced Solitaire dam of Calypso Girl, whose daughter Diamond Lil’  was the mother of Candy Kisses.

For about the next ten years I enjoyed showing, most of all my lovely Candy Kisses, she won 57 points for her Junior Warrant and I consider her the best Craigleith I have ever bred. I started showing The Merry Widow, a very striking Black and White, who is now my constant companion at 14 years old.

During those years I judged in Europe, including the World Show in Milan, in America and in Canada twice: the second time Len came with me and we stayed with Mr, Mrs and Miss Keri Brangers. For many years Craigleith A Pirate King became the winning stud dog in Canada- he was 15 when he died and was Keri’s “special” dog. We visited America where my friends Lori Capron and Karen Whitfield show my dogs; they made up Ch. Craigleith Me and My Girl, an Orange and White dog.  Three of Craigleith The Last Waltz’s close progeny are now being shown. I have known Lori since her mother took her to Crofts when she was thirteen. I sold her her foundation bitch and later her special Black and White sire USA Ch. Man of Magic litter brother to my beautiful Reserve C.C. winner Candyman. Their progeny, that she showed, all became champions. Our friends in America and Canada keep in touch regularly.

I have judged twice in South Africa, where my friend Fran Minnar is currently showing a Blue champion Craigleith Island In The Sun of Chance. Len and I visited Australia and my friend of many years Karlene Bennett. Royoni Cockers has had many winning champions coming up through my lines many years ago. This is my last visit to Australia and to meet my friends. I judged the 50 anniversary show of the Cocker Spaniel Society of New South Wales. I had an excellent entry of lovely cockers, making Best in Show the super Orange and White dog Glenaydon Edged with Gold; coming up from Junior.

We later visited, on our way home, Mrs Judith Potter in New Zealand, who has shown two of my dogs: the best being the lovely champion tricolour dog who proved an excellent sire. She also took us many miles touring in that lovely country.  Coming home I was thrilled at being asked to judge the Millennium Cocker Club show: I was honoured to have a record entry and going over so many lovely cockers. I decided then that after well over fifty years of breeding, showing and judging I should retire; so it was also a sad time for me. I must also add that it would not have been possible without my husband Len.

My greatest thrill was being asked to judge Crufts in 1987: both my children, Gail and Ian, were there and I did think then that it was an appropriate time to retire. But I would have missed judging for the second time in Australia and the Cocker Club Millennium show.

I have enjoyed my life with dogs, judging and making so many friends all over the world: what would I have done without them?

January 2004

---

The Speech

I wanted to say a few words about my mother’s life; she had such a full and varied life and achieved so much.

Mollie was born on March 15th 1922 a twin sister to Colin. When she was quite young her mother became ill, her father himself not fit and was unable to look after the children: she went to live with an aunt. I gather that she had a happy childhood but the family was never together. This gave her a sense of family values which she passed on to Gail and me.

She quickly developed a love of animals and dogs in particular: she worked as a kennel maid and decided that she would like to show and breed cocker spaniels.

Although a few matters have intervened, the second world war, getting married, raising two children, you know-the normal minor interruptions, she managed to do that and do it very successfully. She was a loving mother and wife, and she did everything for us, but we always knew she had other things on her mind. She did everything at a terrific pace and with great enthusiasm. She could make pastry faster than most of us could make a pot of tea.

She founded Craigleth Cockers and her dogs are well known in many countries. She set herself very high standards and was determined in what she wanted to achieve. Compromise was not a word she understood. She generally spoke her mind and stood up for what she believed in, which didn’t always gain her top marks in the popularity stakes. Still, I like to believe that she was well respected by her friends and adversaries alike.

She reached the top in her field, bred champion dogs and judged in many countries and judged Cocker Spaniels at Crufts, the top dog show. She would never have done it, of course, without the help of my father, Len, who has great understanding, infinite patience and the ability to promote temporary deafness.
In recent years her health was not so good, the body that God gave her was good enough; she just wore it out. She didn’t slow down, just took more rests.

She told me a while ago she never wanted to be a burden, and she was very afraid of becoming senile. If there is a crumb of comfort in her passing it is that she was neither.

One of the best epitaphs I think, you could give a person was that they made a difference to this world.

Mollie Robinson made a difference.