







Membership, which permits a kennel link on our web-site, is open to all.
For more details about what the Midland Collie Club has to offer
visit our web-site.
The area of England usually referred to as ‘
The Midlands’ is synonymous with the
Collie’s early
development and the region has frequently supported specialist Collie
Societies, although rarely did they reign for more than a few years.
The Midland Collie Club’s origins are shrouded in mystery, although it is believed
it was founded in 1924. For all this there is no reference to a Midland Collie Club
in Kennel Club published lists of registered breed clubs until volume 72 of the
Stud
Book, dated 1945 and covering the year 1944. However it is known
from Kennel Gazette
entries that the Club were licensed to organise
Sanction Shows throughout the twenties
and thirties when first
Mr E. C. Davis of Smethwick, and later Mr E. J. Allsop ‘Merrion’
undertook secretarial duties.
The re-emergence of canine activities in the immediate post-war
period saw Mr Allsop
still at the helm concentrating the club’s
efforts on supporting local breeders with
members’ only
shows. Gradually, as more fanciers joined collie ranks,
entries began
to escalate, and with Mr Alan Jeffries ‘Jefsfire’
taking over secretarial duties
the Midland Collie Club
started to expand its horizons; scheduling a full range of
shows from Open Show downwards.
Catering, as it does, for an area that has always been well
served by General Championship
Shows the Midland Collie
Club had to wait a long time before it attained such exalted
status,
but attain it, it did in 1977 when Mrs Joan Sykes ‘Sykeslaw’ almost
mirrored
the principal placings at Cruft’s, which had been scheduled
the previous week, handing
the tickets to the same two Collies, who
were each winning their second on the day,
while reversing the
Best of Breed award. Anchored in early February from the outset,
the
Midland Collie Club Championship Show has always succeeded in
attracting large
entries, and has since its second show in 1978 engaged two judges, one for each sex.
In 1991 the Kennel Club moved Cruft’s to the National Exhibition Centre outside Birmingham, three years later it introduced a new feature aimed at encouraging visitors to make detailed enquires before selecting any breed of dog. ‘Discover Dogs at Cruft’s’, as this feature has become known, has, since its introduction, been supported by Midland Collie Club members and committee, who provide a team of enthusiasts and Collies capable of promoting the breed in a positive light to members of the general public.