Herbert Summers Lloyd MBE (1 April 1887 – 26 January 1963) was an English

dog breeder Dog breeding is the practice of mating selected dogs with the intention of maintaining or producing specific qualities and characteristics. When dogs reproduce without such human intervention, their offspring's characteristics are determined by ...

of show

English Cocker Spaniel The English Cocker Spaniel is a breed of gun dog. It is noteworthy for producing one of the most varied numbers of pups in a litter among all dog breeds. The English Cocker Spaniel is an active, good-natured, sporting dog standing well up at ...

s. He remains the most successful breeder/owner at

Crufts Crufts is an international dog show held annually in the United Kingdom, held since 1891, and organised by The Kennel Club. It is the largest show of its kind in the world. Crufts is primarily a championship conformation show for dogs, and ...

, having won Best in Show on six occasions in the 1930s and 1940s.

Early life

Born on 1 April 1887, his father Richard Lloyd was a dog breeder considered to be one of the founding fathers of the

. Once he left school, he became an apprentice to a

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James Printer (1640 ...

; however after two years in the trade, he left to pursue his love for dogs.

Cocker Spaniels

In 1906, Lloyd adopted the "of Ware" kennel suffix, named after

Ware, Hertfordshire Ware is a town and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is close to the county town of Hertford. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, the parish had a population of 19,622. Hist ...

where the original kennels were located. He and the "of Ware" kennels eventually moved to Swakeleys Farm,

Ickenham Ickenham is an area in Greater London, forming the northern part of Uxbridge and within the London Borough of Hillingdon. While no major historical events have taken place in Ickenham, settlements dating back to the Roman occupation of Britai ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. He won his first Best in Show at

in 1930 with Luckystar of Ware. It was only the third time the award had been handed out, and was the first occasion on which a

Gundog Gun dogs (gundogs) or bird dogs are types of hunting dogs developed to assist hunters in finding and retrieving game, typically various fowls that are shot down on the wing (in flight). The term hunting dog is broad and includes all breeds and sk ...

had taken the title. In 1931, Lloyd and Luckystar repeated the victory, again taking Best in Show. It was the first occasion where the title had been retained by the previous year's winner. Jackson (1990): p. 198 Countess Lorna Howe would repeat this in the following two years, taking the title with her

Labrador Retriever The Labrador Retriever or simply Labrador or Lab is a British list of dog breeds, breed of water dog retriever gun dog. It was developed in the United Kingdom from St. John's water dogs imported from the Newfoundland Colony, colony of Newfoun ...

, Bramshaw Bob. Jackson (1990): p. 112 In 1938, Lloyd again won Best in Show at Crufts, this time with his dog Exquisite Model of Ware, and then repeated the victory again in 1939. Jackson (1990): p. 119 By the time Crufts was due to take place in 1940, the competition had been suspended due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

appointed Lloyd as a technical advisor and the head trainer at a school for war dogs during the war, including training

detection dog A detection dog or sniffer dog is a dog that is trained to use its senses to detect substances such as explosives, illegal drugs, wildlife scat, semen, currency, blood, and contraband electronics such as illicit mobile phones. The sense most use ...

and handlers. For his service to the war effort, he was made a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. In 1948, he was one of the founder members of the Home Counties Cocker Club, donating a trophy for best novice of any colour. In the same year Crufts took place for the first time since the war, and again Lloyd won Best in Show, this time with Tracey Witch of Ware. The competition was suspended in 1949 during the handover of the competition from the Cruft family to

The Kennel Club The Royal Kennel Club (KC) is the official kennel club of the United Kingdom. It is the oldest recognised kennel club in the world. Its role is to oversee various canine activities including dog shows, dog agility and working trials. It also ...

, Jackson (1990): p. 199 it resumed in 1950, and Lloyd was victorious for his sixth and final time once again with Tracey Witch of Ware. Due to the two periods of suspended competition, Lloyd had won every Best in Show at Crufts between 1938 and 1950. The

remains the most successful breed at Crufts, mainly due to Lloyd's victories – it has only won once more, in 1996 by Sh Ch. Canigou Cambrai.

Later life

In 1959, he donated a trophy to the Cocker Spaniel Club of Ireland. Called the "of Ware Cup", it was awarded between 1959 and 1967 for the Best Limit Dog in the Club's annual show. From 1968 onwards it was awarded for the Best Limit Dog or Bitch, and since 2009 it has been given to the Best Puppy in Show. In retirement he moved to "Ware Cottage", in

Maple Cross Maple Cross is a village in Hertfordshire, England, which up until the Second World War consisted of an inn, a blacksmith's shop and a few cottages. Today there are around 800 postwar council houses. Some of these have been sold into private ow ...

, Hertfordshire near

Rickmansworth Rickmansworth () is a town in south-west Hertfordshire, England, located approximately north-west of central London, south-west of Watford and inside the perimeter of the M25 motorway. The town is mainly to the north of the Grand Union Canal ( ...

. He died on 26 January 1963.

Personal life

His daughter, Jennifer Lloyd Carey, like her father and grandfather became a breeder of

s. At the age of 11 in 1948 she attended

for the first time at the show where H.S. Lloyd's Tracey Witch of Ware won Best in Show. As of 2011, she became the longest-running Crufts competitor, having shown dogs at the competition for the first time in 1950.

Bibliography

* *

References

;Specific ;General * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, H. S. 1887 births 1963 deaths Dog shows and showing Dog writers Crufts Members of the Order of the British Empire Dog breeders