Some Masters used to take the hounds home with them in the holidays. Romer Williams, Gladstone and Gibbs did this, and hounds fairly raced in the Pytchley country where Romer Williams lived. Champion does not like taking the hounds away from Eton nowadays, but prefers to find someone in the district to hunt them. For the last two years they have been hunted by Mr. Judd, who lives close to Stoke Poges, and handles hounds with considerable ability.
G. K. Dunning (who only gave up the Mastership of the Trinity Foot Beagles last season) created what was up till then a record for hares killed. He accounted for 33 hares and one fox in 45 hunting days. He has sent me some details of his beagling days at Eton.
“One day we went to Fifield Cross Roads on the other side of the river, Col. Van de Weyer having as usual kindly given permission.
“Late in the afternoon, after a fair day’s sport, hounds picked up a line which at first we all thought to be a hare’s. But as they went on and got closer to their quarry the old hounds began to get their ‘hackles’ up, and a few minutes later they ran into a fox in the middle of the village—a fortunate release for him, as he had had a trap on his leg, poor thing. The sporting Rector of the place was passing at the time (it is Garth F.H. territory) and was horrified at seeing a fox pulled down like this, but was satisfied when we showed him the trap.
“This meet at Fifield was a very good one, and we generally went there on whole holidays with about a dozen specially invited beaglers in a second horse-brake. Col. Van de Weyer was always very good about giving leave, and generally sent a mounted groom to stop hounds from the fox coverts on the hill.
“The best bit of country was on the river side of the road, nearly all grass. I had a very good day there in my season. The first hare hounds caught in the river after 25 minutes, but she sank and was not recovered, though St. George dived for her several times. The next hare was killed on the golf course after 1 hour 15 minutes. Very pretty hunting, and a third was also accounted for after a short hunt.
“The other two bits of the country I liked best were Dorney (Village and Gate) and Remenham. There was generally a fox at Dorney beyond the village, and we killed one there in 1913, but without much of a run.
“I think trying to catch a fox with beagles (unless it is a very bad fox or a cripple, both of which should be killed) is an unsatisfactory game, as hounds always take some time to settle down again to a hare. I remember hearing complaints just after the War that the Motor Dépôt at Salt Hill would cut a very large and important slice out of the E.C.H. country. Personally I should have been quite glad never to have hunted there at all, owing to innumerable hares and the risk of the G.W.R. main line. At the same time Mr. Christie-Miller of Britwell was always glad to see the E.C.H., but certainly before the War the number of hares was heart-breaking. Talking of the railway reminds me of the only occasion where I saw a hound of the E.C.H. killed on the line. It was in Gibbs’ season, and hounds had checked by the railway bridge at Remenham. We heard a train coming, and as it approached were sure that hounds were ‘all on.’ But May and I had made a mistake, and one puppy had gone across into the little spinney beyond the line, and now came back right under the train.
“But after hunting near the G.W.R., with its express every two minutes, it was maddening to lose a hound on the Datchet Line. Yet this is just what happened with the Trinity Beagles at Cambridge before the War. The accident happened on the rotten little line to Mildenhall!
“As regards the Masters at Eton who came out, I can remember seeing Messrs. Dobbs, Churchill, Slater and Young, but the most regular beagler was Mr. Dobbs.