“Reference will have been made by my predecessors to the late Mr. R. S. de Havilland for all he did for the E.C.H., not only in keeping the finances straight, but in taking ‘bills off absence’ to distant meets on whole holidays, and often I fear putting himself to considerable inconvenience by doing so.
“I remember in my year we had run a hare from Dorney at a great pace and killed in his garden, hounds had broken up their hare, and only a very mauled pad was saved, which I did not think worth having set up for him. However, he was anxious to have something to mark the event, so Jefferies in the High Street did his best, and I hope the moth has not yet got into it.
“The E.C.H. had one thick-and-thin supporter before the War in ‘Old Mum.’ Mr. Mumford kept a public near the Bridge. As far as I remember, he never missed a day, nor did anyone ever see him run, yet he was always viewing the hunted hare and was invaluable. We used to take him on the hound van for long distance meets, and I hope he goes beagling still. He was one of the best.
“In conclusion I may say that it is a great relief to know that the E.C.H. is on its legs again and showed such good sport last season. The packs at Oxford and Cambridge will now be able to staff themselves from ‘old hands,’ and that means a lot. If one can offer any advice to future Masters of the E.C.H. (and it certainly seems presumptuous), I would say, try and spend more time with hounds in the kennels and at exercise, and get to know your kennel management thoroughly. And, if it ever is possible, get the pack into the stud book.”
There was one disastrous incident in L. C. Gibbs’ year, 1911-12, which Dunning has described for me.
“The Stoke Park Tragedy. We had met at Salt Hill, I think, and after one circle hounds hunted their hare into Stoke Park, where they checked. (Here let me say that there are fallow deer in the Park, that the ground was very soft, particularly the putting greens, and that a ‘medal round’ was being played on the course.)
“Well, a herd of deer was close by and suddenly took fright and galloped off. Up went hounds’ heads, and then the fun began. Some one was out with us on horseback, I think S. G. Menzies, a late Master of the E.C.H., and he did everything in his power to stop them, as they drove the deer round and round the golf course and across the greens, to the horror of the players. Finally they divided, and, while the Master got to one half as they were swimming their quarry in the lake and stopped them, I found three or four couple had pulled down, a deer in the wood behind the club house.
G. K. DUNNING’S YEAR. 1913.