From living in north London, after the war Hilda and Bert moved to Monken Hadley, High Barnet,

Hertfordshire.

 

Post war, Bert had recognised the need for significant rebuilding work and formed Stox Building

Contractors. This was a successful business for over twenty years. In this period Hilda and Bert enjoyed entertaining. We believe Bert lead the London Masonic Lodge (or should that be secret??!!).

 

Whilst Bert worked, Hilda had a great interest in dogs, and several times showed her poodles at

Crufts. Bert sold the business in the early 1960s, retired and they moved to Mallorca. I recall that at that time they had two St Bernard dogs who went to Mallorca with them. In this period Hilda and Bert extensively travelled the world. I recall Hilda once asking me if I had flown on Concorde. (No). An unforgettable experience she said. Bert taught English at the local Mallorcan school.

Hilda and Bert were both at this time Names at Lloyds of London. However, were significantly

impacted by the 1980s Lloyds crash. They then moved for a short period to Cape Town, South Africa, then Gozo in the eastern Mediterranean.

 

In around 1990, they finally settled in Monte Agudo just outside Tavira on the eastern Algarve.

Bert passed away in June 1998. Hilda in November 2005. Hilda and Bert had no children of their own. Hilda donated her legacy to a number of children’s charities. Befitting of the inscription on their headstone ‘Generous Benefactors’. (As an aside. Bert had an older brother William. William has one surviving daughter Rosie. After some lengthy research we reconnected with Rosie Hamilton in 2019. She is now in her eighties, living in Lincolnshire).

 

Trevor Pope

June 2024

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Trevor and Gwyneth Pope with the Stocks grave in 2024

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Hilda Stocks at Crufts

 

In The Cem Newsletter edition Number 9 August/September 2024, a short biography was published of the lives of Hilda and Bert Stocks, previously of Tavira on the Algarve, and both interred in plot C1.009 in Section C1 in the British Cemetery.

 

In the article it was mentioned that Hilda had shown her dog at the Crufts Dog Show.

 

This article is about that aspect of her life. A significant part of this article is the outcome of research by Ciara Farrell, Senior Manager (Culture & Heritage) at the Royal Kennel Club. I am so grateful for her time and input.

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These pictures were inherited in a box of many, many loose photos. I’m sure many of you will relate to having and pouring through old such photos. I definitely relate to the days when I took my own dog to obedience training.

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Hilda presented her dog, a St Bernard, at Crufts in February 1955. The dog had the name of Taurus Nizfella. His pet name is not known, so we’ll call him just ‘Taurus’

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Crufts is an event of the Royal Kennel Club (RKC). In 1955 the RKC was solely known as the ‘Kennel Club’. In April 2023, the Kennel Club was officially granted the ‘Royal’ prefix by His Majesty King Charles III to mark its 150th anniversary.

 

Very unusually, Taurus is listed in the RKC records as ‘pedigree unknown’. Typically, dogs needed to be of known RKC registered parentage to be registered themselves and eligible to compete at championship level shows. This is speculation only, but many of the larger breeds were badly affected by the Second World War, when keeping dogs, especially large breeds, became very difficult because of rationing and other restrictions. It is possible there was some leniency in the years immediately following the war, permitting a dog of correct breed type and conformation, but without documented pedigree, to be registered.

 

Crufts in the 1950s was a two-day show held at Olympia in central London. Hilda presented on the second day, that was for non sporting and gun dogs. On this day there were 6,000 entries, of which 91 were St Bernards. (Total entries over the 2 days was 11,200). The Best Exhibit in Show was held at the end of this second day (won by a Standard Poodle, named Tzigane Aggri of Nashend). There were nearly 70 Exhibitor Stands at the show covering the likes of dog food, insurance, health and breeders. The Catalogue cost 5 shillings. That is 25p. Allowing for inflation that is about £7 today.

 

Crufts gradually outgrew Olympia, moving to Earls Court in the 1970s before finally relocating to the NEC in Birmingham for its centenary year in 1991, where it has remained ever since.

 

As a comparison, Crufts 2026 was held over 4  days, over 18,600 dogs were shown, of which 61 were St Bernards, and there were over 500 Exhibitor Stands.

 

Modern homes and lifestyles can make owning St Bernards more challenging than in the past. Nevertheless, they remain popular. In 1955 248 puppies were registered with the Kennel Club. In 2025, it was 615. In fact, the breed population is larger now than it was in the 1950s. However, fewer are exhibited at Crufts today.

 

Always popular with both exhibitors and visitors, Crufts was first broadcast by the BBC in 1950, helping establish the already well-known show as an event of genuine national significance. Today, it still attracts television audiences of millions on its current home, Channel 4, and is also broadcast internationally online.

 

One major difference from the 1950s is the number of overseas competitors. At that time, very few overseas exhibitors were prepared to place their dogs into lengthy UK quarantine simply to compete at a dog show. Those who did travel often stayed in Britain for extended periods so they could attend multiple events. Today, international travel with dogs is considerably easier through veterinary certification schemes, and Crufts has become a truly global event, attracting over 4,000 overseas entries from more than 50 countries.

 

In 1955, Taurus was entered into 3 Crufts show Classes for the St Bernard:

 

• Undergraduate dog: for dogs and bitches which have not won more than two First Prizes each of the value of £2 (note: 1955 amount) or more.

• Open dog: For all dogs and bitches of that breed or variety.

• Special Beginners: For dogs and bitches shown by an exhibitor who has never won a First Prize in the breed at Crufts.

Unfortunately, Taurus was not placed in any of these Classes.

 

But that’s not the end of the story. Ciara’s research found that Taurus’ story started the year before.

 

From the records, in 1954, Taurus appears to have won one award of significance that qualified for inclusion in the Kennel Club Stud Book, namely Reserve Best of Sex (Dog) at Blackpool & District Canine Society Championship Show.

 

In addition to Reserve Best of Sex, he won some lesser awards at that show: 1st in Special Beginners, 1st in Novice, 2nd in Post Graduate. These are all awards for either dogs that are younger or which have not won prizes before. 

 

Crufts tends to loom especially large in the public imagination because of its fame and prestige, both then and now. Within the dog world, however, success at other championship shows is also highly respected. Given Taurus’ unusual ‘pedigree unknown’ status, the fact that he was not only registered and exhibited, but also achieved a significant placing at Blackpool, was quite a notable accomplishment. Blackpool remains one of the UK’s major championship shows today and still takes place annually.

 

No further records were found of Taurus being shown again.

 

Certainly, when Hilda and her husband Bert moved to Mallorca in the mid sixties Taurus went with them.

 

Trevor Pope

2026

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