Last Wishes and Changing Times

During his last days, R. William Taylor let it be known to those closest to him that, following his death, he wanted his ashes scattered in the same spot on a Welsh mountainside where Bill and several friends had laid to rest those of his late partner Nigel Aubrey Jones some 20 years ago.

Twynn Ponds, Nigel and Bill’s Canadian home for so many happy years, passed to Nancy Allen, who first went to work for the couple when she was 16 years old. Originally Nancy was to help out with the Pekingese on the weekends, but Nigel and Bill saw great potential in this young slip of a girl, who was soon working full time at St Aubrey Elsdon, learning not only the skills of breeding, mating and grooming, but also maintaining a very extensive garden. Nancy dedicated all her adult life to “Mr. Jones and Mr. Taylor” (using Christian names would have been unthinkable), and it seemed only right that she should inherit their home. To this day she maintains the most magnificent garden, and the fact that it is often open to the public would give Bill in particular enormous pleasure.

After his death, plans were eventually put in place for Bill’s ashes to come back to South Wales, and a trip had been scheduled when Covid struck, and everything was put on hold.

At the end of last year, Nancy contacted me and suggested that she would fulfil her promise in the summer of this year. When Bill had discussed with Nancy bringing him back to Wales, he was adamant that she should also visit the gardens at Sissinghurst in Kent. Bill was a great admirer of formal British gardens, and he was keen for Nancy to see what he considered one of the country’s most splendid. So, with the aid of her travel agent, Nancy arranged a trip that would involve visiting me for a few days in Cheshire, travelling to South Wales to fulfill Bill’s last wish, going on to Kent to experience Sissinghurst and then travelling on to Italy, where she and her travelling companion, Rene Boisvert, would enjoy some days in Venice.

So early in the morning on Tuesday, July 2, Nancy and Rene arrived at Manchester airport, coming home with me, where, needless to say, an overdue catch-up centered around so many tales of her former employers and those personalities they had entertained at their home over the years.

When we left Nigel’s ashes on the mountainside at a specifically chosen spot, the weather was rather breezy, and at the crucial moment Nigel was blowing in the wind, leading Bill to make an appropriately amusing remark and turning what was a somber moment into something more befitting Nigel.

This particular spot was chosen as it overlooked, in the depth of the valley, Abernant y Groes in Cwmbach. This was the home that Nigel bought for his parents with the proceeds of selling his very first UK Champion Pekingese, St Aubrey Judy of Calartha, to a wealthy American. Those were halcyon days for the Pekingese breed, which commanded very high prices. Imagine today selling a dog for the money that would buy a four-bedroom detached home on a huge plot of land!

We had arranged to meet some Pekingese enthusiasts who had special connections with Bill at the home of my good friends Garry and Annette Mason, who live nearby. Annette had prepared a buffet lunch for us before we made our way to the mountainside on a rather wet and windy (how appropriate) afternoon. Nancy had kept her promise, and Nigel and Bill were together again.

As we drove home, my thoughts turned to these two special men, Nigel in particular, as he had been my idol and mentor, influencing me in so many ways both in and outside the dog world. The contribution to the Pekingese breed made by the St Aubrey Elsdon partnership was inestimable. Not only did Nigel find countless outstanding specimens of the breed in the U.K. and beyond who were bought and sold on to grateful clients, those he and Bill deemed suitable were retained until they had been incorporated into their own breeding program. There are countless examples that made their mark in the U.S., but one of the most notable of course was Ch Chik T’Sun of Caversham, who was ranked number one all breeds in the late 1950s, amassing 124 Best in Show awards, one of which was won at Westminster in 1960.

After a steady stream of successful imports, the next most significant arrival was a puppy that Nigel had seen at one of the highly competitive London breed specialties. There, with typical Pekingese stubbornness, he had refused to move for his owner-handler, the brilliant breeder Lilian Snook of Laparata fame. I remember Nigel calling me that evening to say that he had spoken to Bill and assured him he wasn’t leaving the country until he had bought this very special puppy – Laparata Dragon. The following day he took the train to Brighton, where Mrs. Snook lived, called her from the station and asked if he could visit. Mrs. Snook collected him, took him home and then Nigel went into overdrive, assuring his breeder that Dragon needed to cross the Atlantic, where he would do great things. Although she had no intention of selling (and didn’t need the money), Dragon’s breeder was eventually worn down, and the deal was done. Dragon then had to be taken to Middlesex for the obligatory portrait photograph at Thomas Fall’s studio, and shortly afterward arrived in Canada, having acquired the St Aubrey prefix. Nigel’s great friend Ed Jenner was the obvious backer, and after a short but successful career in Canada (and some productive stud work at the home kennel), Dragon relocated to the U.S., where he made heads turn and became the most influential stud force.

Nigel’s buyer’s eye was not confined to Pekingese, however, and over the years he bought several Poodles, Terriers, Griffons Bruxellois and Whippets, which were suitably placed in the U.S. and had considerable impact on their respective breeds.

Nigel was of course not alone in making trips to the U.K., where at the time there were so many talented breeders, some with large kennels but others quietly and occasionally producing well-bred litters in modest homes. Oftentimes the temptation of a large check would be too much to resist, and Nigel told that he sometimes felt guilty taking dogs away from devoted owners who simply needed the money.

You have to remember that in those days communication and information were rather limited. As far as the purebred dog world was concerned, Americans had to rely on the weekly U.K. specialist newspapers, which would take weeks to arrive, or lengthy correspondence with breeders. Consequently trips made by experts who were scouting for new talent were very important.

Today we have the internet, and knowledge of other breeders’ activities on the other side of the world is instant. We can watch what other breeders of interest are doing, from planned matings to monitoring endless puppy pictures from the moment they can stand! No longer are these “scouts” needed when everything has become so accessible. However, we should never forget how breeds have developed around the world thanks to the instinctive eye of those who went in search of gold, and frequently found it!

Incidentally, I have since heard from Nancy that the trip to see the gardens at Sissinghurst was a great success. She was enormously impressed, just as Bill suggested she would be.