Southern Lizard Canary Club History
Early Years
By John Record
In the autumn of 1997 I had the idea of possibility creating a Lizard Specialist club to cover the Southern Region of the UK, an area that had no coverage. The Lizard Canary Association served the whole of the country, while East Anglia, the South West and the North West had Lizard Clubs. I approached two people, firstly David Allen who had the drive and enthusiasm and John Martin who I considered perfect for the Chairman’s role. Both showed great interest. The initial step was to arrange a meeting in the area that would be fairly central and have good access. I thought the Reading area fitted the bill, so I booked a sports and social for Sunday 1st February 1998 at Sonning, Berkshire. The big day came and we had a solid turn out with enough people to form the first committee and some who came along to help with advice.
Our first committee was as follows: President Stan Bolton, Chairman John Martin, Secretary & Treasurer John Record, Show Manager & Patronage David Allen, Show Secretary J Record. Non post holding committee members M Richley, G Geeves, D Plummer and N Andrews
Others present were C Alexander, G. Geeves and B Jay
The first SLCC Lizard show was held on 29th November 1998 at the Rosehill community centre, Oxford and was judged by Brian Jay. 147 Lizards were entered. In the early Southern shows Don Plummer’s support was immense and I miss him a great deal. From Rosehill the show was moved the following year to nearby Headington were it stayed until 2002 and then to Stoke Mandeville until 2007, and finally to Wendover in Buckinghamshire where it is still held on the last Sunday in November. When I look back over those early years the support from our members was key, but two people in particular who gave it the kick start were David Allen who gave tremendous support and worked so hard in those early years and our Chairman (who twenty year plus) is still Chairman today John Martin whose steady hand on the tiller has been vital to the clubs continuity. Our club’s aim is to encourage traditionally bred Lizard Canaries in the Southern Region.
