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Note: Mr. Norman passed away after this interview.
A Visit to Jack Norman (August 2004)
by Peter Wood
Jack was born in 1922 at Bromfield Hall near
Wigtown in Cumbria, England. Jack’s grandfather on his mother’s
side had a farm just outside Wigtown called Moorhall. Jack’s
father always had good dogs, and his father did not like to see
anybody hitting a dog. Of course, in those days, all stock was
driven to market on foot, and Jack believes that is why there
were so many good dogs then.
He remembered his father’s first Beardie, a bitch
by the name of Trim, from over 60 years ago. Jack’s mother’s
family also had good working dogs as well. Jack took pride
in emphasising how well these family dogs worked whether
registered or unregistered. It is very
understandable that from such a firm foundation and
understanding of dogs, Jack’s dogs always earned their keep and
did so to a very high standard. It was no surprise to hear that
there had never been a shortage of handlers ready to accept a
dog from Jack.
When only about six or seven years old, after
constantly worrying his father about a dog of his own, Jack’s
father returned home one night with a big, smart dog on a chain
which he gave to Jack. This dog was a Border Collie by the name
of Tyne and cost the princely sum of two shillings and six pence
(old money) equivalent to 12-1/2 pence in 2005.
Jack always had an interest in ponies. When Jack
was about ten years old, his father came across a chestnut pony
(Sorrell) that was used for delivering milk. This pony had
developed a habit of bolting, which is not a good thing to do
when attached to a milk cart. This bad habit led to Jack’s
father acquiring him rather inexpensively. Thus, this event
started Jack’s life with ponies.
Jack left school on a Friday, at age 14, and he started work the following
day. In those days a young lad would get paid once every six
months, and his wage for the six month period was £6. A married man,
providing he was good at his work, would get 18 shillings a
week. For those not used to the old monetary system that was two
shillings less than £1.
Jack came to Knowhead Farm, Lennoxtown, as a
shepherd about 1950, and he continued with good dogs and good
ponies until his health forced him to retire. He did his
shepherding on horseback because the farm covered some 3,000
acres; almost all of it was hill ground. There was only about
180 acres of “in-bye” ground (a term used to describe the
flatter, lower ground usually fairly close to the farm
buildings).
The farm used to run 1200 ewes and about 60 cows,
and Jack would have one other shepherd to assist him. He would
work two or three dogs together as one would not have been able
to manage on his own due to the amount of ground needing to be
covered.
Jack acquired his first Beardie about 1955, and it cost £28. It was
a bitch which came from Stanly Dodson, who lived near Cockermouth
in Cumbria. He thought he had bought a “pig in a
poke” (which means that he first thought the chap selling the
dog had really caught him out and sold him a dud dog). However,
what a difference he saw in the dog the next morning. The dog
turned out to be really intelligent and was good at working
sheep and cattle. Jack mentioned how this dog would work cattle
in any way Jack asked him to do so (without heeling the cattle).
Jack nearly always had a bitch on hand so that he
could occasionally breed his replacements. He once bought a very
good bitch from George Simpson. Jack said: “She was probably the
best I have ever had. Her name was Meg.”
Once when the ewes were just starting to lamb, a
party of walkers (or hikers) came along the footpath on their
way to the top of the hill. Jack asked: “where are you going?”
A burly chap replied: “to the top of the hill, why?” He also
asked Jack: “what’s your problem?” “You are,” said Jack. Then
Jack continued: “you are not going to the top of the hill
because the ewes are just starting to lamb.” The chap commented
that he could not see any lambs. Jack pointed out several
lambs. Then he told the party they could go on no
further. “Who’s going to stop us?” asked the burly chap in an
aggressive manner. “Me and that dog” replied Jack, and he
pointed to the Beardie right by his ankle. Then Jack said to
the dog “watch him!” This command brought a growl from the dog,
while the hairs rose upon his back. Needless to say, the party
returned to the bottom of the hill from whence they came.
Jack in August 2004
Jack retired from full time shepherding in 2003,
but he still did a bit to keep himself active. Jack had always
been used to working very long days. He still had a few dogs
and a couple of ponies. I first saw a dog that was named Craig;
he was about nine or ten years of age. He was a “stumpy.” (see
pictures below.) Occasionally when breeding Beardies, a puppy
will turn up that only has a part tail (this can be anywhere
between ¾ length to virtually no tail at all, and they have
always been known, almost affectionately, as “stumpies”). Craig
was bred from a dog, which belonged to Peter Martin of Aberfoyle,
and a bitch, which came from David Gray of Kilsythe.
There were also two young dogs in the barn about
one year of age. Jack told me they were brother and sister, and
were ½ Border Collie and ½ Beardie. The dog had taken after the
Beardie parent, and Jack had fairly high hopes for him. His
sister had taken after the Border Collie parent, but Jack did
not say much more about her.
Jack remembers his dogs of the past with
affection and, sometimes, for different reasons. He recalls
Tyne, Floss, Jean, Nell and Ben. Ben lived until he was nineteen
and died around 1994. It is not unusual for some Beardies to
live to a good old age.
David Gray (previously mentioned) has been associated with Beardies over
many years. His father, Willie Gray, had Beardies before
David. Their line of dogs came down from an old shepherd who
used to work in the markets moving the stock to and fro. The
old shepherd’s name was Charlie Christie. It seems a lot of
people’s dogs originated from Charlie's breedings. I suppose
working in the markets meant people could see how good Charlie’s
dogs were.
I visited David Gray on November 2, 2005 to
deliver a bitch puppy I had bred. It was related to David's old
line. Of course, I enquired about Jack. David told me that
Jack was now living in a retirement home. David knew Jack for
many years. He said of Jack, quite affectionately, “he is quite
a character.”
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A scenic view of Knowhead Farm in Scotland, where Jack Norman
lived until late 2004 or early 2005.
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Knowhead Farm in Scotland; the ponies can be seen among the
sheep. Photo taken by Brian Jackaman.
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Craig, a Beardie at age 9 or 10 years. Taken in August 2004. He
is called a "stumpy" due to the length of his tail.
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Another view of Craig.
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Look at the similarities between Mr. Norman's Craig and the
Old Welsh Grey shown in Hubbard's 1947 book, Working Dogs of
the World.
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Another view of Craig where the stumpy tail can be seen.
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The male pup, age one, which is half-Beardie.
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