1874 - 1946
Stanley Swinborne
Wilkin lived at, and managed, Bounds Farm in Goldhanger from 1924 to 1946. He
was a director of Wilkin & Sons of Tiptree, a business that his father,
Arthur C Wilkin had established. He not only developed and maintained the fruit
orchards in both Goldhanger and Tiptree, but also bred many pedigree and
thoroughbred animals over the years including horses, dogs, pigs, sheep, cows,
chickens and ducks. He was probably best known as an international breeder of
Whippets.
Stanley
Wilkin (on the right)
with
his father and brother
Stanley was an
enthusiastic support and benefactor of the Goldhanger
Wesleyan Chapel and its last preacher, and was chairman of the Goldhanger
Village Hall committee when it was first built. As a keen horseman and member
of the local hunt, he was frequently seen riding his mount to the Chapel in Goldhanger
and to the factory at Tiptree.
Stanley
Wilkin at the front of Bounds Farmhouse
Here is an extract
from an obituary of Stanley Wilkin published in local newspapers in 1946 which summaries his life. . .
The remaining extracts below from newspapers, magazines
and journals are arranged chronologically. . .
From
The Journal of the 1919 Bath and West and Southern Counties Society. . .
from Google books.
. .
Encyclopaedia of
Modern Pig Farming, Stanley S. Wilkin, 1920, 32 pages
from
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk. . .
A BOOKLET concerning Tiptree herd of pedigree large black pigs and arable system of pig farming.
TR PRR/P2/B61, Stanley S. Wilkin, Tiptree, Essex. 32 pages, published in 1921
from
www.worldcat.org. . .
Outdoor pigs; how to make them pay. By the leading authorities on modern pig keeping.
Stanley S Wilkin was
one of ten authors of this book in 1923
from the Journal of
the Ministry of Agriculture in 1923. . .
from the Agricultural Gazette and
Modern Farming in 1924. . .
from the
Agricultural and Modern
Farming Gazette of 1924, which hints at his move from Tiptree to Goldhanger. .
.
A postcard from Stanley Wilkin at
"Bounds" Goldhanger, date unknown. . .
Two advertisements for "White
Wyandottes", dates unkown. . .
A letter in the Goldhanger Parish
Magazine in 1928. . .
The Rector, who was chairman of the
Church of England school's management board, began his reply robustly . . .
Dear Mr. Wilkin,
Your letter to me is an astonishing document, and I see nothing but the
spirit on mischief at the back of it. . .
Stanley
subsequently became a very public campaign extensively reported in local
newspapers to block the local education committee from adopting uniform fixed
school holidays, which would result in the children and their mothers being
unavailable for pea and strawberry picking, and hence losing a significant
income for poor families.
Between 1928 and
1930 Rice Grass or the Spartina townsendii hybrid specie of grass
was introduced into Goldhanger Creek, and the Bounds Farm area of the
Blackwater. Stanley was largely responsible for this and the horticulturists
involved were based at Bounds Farm. More in. . . Natural
History
From the
1933 edition of Bee Matters and Beemasters. . .
Stanley commissioned Fish Street
photographer Crawshay Frost to take photos of
Bounds Farm and its wild life several of which were used in Company publicity.
Here two of Frosts photos of flowering fruit trees in 1933 and a Cuckoo used on
a catalogue. . .
A letter from Stanley published in the
Essex Chronicle in 1935. . .
an advert from Crufts Annual in 1936.
. .
A Christmas card from the
"Tiptree Kennels", Goldhanger in 1942. . .
an extract
from: www.whippetview.com . . .
THE TIPTREE WHIPPETS
The Tiptree prefix, which Mr. Wilkin has owned for a
dozen years or more, bids fair to come into prominence more than ever, with the
promising kennel he now holds of some dozen Whippets, now at his new home at
Goldhanger, Essex. . .Tiptree Gold-dust has kept his head above the best at the
summer shows. Another outstanding dog that will soon be seen is Tiptree Yoyo,
full brother to Tiptree Bounds King, who lately distinguished himself by
winning the C.C. at The Hague.
Amongst the bitches there are the two dams of the above-mentioned dogs, good enough to stand amongst the best, but kept quietly at home attending to their domestic duties; there is also Tiptree Sunshine, who will disappoint her owner if she does not do something out of the common at Crufts. For two years running she has won the cup for the best at Colchester - Whippet or Greyhound. . .
. . .The future stud dog is Tiptree Factor, born
November 6, 1945. By T. Beau ex T. Freesia, he has T. Jink and T. Golddust
twice each in his pedigree in three generations. He was bred by the late Stanley
Wilkin specially to obtain a stud dog for his own use and who described the
breeding as "the concentrated TIPTREE blood all in one dog." He has a
lovely outline, excellent feet, shoulders, and quarters, with a grand sweep of
stifle. He looks the beau ideal of a sire.
Tiptree
Jay
Tiptree Jink
Gold Dust
the
winning whippets, property of S. S. Wilkin, Esq., Goldhanger, Essex
A short extract from. . . "Whippets - einer ist nie genug", a German publication in 2003 by Marianne Bunyan, which translates as. . .
Whippets - One is Never
Enough
After the Second World War the
Whippet moved to near the top twenty of the most popular breeds. The
registration numbers fluctuate until today, and clearly in the UK the Whippet
finds the most followers. One of the first and most important postwar breeders
was Stanley Wilkin (Tiptree), resulting from a unique advertising campaign and
an enterprising breeder who left no stone unturned in his careful whippet
breeding. Although he started his breeding as early as 1930, the influence of
his dogs reached far into the next decade and all parts of the world. Tiptree
Whippets were bred consistently and went back mainly to the early Towyside
Tatters Ch. The breeder collected many available breeding animals, built-up the
Tatters genes and developed a systematic breeding program.
Mr. Wilkins ideals and ideas
probably had the greatest influence on the breed. His glamorous and slightly
larger Whippets with the beautiful heads were very popular in the U.S., Africa,
India, Holland, Portugal and Norway, as did the world famous, traditional jams
from the house of Tiptree. Stanley Wilkins son John wrote to me: "My
father bred Whippets at Bounds Farm, where we lived. We had up to 25 Whippets
at the same time and I have very fond memories of that period of my life".
Stanley Wilkin supplied well known breeders with Whippets, like Dorrit McKay (Laguna), Douglas Todd (Wingedfoot) and Mr & Mrs Evans (Sapperley), Fred Jones (Allways), later continued by the widow Mrs. Bobbie Cooke and Mrs. Kay Chapman (Samema). Over the decades Laguna Whippets have produced significant number of Whippets specifically for exhibitions, coursing and racing. . .
from "The Whippet Handbook"
by W. Lewis Renwick, published in 2006. . .
from: thewhippetarchives.net.
. .
Breeder:
Stanley S Wilkin, Goldhanger, Essex
owner and breeder of:
Flornell Fleetfoot, Flornell Glamorous (Tiptree
Honey), Silver Phyllis, Tiptree Ben, Tiptree Bounds King, Tiptree Daphne,
Tiptree Evangeline, Tiptree Evon, Tiptree Iris, Tiptree James, Tiptree Jane,
Tiptree Jimmy, Tiptree Jink, Tiptree Joan, Tiptree June, Tiptree May of Oslo,
Tiptree Mee Mee, Tiptree Monk, Tiptree Noel, Tiptree Ophelia, Tiptree Peggy,
Tiptree Ruby, Tiptree Sheila, Tiptree Silver Dream, Tiptree Veronica, Tiptree
Yoyo, Tiptreee Golden Dream
______________________
Stanley took
a strong interest in the Goldhanger Weslwyan
Chapel and as well as many other village activities. Here is an extract
from The Story of the Weslyan Chapel, written by Maura Benham in 1993,
with the help of Stanley's son John John Wilkin ...
It seems that the chapel was not prospering in 1923 when Mr Stanley Wilkin came with his family to live at Bounds Farm. He was a staunch Non-Conformist, but finding the church was the leading light in the village he went there. However, it did not suit him, and as he and the Rector were both men who held their views strongly, he turned his attention to the chapel. There he played a leading role until his death in 1946, despite the Rector's warning that "to flirt with non-conformity is to preach infidelity". . .
John Wilkin has memories of
Charlie Ruffle who started up a brass band which played in the chapel. John
joined in, playing the violin, or the saxophone, or the harmonium. . . Charlie
had been a keen supporter of the Salvation Army and liked its infectious
enthusiasm. . . John also remembers Charlie's long working life with the
Wilkins firm. As a child when his family were in difficulties, he went to see
Stanley at the factory and asked for work. He was told to get a spade. So he
went to Colchester with the carrier and bought one for 1 shilling which was a
days wages. The firm took him on and he later became a foreman, moving to
Goldhanger when Stanley came to Bounds Farm. Charlie was devoted to Stanley and
modelled himself on him. The band came to an end during the Second World War.
It was said
Stanley told his Goldhanger workers that if they were not in chapel on Sunday
they would not have a job on Monday! Stanley also owned cottages in Head St.
that were occupied by his workers and he insisted that they always paid the
rent on time, but it is said on occasions he would later return the rent in an
anonymous envelop put through their door if he knew they were going through
particularly hard times.
Stanley was
a keen horseman and member of the local hunt,
he was frequently seen riding his mount to the Chapel and to the factory at
Tiptree. . .
here are more images of Stanley's life
from 1915 to the 1930s...
select for a high definition version and zoom
After
Stanley's death in 1946 his remains were carried from Bounds Farm up Fish Street
to St.Peters Church
on
an open farm wagon, drawn by two Suffolk Punch heavy horses.
______________________
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