Roy Wilson – An Appreciation
I’m sure that all ETT lovers will be very sorry to hear that Roy Wilson has passed away at the age of 85. The Amalek kennel of Roy and Mary dominated the ETT showing world from the mid 1990s to the mid 2000s, and their legacy survives in the many champion dogs which have Amalek in their lines.
Roy and Mary bred their 1st ETT litter in 1994, and went on to campaign 18 UK Champions ( second only to the Witchstone Kennel in the rankings) and to win more than 100 CCs. The stand outs in the kennel included Ch Amalek You Has Jazz who won 24ccs (2nd in the ranking of Bitches), and Ch Amalek I Got Rhythm who won 16ccs ( 6th in the ranking of dogs). Both were progeny of the great Ch Juleko Henry James At Amalek (Imp NZ) – who had an enormous and lasting impact on the breed – and Ch Amalek High Society. Between 1996-2003 Amalek dominated Crufts, with 4 Amalek dogs winning 6 BOBs between them. Many Amalek dogs were exported to the US, Australia, and across Europe where they carried on this success.
In addition to breeding and showing Roy played an active part in the ETT Breed Club. He was a Committee member for many years, was Breed Note writer for Dogs World for many years, edited 6 editions of the Thumbprint publication between 1996-2008, and was Club President from 2010-2012, ( a position subsequently held by his wife Mary from 2012 to 2015). And of course he wrote the definitive book on the ETT – The English Toy Terrier (Black & Tan) : And All About Them – which can still be purchased in both hard copy and Kindle versions.
In 2019 Roy donated a collection of his ETT cuttings and articles to the ETT Archive, together with copies of the Thumbprint magazine to fill ‘gaps’ in the Archive collection. Amalek is featured in the ETT Archive Calendar for 2020 and in the forthcoming ETT Archive Photo book.
The Club has sent its condolences to Mary and the family, and of course its appreciation for everything which Amalek has done for the breed.
