Anthony Nicholson
Testimonial Fund
Anthony is retiring from hunt service at the end of this season after a long and distinguished career.
He comes from a longstanding hunting background as his grandfather, Anthony Chapman, hunted the Coniston for many years. Anthony entered hunt service in 1979 as kennel boy at the Mendip Farmers in the Mastership of Tony Younghusband. After two seasons there, he moved to the South and West Wilts as kennelman and, under the Masterships of Simon Clarke and Hugh Dalgety, he achieved successive promotion to 1st Whipper-in. He was appointed Kennelhuntsman to the Middleton in 1990 during a golden era of that hunt before moving to the Derwent in 2000 as Huntsman where he has coped with the new era of hunting with great credit.
He has always been the true hunt professional with a fit and happy pack of hounds that he cherished. He has also been a great teacher and mentor to young hunt staff which has been recognised by the MFHA who have placed two bursary students under his tutelage in recent years.
We believe that there are many who would wish to contribute to a testimonial and donations should be sent to the Derwent hunt secretary, Mrs Glynis Ludkin, Spring Farm, Langdale End, Scarborough, North Yorkshire YO13 0LL
Yours Sincerely,
Charles Mitchell, Chairman the Derwent Hunt
Richard Morley, MFH
Simon Roberts, MFH
Frank Houghton-Brown, MFH
Anthony Nicholson had started in hunt service at the Mendip farmers with a great family friend, Tony Younghusband. He then went on to whip in to the South & West Wilts where my family used to farm . I had a few days hunting there & witnessed his natural flair as a whipper in . When I was offered the Middleton at 23 years old, Anthony ticked all the boxes & I knew straight away that I need look no further .
Anthony & Anne spent 10 years at Birdsall with me & it was the most exciting & wonderful time. We were both the same age & without many words exchanged Anthony seemed to have an understanding of exactly what was needed & when it was needed. I don’t think he can have spent much time at home because we spent hours & hours hound excercising from early July, often with a private hunt in the early hours. We hunted 6 mornings a week cubhunting every year , with the odd evening added in for good measure & always at least 4 days every week in the season until early April .
As a whipper in he was a complete genius. He would be invisible until there was a problem, when he would parachute in from nowhere with exact information, sort out the problem with no fuss & then disappear again. I have never witnessed anyone with his ability to always be in the right place at the right time.
Frank Houghton-Brown, MFH