Ron Black passed away as far back as September 5th 2017. I had known that he was ill for he had visited me while on a visit to friends
or relatives in the Swansea area and it was obvious that things were not going well for him. A few weeks later he emailed to confirm that
his health had deteriorated and he told me that he would not be sending any articles for quite some time.
I have just been informed that he had in fact passed away and this article of his from the magazine 264 is included in small tribute to him
and to his work in recording and bringing to light the history of many aspects of hunting life in his beloved Cumbria. His family had deep
roots in the area and in the sport of fell foxhunting and Ron was well respected for his honesty and his ability to delve into the past.
He was totally committed to his beliefs and would never change them. We need more men like him, he will be sorely missed.
An excerpt from Ron Black’s book
History of the Ullswater Foxhounds (Part 2)
In his new book, Ron Black offers us the
most comprehensive account of the epic
efforts to rescue the two trapped heroes
Butcher & Badger in February 1948. The
rescue made news throughout Britain and
caused the ballad Butcher & Badger to be
written to commemorate the occasion.
(There are many other reports of terrier
rescues in the book.)
The story of Badger and Butcher, two terriers
belonging to the Ullswater Foxhounds
entombed for 15 days above Brotherswater,
iswell known. Using newspaper reports of the
time and some family history, what follows is
a more detailed account of what proved to
be one of the longest “rescues” in Lakeland
foxhunting history.
RESCUE ATTEMPTS NEAR KIRKSTONE
Hope is now fading that two of the
Ullswater pack’s crack terriers, entombed
in a rocky chasms on dod end, above the
Kirkstone road for five days and nights will
be rescued. After four days work had
resulted in some 500 tons of rock being
excavated, the operations reached a stage
on Wednesday night when no further
work could be done without some sound
from the terriers to indicate their
whereabouts and “listening parties” made
visits to the borran at various times
yesterday (Thursday) without result. on
Wednesday evening Bobby Porter, a
Westmorland county council road worker
living at Glenridding, was lowered over 20
feet by rope into underground shafts to
search for hairs on the rocks with the aid
of a torch, but again without success.
The terriers, one-eyed Badger and
brown Butcher, entered the borran at 7a.m.
on Sunday, after an emergency daybreak
hunt by the Ullswater foxhounds following
lamb worrying round Hartsop Hall. Four
cubs were accounted for and the vixen led
the terriers into the borran. Huntsman Joe
Wear and Whip Tom Robinson aided by Mr
John Poole and other helpers heard the
terriers on Sunday, but when they had not
emerged by Monday morning work was
started in earnest.
LAST HEARD ON MONDAY
At 1p.m. on Monday Butcher barked in
response to shouts, but this was the last
sound heard from the borran.
Throughout Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday excavation proceeded until a
cavity the size of a house living room had
been made in the hillside to reveal
horizontal and perpendicular chasms in
all directions. This complicated the
excavation work, which was frequently
fraught with danger when large slabs of
rock were undermined and had to be
brought down and ejected with bar and
hammer. In addition to the huntsmen and
whip, valuable work was done by Messers.
J. Poole, T. Hodgson, R. Porter, e. Flitters,
J. Allen, J. Burrell, A. Routledge and A.
Barker. despite the continuance of lamb
worrying in the district, huntsman and
whip gave precedence to the rescue
operations until Wednesday morning
when the whip took hounds to
Glencoyne Farm and they hunted a fox,
which it is believed, was killed.
Huntsman Wear said yesterday
(Thursday) that he had not given up hope
that the terriers would be rescued. Under
the dry conditions which exist in this
borran he believes they could live for a
week and with regard to the absence of
sound from them, he recalled that a
terrier belonging to dr. J.R.K. Thomson,
rescued on Placefell during the war after
seven days was not heard during the
whole of that time. entombed terriers
apparently sleep in a form of stupor and
some times feed on the fox.
Westmorland Gazette, 1st May, 1948
The next week’s Gazette carried the following
piece:
ENTOMBED TERRIERS
13th DAY IN FOXHOLE
DYNAMITE TO AID RESCUE
BOTH DOGS ALIVE
Butcher and Badger, the two terriers of
the Ullswater pack are still entombed in
the well nigh impregnable rocky Borran on
Hartsop dod end, above Brotherswater,
and today (Friday) is the 13th day of their
imprisonment. on Tuesday Anthony
Barker, wartime huntsman of the
Ullswater pack crawled 10ft into an
underground passage and by the rays of
his torch saw Butcher licking water from
the wall behind an obstructing stone, but
since then because of the too dangerous
nature of this approach, a fresh excavation
has been started and last night (Thursday)
small blasting charges were used to hasten
the operation. The removal of each huge
slab from the place where it has lain for
centuries is now a step nearer in what is
becoming a race against time, for the
period of imprisonment has now
surpassed anything in local hunting history
and the terriers must be nearing the limit
of endurance.
Most unfortunate features of the whole
operation has been the fact that from
Monday week until last Sunday morning no
sound was heard from the terriers, and
work was held up for nearly three days
until Messrs. e. Flitters and A. Wilkinson
got answering barks to their shouts on
Sunday. Twelve hours work was put in each
day by Huntsman Joe Wear, Whip Tom
Robinson, and Messers. e. Flitters, A Barker,
Archie, Jack and William Wilkinson,
A. Routledge, R. Porter, J. Poole and other
willing helpers working in relays, and it was
a great disappointment, after Anthony
Barker had crawled to within three feet of
the dogs that a fresh start had to be made
on Tuesday night which meant another
three or four days excavation.
on Wednesday, Whip Tom Robinson,
working alone in the early morning, heard
both terriers barking together
simultaneously to establish for the first
time that both were still alive. Huntsman
Wear stated yesterday (Thursday) that
they might reach the terriers before
tomorrow (Saturday).
Westmorland Gazette, 8th May, 1948
ENTOMED TERRIERS
After more than a week, the two game
little terriers Badger and Butcher hunting
with the Ullswater Foxhounds were still
imprisoned underground somewhere
amongst the rocks and screes of dod end
behind Brotherswater. They had followed
a vixen in and had evidently got trapped.
This is easily done. The fox can leap down
into a rocky cavity from which he has no
difficulty in climbing out, not so the
terriers, who with all their achievements
cannot climb like a fox.
Great credit is due to the local farmers,
shepherds and supporters of the pack for
their arduous, long and patient efforts to
effect a release for, apart from the natural
affection which exists between these fell
head folk and their dogs, a good pack
terrier is worth it’s weight in gold,
especially at the present time when he is
such a valuable asset in preserving the
nations larder. A young lamb is worth
considerable money and care nowadays,
more particularly after the heavy toll last
year’s Arctic weather exacted. A wellgrown
ewe is naturally worth even more.
RED SCREES
Westmorland Gazette, 8th May, 1948
CHEERS, TEARS AND A HYMN
It was at 2.30p.m. on Sunday afternoon, in
the presence of more than 100 people,
that four hours effort to remove the last
slab of rock rewarded the patient work of
Bob Porter and huntsman Joe Wear,
aided by a band of willing helpers hauling
on a rope. As the last obstructing stone
was pulled out of the passage Butcher
walked out behind it, blinking in the bright
sunlight. The scene brought tears to the
eyes of women among the crowd, caused
an outburst of applause and one man led
the singing of the hymn “Rescue the
perishing”. After photographers had
obtained pictures of Butcher in the arms
of Joe Wear, the terrier was given a drink
of milk from a dish carried up the
mountainside by 13-year-old dulcie Wear,
niece of the huntsman in anticipation of
the rescue.
The rescued terrier was clean of coat
and, apart from weakness through loss of
weight, apparently little the worse for the
longest imprisonment in local hunting
annals. He slept in the huntsman’s cottage
at Grassthwaite Howe on Sunday night,
and after a drink of milk on Monday
morning trotted down to the kennels with
the huntsman when he went to feed the
hounds. He rejoined the terriers in the
kennels on Tuesday.
A celebration sing-song was held at
Brotherswater Hotel on Sunday night,
when a tribute was paid to Mr and Mrs
Alfred Flitters for their hospitality to the
men who had worked for a fortnight to
rescue the terriers and huntsman Wear
expressed his thanks to the workers.
On Monday Whip Tom Robinson
crawled into the borran and with. some
difficulty found and recovered the body
of Badger, which he buried on the hillside
nearby.
FORTNIGHT’S RESCUE WORK
The story of the fortnight’s rescue work is
one of great determination and voluntary
effort on the part of the men of the
district. After the first three days work
Anthony Barker crawled some distance
underground to reach the obstructing
rock, but as this could not be moved by
one man a fresh excavation had to be
made which entailed another 10 days
work. For each yard the men progressed
into the hillside, many tons of “roof’ had
to be removed, but the almost daily
barking of Butcher provided great
encouragement in work which was
continually fraught with danger as huge
boulders and slabs were undermined. All
these had to be brought down – dynamite
was used on several occasions – and
cleared away before the “tunnel” could be
extended. Messages came from all parts
of the country praising and encouraging
the workers, and in addition to a cheque
for £1 from a London businessman. Mrs
nash of St Mary’s Abbey, Windermere,
promised £10 on Saturday if the terriers
were rescued. Mrs nash implemented her
promise on Monday evening, when she
made personal calls on many of the
workers.
TRIBUTES TO RESCUERS
Letters have continued to arrive at
Brotherswater Hotel all this week and one
package from a schoolmaster at central
High School, Whitworth Street,
Manchester, enclosed a batch of letters of
praise for the rescuers all signed by
schoolboys. Another letter signed “dog
Lover” Gosforth stated “With the
enclosed £1 note would you be so kind as
to place a few flowers on the little grave
of Badger. Perhaps the remaining few
shillings will help to buy a drink for the
brave men who risked so much in the
rescue.”
Mrs June Wilkinson, daughter of the
landlord of the Brotherswater hotel, has
climbed the hill once more and placed a
spray of flowers on the grave.
Another letter signed G.F.d. and sent
from Billings end, Blackburn, read “Will
you put this £2 in the kitty for a round or
two from an old man who has known the
Lake district for 56 years. I have always
been proud of it, but never more so than
today. I only wish I could join you again
with my old Grasmere friends”.
Great credit is due to all the rescuers.
Those who were able led by Huntsman
Wear and Whip Tom Robinson – worked
during the day, while many others
climbed the hill each evening as soon as
their normal day’s work was done. John
Poole was one of the most enthusiastic.
Bob Porter’s skill in rock
work hastened progress
and among many others
who made this work a duty
to their fellows in that
memorable fortnight were
Edward Flitters, Jack
Burrell, John Allen, Leslie
and Norman Wear, Anthony
Barker, Jack Hewinson,
Albert Routledge, the five
Wilkinson brothers, Tom
Hodgeson, Angus
Macauley, and
George Black, who walked over the tops
from Ambleside on several occasions.
Westmorland Gazette, 15th May, 1948
The final word came from Red Screes:
UNPAID LABOUR
Whilst certain types of workmen are
upsetting the country with their eternal
strikes on the smallest pretext, we have to
record time and again the unremitting
and unpaid hours of exacting labour and
terrific strain on the part of dwellers on
our innermost fells. The last fortnight was
an object lesson of the team spirit and
unrelaxing efforts put forth to rescue two
terriers which went to earth in a
stronghold after the brush of a four
footed lamb killer. This was no isolated
instance in the foxhunting history of the
Lake country, but it is a monument to the
affection the dales men have for their
dogs. Then again many weekends in the
summer see rescue parties being formed
to go to the aid of stricken mountain
climbers who unconsciously or otherwise
in their inexperience risk their necks and
limbs in essaying climbs which should be
left religiously alone. What a contrast
these voluntary unpaid labours to the
grasping after yet more pay.
Westmorland Gazette, 15th May, 1948
