2018 – Centenary of the White Park Cattle Society

2018 is a special year for our Society, as it is our centenary.

The ‘Park Cattle Society’ was formed in January 1918 with the Earl of Tankerville (Chillingham) as Patron, the Duke of Bedford (Woburn) as President, and the Duke of Hamilton (Cadzow) as Vice-President. The first herd book was published in 1919. At that time the herd book included both horned and polled cattle as polled cattle with the White Park colour pattern were incorrectly deemed to be closely related.

By the 1940s the name of the Society had changed to the ‘British White Cattle Society’ which added further confusion with polled British White cattle. The President was the Duke of Hamilton and the Vice-President was Lord Dynevor, and the heritage horned herds (Dynevor, Cadzow and Woburn/Chartley)  provided the senior office holders throughout the life of the herd book.

Following a lapse of thirty years or so registrations resumed in 1974, the first volume of a new herd book was published in 1975, and the White Park Cattle Society was (re)formed in 1983 when the Duchess of Hamilton (Cadzow) was President and the Chairman was G L H Alderson CBE (Dynevor).  Lawrence Alderson became President in 1988.