The SW regional group was formed in the latter half of 1977; the inaugural meeting was held at South Nethercott Farm, the home of the late Gordon Robinson who was a member of the Club’s committee [as it was called in those days]. Gordon had been an active member of the Club between WW l and WW ll and features in several articles in early issues of the Club’s flagship publication The Falconer. Having retired from farming he again played a leading role in the Club and subsequently as the first chairman of our regional group. He contributed several articles in The Falconer and was the author of two books ‘The Sinues of Falconry’ and ‘The Blink of an Eye’. Gordon served for seventeen years as our chairman before retiring.

Gordon’s successor in 1995 was John Savidge an ardent falconer who was befriended by Guy Aylmer and given every encouragement in his formative years. Africa as a game warden became John’s calling and while there and subsequently he trained and flew eagles. When he retired and moved back to England he settled in mid Devon and hence became a member of our region and eventually our second chairman.

Mark Richards succeeded John in 2002 and has continued as our chairman to the present day: Mark is our longest serving chairman and had introduced regional field meetings to great acclaim. Mark was ably assisted by a former member Brian Hirst who had several contacts in the SE Cornwall game shooting set. Field meeting gradually petered out over several seasons due to a falling off of participation by regional and wider club members. Less formal field meetings do continue on a smaller / more local scale and are supported by members around those areas.

The region is perhaps the most geographically dispersed other than Scotland! Lines of communication are and always have been a problem. For some living in the far west of Cornwall it can take around two hours just to reach the county border with Devon. North south travel is no better due to the road network. We are and have been bound by these constraints and carry on regardless.