In 1894 King Edward VII (then Prince of Wales) expressed the wish that cropping of ears be done away with – this caused consternation amongst the members, fearful that it would destroy the character of Danes – and many of them ceased to be active in the breed. However, there were some who preferred to keep Danes uncropped rather than not at all, and at the Crufts Dog Show in 1895 Mr. Hood Wright convened a meeting that resulted in the formation of what has now become one of the most important specialist Clubs in the U.K. By 1896 the Club was well established, and the Officers and Committee included; Messrs. Leadbetter; Herbert; Miller; Hood-Wright; Morley; Allanson; Baehr; Bartlett; Clemmens; Cook; Fox; Head; Hales; Parry; Pendry; Petrywalski; Trainor and Transel. In these early days classes for Great Danes at shows were few and far between – exhibitors were few and scattered – amongst the principal kennels were Mrs. Violet Horsfall of Redgrave Hall, Norfolk (hence the famous Redgrave affix), Mr. Leadbetter of Buckinghamshire and Mr. Hood-Wright of Frome, in the North, Mr. Boyes and Mr. Slack, and in the West Mr. & Mrs. Herbert had a good kennel but only showed cropped dogs. Ch's Lot, Viking, and Viceroy of Redgrave In 1897 there were still few dogs actually bred in England, the winners at shows being mostly imported dogs – a notable event of this year being the victory of Mrs. Horsfall's Ch. Hannibal of Redgrave over the German Ch. Bosco Colonia brought over by Mr. Dobblemann to challenge all comers. Mrs. Horsfall's Ch. Viceroy of Redgrave, born March 2nd 1899 Note that both the grandsires of Viceroy were bred in Berlin, coming from the oldest strains existing View Viceroy's Pedigree Here By 1899 average entries at big shows was about thirty to forty – mostly imported and there were two Ch dogs; Hannibal and Count Fritz, and two Ch bitches; Ch. Mammoth Queen and Ch. Santa Valeria (a Harlequin). In these early days there was a scale of points on which assessment was based – it was revised from time to time and below is one of the revised lists, compiled by Mrs. Horsfall; General appearance 3 points Condition 3 Activity 5 Head 15 Neck 5 Chest 8 Back 8 Belly 4 Tail 4 Forequarters 10 Hindquarters 10 Feet 8 Coat 4 Size 13 On to History Page 3