My thanks to former racing manager Simon Harris for kindly sending me a copy of ‘The Care of the Greyhounds’ a book published by GRA in 1933.

Simon’s father Roger was a kennel lad for trainer Lesley Reynolds at Northaw before embarking on his own successful training career culminating at Hall Green, and acquired two copies of the book.

Despite the fall of GRA prior to its eventual sale to Wembley plc and the subsequent sale of its remaining assets by Galliard Homes, for four decades, the company was an outstanding example of commercial genius combined with outstanding insight and administration.

It would be took a stretch to say greyhound racing would never have been imported to Britain from the USA but for GRA, it is near impossible to imagine any organisation making the huge success of a previously unknown sport/industry.

The Hook Kennels at Northaw near Potters Bar represented everything that was great about the Greyhound Racing Association.

The 150 acre Hook Kennels site was designed purely for racing. The company had breeding kennels in Blythe Bridge near Stoke, followed by others in Surrey and another in Kildare

Hook Kennels was a huge and expensive endeavour which was gradually crafted and refined to set the standard for greyhound training in Britain. It sourced some of the great coursing men between the wars and applied military discipline and accountability to a very high level.

The White House was the centrepiece of the estate and home to the manager of the complex. When the site was later broken down sold in the 1980s, it became a religious commune.

For those of us lucky to have worked there, the place was unforgettable. Although my time at Northaw took place during the late 1970s, the place had no changed greatly and some of the picture will bring happy memories to many others who were privileged to have worked there.

A familar site to many ex-staff. To memory from my time at Northaw – the kennels (from bottom right) were Stan Gudgin (Harringay), Ted Parker (Harringay), Tom Foster (White City), Eric Vose (Watford), Colin West (White City) and Tim Forster (Harringay). I worked for Tom Foster who had only recently taken over the kennel of Australia bound Gordon Hodson

The introduction to the book was penned by the most amazing of the four business founders Brigadier-General A.C. Critchely D.M.G, D.S.O

The publication of this book signalises the completion of many years of planning and work. When greyhound racing was introduced at our Belle Vue track in Manchester in 1926, my associates and I were concerned solely with providing high quality greyhound racing.

Today, seven years later, the problems and responsibilities of the Greyhound Racing Association have undergone considerable change. Breeding and training rank with equal importance with the racing side of the sport.

A familiar kennel interior – as developed by GRA and widely copied. This is a photo of a top range of eight kennels – the gap on the right leads to another range of seven. There would have been a third range, out of shot, to the photographer’s immediate right. That meant a maximum of 22 double kennels. There were two kennel hands, plus a head lad and trainer – all full time – for each kennel.

This book has been prepared and produced to show what has been done in developing the training, the maintenance and the medical research of racing greyhounds. It is designed principally to illustrate to owners and the millions of greyhound racegoers who patronise the sport every year what work and care and thought goes on behind the scenes at the tracks.

The homes of the Northaw trainers and – in my time at Northaw – GRA senior vet Bruce Prole and family

Each step in the progress of this tremendous organisation has been taken after lengthy inquiry and experiment. The layout of the training headquarters, the equipment of the hospital and veterinary surgeon’s office, the construction of the kennels and the design of the living quarters of the staff, are the result of long and painstaking research.

A fully equipped vet’s surgery

Kitchens, laundry, storehouses, paddocks, roadways, vegetable gardens, diet, each small segment in the main design has been modelled and modelled again until perfection has been attained.

This publication is presented therefore with the aim that it will have real educative value and, the story of Hook Kennels, Northaw, to set a standard which applies to the entire policy of the Greyhound Racing Association.

“Sunray treatment” – not something I can remember seeing carried out – though clearly innovative in the 1930s

The cookhouse to produce the dog feed for White City, Harringay and prior to its closure, Stamford Bridge. The big coppers would have been used to cook beef and vegetables which were originally grown on the estate.

The transporters to take the dogs to the tracks. These double story lorries were replaced by single larger vehicles which could transports the runners for eight races plus reserves

The piano might have made way for jukebox, the snooker table for a pool table, and more comfortable chairs, but this is where the live-in kennel lads and kennel girls spent their leisure time.

A familiar site – six dogs apiece walking the estate three times a day – though in my time, walking without muzzles was a sackable offence.