Camberley Kate

Although her name was Kate Ward everyone knew her as “Camberley Kate.” She was born in Middlesborough, north east England, in 1895. As both her parents died before she was 10, she was raised by a strictly religious aunt in what was described as an “atmosphere of disapproval.” At 19 she left home to go into domestic service in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Kate’s first experience with rescuing a dog was in 1943. “You never had any time for that sort of thing as a domestic servant in those days,” she said. She had just bought a house for 600 British pounds and took home a lame greyhound she found sitting on the doorstep of the local veterinarian’s office. The dog was to be euthanized. She moved to Camberley possibly to work in service at the RMA Sandhurst during the Second World War. She eventually settled into a small Victorian working class cottage on the London Road in nearby York Town. For the remainder of her life, she rescued and cared for hundreds of stray dogs, pushing the green cart to and from her modest home to Camberley’s town center, a round trip of some five miles. The local police even recommended a route so that she and her canine entourage could leave and arrive home safely.

No dog was ever turned away. As Kate’s activities became known, people increasingly left dogs on her doorstep, sometimes in shopping bags or tied to her front door knob. Some dogs were left with her “just for a week” but no one returned to claim them. Other people left their dogs with her permanently because they could no longer look after them. The police also brought her dogs. Mysteriously and miraculously, some dogs found their way to her. Kate’s meager state pension did not adequately meet the costs of feeding and caring for so many dogs. She began to receive donations as she became known. Television film crews often reported on “Camberley Kate.” Even Lord Snowden, Princess Margaret’s husband who later became an acclaimed photographer, made a film about her. Although she became famous, her dogs always came first. Kate also spoke of a “gentleman” who helped to pay her expenses. She deposited into a trust any unused donations as she did not want to personally benefit from the dogs in her care. A local veterinarian, Geoffrey Craddock, regularly visited Kate from 1954 until her death in 1979 aged 84. “All the dogs were incredibly healthy and they lived to a ripe old age. She had great humor, great character, and great determination. I shall miss her very much indeed,” he said. Camberley’s Baptist minister, Reverend Christopher Russell, told the local newspaper, The Camberley News, on Kate’s death that she “was an incredibly generous person on the quiet – she just gave and gave and gave to hospitals, charities, and churches.” Despite rumors to the contrary, Kate was not a wealthy woman. “She just gave away every penny she had,” said Reverend Russell. She left her home and bank account to her remaining seven dogs who lived in nearby kennels at the time of her death.

“Camberley Kate” had her detractors. They complained about the number of dogs she cared for and how she lived. Her eccentric behavior did not help. She reportedly confronted people taking her photograph because she had her own postcards to sell. There were also allegations of her ramming the wooden cart into cars that blocked her way.

My parents always let me and my sister, Wendy, watch “Camberley Kate” and her dogs make their way against the one-way traffic along the High Street. I do not recall them saying very much about her. We were always encouraged to be kind to animals. Mother wanted to work with animals but never had the opportunity. Father brought home, Tinkerbell, a small grey kitten quite soon after I was born. Her passing was my first exposure to life’s play with death. Today, I’m proud to say that Wendy is a vegetarian of many years standing.