ARTHUR DENBY WILKINSON AND THE NATIONAL POULTRY TEST COLLECTION

FR DW

1952-1990

The National Poultry Test was founded, as the National Egg Laying Test, in 1917 by the National Utility Poultry Society in conjunction with the Great Eastern Railway Co, originating at the GER farm at Dodnash Priory, Bentley, Suffolk under the management of J.N. Leigh. The first Daily Mail Laying Test ran from 1st October 1919 to 31st January 1920, also managed by J.N. Leigh. These two Tests amalgamated in 1926-27, and in 1927-28 the Test moved to a larger test ground at Milford, Enton, Surrey. Railway interest in the Test ceased, but support continued from the Daily Mail, presenting the Championship Gold Cup (first presented 1923-24) and the Two Year Test Trophy. National Laying Test Ltd was formed [before 1952] to carry on the Test. Initially operating a comprehensive stock testing programme concerned with pedigree birds, the Tests expanded to include Commercial Random Sample Tests, Broiler Tests and Breeding Research (Random Sample) Tests (concerned with new composite breeds and hybrids), introduced between 1952 and 1957. From the early 1960s interest shifted from conducting laying tests in small unit houses to modern intensive houses. Arthur Denby Wilkinson was appointed Test Manager 16th September 1952 and held the post until 1965. Previous posts had included that of Manager of Robert Brown's breeding and commercial egg farm at Aldbourne, Hassocks; Poultry Manager on O.A. Batten's Sussex farm; Assistant Manager of White Lady Poultry Farm, Bray, Berks; Assistant to Keith Wilson, Senior Technical Officer of the Land Settlement Association; Manager of Herbert Smith's accredited farm, Hastings.

Records relating to the National Poultry Test

12 series

fonds

Agriculture, agricultural research, Poultry

FR DW/AD2/1-13 National Test administrative files FR DW/AD4/1-2 Administrative files relating to premises FR DW/AD8/1-7 Correspondence FR DW/AD8/8-14 Correspondence with the press FR DW/DO1/1-4 Maps FR DW/ET1/1-59 Records of Tests FR DW/ET3/1-7 Technical reference material FR DW/ET3/8-11 Press cuttings FR DW/P2/B1-13 Individual advertising publications FR DW/P4/B1 House journal FR DW/PH2/1-3 Photograph albums FR DW/PH3/1-29 Files of photographs recording individual Tests FR DW/PH3/30-37 Files of Test site photographs FR DW/PH3/38-64 Files of miscellaneous photographs FR DW/PH3/65-72 Collection of (mostly) mounted and captioned prints FR DW/SP2/1 File relating to Poultry and Egg Producers Association Award to A. Denby Wilkinson FR DW/SP4/1 Autobiographical manuscript by A. Denby Wilkinson

Farmers' Weekly From the Ground Up (12 Aug) 1960 pp78-82 6th Farm Buildings Conference (6 Oct) 1961 pp102-104 Diseases on Deep Litter (6 Oct) 1961 pp129-131 Poultry Industry Photograph: The Busiest Hen in Britain (31 Oct) 1957 pp 612 My Column, Eunice Kidd (4 Sep) 1952 pp 360-61 Trans-Atlantic Tribute to Milford (29 Sep) 1960 p12 World Records Smashed in National 500 Day Test (29 Sep) 1960 pp 430-431 My Column, Eunice Kidd (19 Jan) 1961 pp 99-100, 103-104 Solar Inventor Visits `National' (Nov) 1964 p357