United Kingdom Gordon Mills' Private collection

Vulpes

Vulpes

Well-Known Member
Has anybody any information of this collection. I have heard a lot about it. Apperently he had Gorilla, orangutangs and tigers. Has anybody got any photographs of the collection?
 
There's lots of info and a few pictures in the autobiography of his former keeper Jeremy Keeling (now animal director at Monkey World) which was recently published. Link below

[ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jeremy-Amy-Extraordinary-Story-Orang-utan/dp/1906021988/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top]Jeremy and Amy: The Extraordinary Story of One Man and His Orang-utan: Amazon.co.uk: Jeremy Keeling, Rick Broadbent: Books[/ame]
 
'Jeremy and Amy' by Jeremy Keeling who worked there has quite a bit about the place. Jeremy's father, Clinton Keeling, has also written about the collection but I can't remember which of Clin's many books it is in.
 
George Jacobs wrote a detailed chapter about the place in his book "Memoirs of a Coarse Zoo Keeper". I would suggest that this reference and Clinton Keeling's give a better overall description of the place and its circumstances than the more recent publication by Jeremy Keeling.
 
I was fortunate to visit the collection and was introduced to the Orangs and Gorillas by Jeremy Keeling . I think the Tigers had gone by then , possibly one left , but before Amy the Orang was born . Unfortunately I do not have any photos .
 
The run of enclosures for the Apes were very similar to Howletts' earliest ones, as G. Mills became interested in the animals via contact with John Aspinall. But they were concrete-floored, not deep litter straw.

The Bornean Orangutans were bought from Belle Vue Zoo when it closed down, and included male Harold, females Bobo & Janie(formerly at Flamingo Park) plus a seperate hybrid female(?) born at Dudley if I remember correctly. Also another Bornean male Louis. Louis and Janie became the parents of 'Amy'.

The Gorillas were mostly males and never bred(there was only one suitable breeding-aged female) and they were later went to the San Diego zoos in America, except three that went to Longleat.(not Nico, he came after they all died, from a Swiss circus.)

The Tigers had a Howlett's style enclosure too but I have no other details.
 
I believe the 2 gorillas that came to the San Diego Zoo in 1984 were Memba and Winston. Memba became the father of 10, Winston the father of 6, both are still in good health. Memba is 41years old and Winston 38 years old. Janey the orangutan is also at the San Diego Zoo. She is 48 years old. I am lucky enough to visit them at least once a week. Betsy
 
Great to hear that those apes that I met many years ago are still alive in San Diego. According to old UK Great Ape studbooks Memba was born in 1969 and arrived at Weybridge on 17 May 1972 , Winston was born in 1972 and arrived at Weybridge on 13 May 1972 ( must have still been a small baby ) , Janey was born in 1962 arrived at Flamingo Park June 1964 , Manchester Belle Vue July 1969 and Weybridge on 15 November 1977 .
 
Bele said:
Great to hear that those apes that I met many years ago are still alive in San Diego..
Click to expand...

I believe the Gorillas that went to the US were Memba, Winston, Tzambo and Katie. Possibly also 'Ollie' the stunted male. Memba and Winston became the silverbacks in the breeding groups at the San Diego Zoo & WAP respectively as mentioned above. They may now be the only survivors of Mill's Gorillas. Tzambo I think did the same at Los Angeles. Can't remember offhand about Katie but Gorillas Galore will show her(she didn't breed). Monty and the two old females Tessy and Flossy went to Longleat where Monty later drowned on the Gorilla island.

I saw the female Orangutan 'Janey' at all three locations she was at in the UK and somewhere have very old photos of her at all three also.
(GM purchased all the Orangutans from BelleVue when their stock was auctioned off when the Zoo closed.)
 
This may be a bit late, seeing that the original enquiry for info on Gordon Mills' private collection was posted last year in July, but I just came across this forum and was interested to read this bit because Gordon Mills was my father and I grew up at Little Rhondda, his private zoo. I do have some pictures, though not many as they're scattered throughout our family. We had gorillas, Siberian and Sumatran tigers, Orangs, Snowy owls, marmosets, and some other rescued animals such as a puma, and a fair few owls and birds of prey. I would be interested in reading George's 'Memoirs of a coarse zookeeper' as my knowledge of him/his time with us at Little Rhondda, through my mother's memory is pretty unsavoury. Little Rhondda was apparently at one time the largest private zoo in the world, but for me it was just home, where I'd do my homework sitting next to the tiger enclosure, chatting to Horace , my special friend, or climbing on top of the gorilla/orang enclosures and kissing the orangs, who would put their lips through the cage, on seeing me coming. My father was pretty unorthodox, like John Aspinall, and liked to go in with the animals. I remember my mother bottle feeding a baby gorilla that was rejected by its mother, so I'm sure we did manage to breed them at some point. Yes, Ollie did also go to the states. He started at New York's Buffalo zoo I think, and then was traded around to different zoos. He was an enormous silver back with one eye. I visited some of our gorillas at San Diego a few years back. It's great to hear that Memba and Winston are still alive. Please send them a kiss from me, Betsy! Juliette x
 
Some recent pictures of Janey, Memba and Winston.
 

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Hi Juliette, Welcome to the forum, Its great to hear your stories about the place, and it would be great to see some pictures!
 
Thank you!

Thanks so much Betsy for putting those great pictures up. It's fantastic to see them looking so wonderful. Janey was always called Jane when she was with us, and she had the sweetest, kindest nature out of all the Orangs. Memba was always a great big character, liked showing off. Thanks so much! Juliette
 
It occured to me that there is no mention on this thread that Gordon Mills was Tom Jones manager,co-writer of many of his hits [of course this is well known but some may not know this].Amazingly i was once in London with an ex and her friends father had worked there as a kind of security guy i think-he told me that a load of crowned cranes were let loose on the grounds,he was on nightwatch and no-one had told him about it,he thinks one got into the tigers-with predictable results.On a non animal matter he also told me that Gordon could copy Tom Jones note-for-note and is actually the singer on one of Jones hits[he couldnt remember which one].Wonder if thats true monkeyfeatures?
 
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This is a grainy image of Tom Jones performing at Little Rhondda ... Gordon Mills private zoo in Weybridge 1965 ... a bear in the cage in the background
 
This could well be Aspinalls private Zoo as Gordon Mills did not collect his animals until the early 1970's.. I will check out further
 
If its a private zoo why is there a sign on the fence? And what does it say? I can't make it out.
 
this is the link to the video....title Tom Jones at the Zoo... someone may have more idea where it is taken from this
 
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