Howdy! I'm Kitty Le Roy, (British Westerners Association and Whisky Creek Western Club)

My love for the wild west, old and new, began in my teens and has grown into a true passion forty odd - very odd - years later! I am fascinated by the feisty, wilder, unconventional women of that era and enjoy emulating them. My alias is inspired by women like these. Kitty lived and died by the gun, but Captain Ellen Jack, being both British and blonde - like me - was also handy with a gun, and also a prospector and cafe owner in Colorado during the 1880s and closer to my portrayal, a conglomeration of these women. My character is a female Klondike prospector/photographer/adventurer (I’m greedy), and is inspired by one of two emigrant great-great uncles. I am continually researching gritty frontierswomen, of whom there were many.

I have been a member of The British Westerners Association for some years, and they have been enormously helpful in putting me in contact with fellow westerners, something which proved tremendously difficult in the early years. The BWA holds events throughout the year, countrywide. I am also a member of The Whiskey Creek Western Club, who hold authentic camps fairly locally to us in West Sussex/Surrey/Hampshire.

The cabin/saloon/trading post in my back garden is stuffed full of western memorabilia and my pard JC (Doc Jack Coltrane - a quack, whose initials were inspired by his granddad) - who was dragged kicking and screaming into this hobby to keep me company – has an American railroad. My daughter (21) has grown bemused and more tolerant of my passion, and son (18), who grew to rather enjoy our camps, has now opted for stopping at home! Our authentic camp is slowly accumulating gear and our Canadian canoe lies in the garden, ready for paddling the Basingstoke Canal when the weather permits. (Can anyone give us directions to Alaska?). We attend southern UK western events and have taken part in knife throwing, shooting and archery competitions, which are never to be taken too seriously!

As a schoolgirl, I used my father’s small calibre air rifle on washing up bottles, cat food tins and milk bottle tops. Today I possess my own air rifle and sometimes use proper targets! I also own a replica Winchester '73, (a wedding anniversary pressie – how romantic….) and blank firing Colt .45s.

These pages will ultimately show my updated photo gallery of various subjects, including myself and JC in costume, my cabin, and the events and people we encounter. Forgive me if I take my time over this, as the technology of downloading all this does not come easily! I have my own email western group with both UK and US members. I intend to slowly build up these web pages and it could take some time, so please bear with me. If you would like to contact me e-mail Kitty

Chow

Joanna Clutton alias Kitty Le Roy

British Westerners Association