The club was started in 1985 by a dedicated team of dog trainers. One evening in a Cornish working man's club about half a dozen keen men and women agreed to apply to the Kennel Club to form a working gundog club. Mike and Gwen Knox were a tremendous help at the time, travelling several times from North Devon, to guide us through the procedure.

The cornerstone’s of the CFTS, at this time, were Jim Lee and Clive Kent, two quiet handlers who trained both spaniels and retrievers but also gave freely of their time to help others achieve a good standard of dog for all types of shooting. They played a very active role for several years with Jim as Chairman and Clive as Working Test Secretary but both taking training classes all over Cornwall.

However officers and committee members come and go, some stay longer than others, some are more active than others but they all have one goal in common, to build the Club from strength to strength.

Tests were held for a few years and these were often over-subscribed, as there always seemed to be a never-ending supply of dogs and handlers to run in these summer events. Based on this success and with guidance from Rupert Hill an application to hold retriever and spaniel novice trials was sent to the Kennel Club. The Club was granted field trial status and a new era began.

Without the generosity of the land owners and the support of their keepers and staff, these trials would never happen. Without the kindness of the judges who travel hundreds of miles giving up their day and the chance to run their own dogs, to them we must be grateful. Also the gun's who pay for the day, whether it is for a stunning driven day for the retrievers or perhaps a challenging walked up day over spaniels they all strive so we can enjoy our sport. The very least the club all the competitors can do is to thank all these people for their generosity.

Today’s membership is steadily increasing, currently around 500 members, and the club now holds eight trials a year for retrievers and spaniels. Working Tests are held throughout the summer and the club is asked to give gundog demonstrations at Shows all over Cornwall.

Looking back to the very beginning even before the Club was formed the founder members could have only dreamt of what would be nearly 35 years on. A big thank you to all who have helped it happen, a big thank you to all who have helped the CFTS to be what it is today, a brilliant and successful gundog club.