At the time of his death in 1938, it was thought that his wife, Emma Cruft, would continue to run the dog shows with the help of the show's secretary, Miss Hardingham. After running the show in 1939, Mrs Cruft sold the show to The Kennel Club, however due to World War II, it wasn't until 1948 when they ran the show for the first time. The show would remain being called Cruft's until 1974, when during a rebrand the apostrophe was dropped, resulting in the show being called Crufts, which it continues to be called at the present.