| Author: Joe Murphy | Title: SNFC – Newbury 2005 |
| Date: 2005-06-21 22:07:09 | Uploaded by: webmaster |
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The race marking for the first SNFC race went very smoothly with everyone working as a team not just at the Fife station but at each of the stations from Aberdeen in the north to Springfield in the south. I attended the Fife station as I am off work at the moment and it went like clockwork with every bird through and the transporter on it’s way at the appointed time. I took the Fife race details through to Mussleburgh and was very impressed with the hall and how everyone ‘mucked in’ so to speak and at the end of the race marking they all helped load the transporter. It was good so see such harmony after all the unrest of the past but from the feedback I received from all over the country this is a new era for the SNFC. We are working for each other and the club is like one big family and this bond can only become stronger as we progress. The one thing that has come across from all fanciers is that the BIRDS take number one priority and their welfare will always be paramount with the members of the SNFC.
Birdage
The 589 Members sent 3621 birds for the race was Section A 730 – B 812 – C 738 –D 274 –E 665 – F194 –G 298 with a total birdage of 3,621 birds it is down on last years race by over 1216 however with the drop in membership and a very bad race from Leicester the week prior then this was to be expected. Convoyer Colin Gray had the birds ready for liberation from the back of 06.00 am and after talking to the race control team of Bobby Graham, Richard Combe and Jim Hannah it was decided to liberated at 06.30am into a west wind, with the birds clearing the liberation point very quickly. Steve Appleby has again been of great help to the club and below is his detailed weather reports, which he sent to me to update the SNFC web pages. For this I’m truly grateful to Steve and I would personally like to thank him for all his help to me since we have started to correspond either through email or by phone. The update from Steve on the SNFC birds was as follows. ‘An active weather system located over the Irish Sea will move north eastwards towards Scotland and north western regions of England. As a result these regions will be affected by some showery activity. Weather conditions for the line of flight from Newbury to Scotland are as follows. Southern and central England is mainly dry except for some isolated showers. Early on the SNFC convoy will enjoy good racing conditions under cloud cover although some breaks will allow the sun to appear. This effectively affords that essential good start for the first half of the journey. As the birds race north and reach northern counties of England they will encounter some showery activity, which will extend into Scotland. The winds will be fresh from the west or southwest and visibility will be good outside the showers.’ Again my thanks to Steve and going by the times recorded on the lib line the birds arrived home before the heavy showers came on. The latecomers would be shut out by the rain we experienced at teatime when the heavens opened and it did not take time to come down. However at this time the majority of the convoy would be home and settled back into the comfort of their lofts. This is just as it happened because at teatime the rain was not taking time to come down but by this time quite a lot of birds were home not them all I agree.
Early Times
The earliest times reported to me for the lib line service and the text message were as follows:
South R J Rome Annan at 12.34 – C Halbert Eastriggs 12.44 and J Little Ecclefechan 12.47
Section B A Agnew & son Kelso 12.57 – G McLean Duns 13.13 & 13.38 – T Hall Chirnside 13.26
Section C - M McMurchie Glenrothes 14.16 -14.21(2 birds) – D & D Liddle Forfar 14.59 J & L Alexander Monifieth 14.47 (with their sporting challenge Red Rock)
Section D – H Brothwich Winchburgh 14.05 & 14.08 – Stewart Brothers Stirling 15.13
Section E – A McKinnes Blantyre 14.39 & 14.49 – Jim Hannah 15.17
Section F – A Scott Stevenson 16.51 – A Barper Largs 17.55
Section G – J Hunter Aberdeen 15.59 – Elliot Brothers Aberdeen 16.14
Provisional Section Winners
| Section A |
| 1st | R J Rome - Annan
(9th time south section winner) | 1260 |
| 2nd | Mr & Mrs D Skelton - Kirkpatrick Fleming | 1241.29 |
| 3rd | Henderson & Winterburn - Langholm | 1241.15 |
| Section B |
| 1st | A Agnew & Son - Kelso | 1322 - 1st Open |
| 2nd | G McLean - Duns | 1317 - 2nd Open |
| 3rd | T Hall - Chirnside | 1299.03 |
| Section C |
| 1st | B McKenzie - Dundee | 1308 - 3rd Open |
| 2nd | M McMurchie - Glenrothes/Leslie | 1284 |
| 3rd | D & D J Liddle - Forfar | 1274 |
| Section D |
| 1st | H Borthwick - Winchburgh | 1265 |
| 2nd | H Borthwick - Winchburgh | 1257 |
| 3rd | J & H McGlynn - Laurieston | 1244 |
| Section E |
| 1st | J Newbiggin - Larkhall | 1231 |
| 2nd | A McInnes - Blantyre | 1138 |
| 3rd | J Hunter - Chaplehall | 1135 |
| Section F |
| 1st | Morris Brothers - Johnstone | 1100 |
| 2nd | A McKee - Kirkconnell | 1099 |
| 3rd | Morris Brothers - Johnstone | 1005 |
| Section G |
| 1st | J Hunter - Aberdeen | 1217 |
| 2nd | Elliot Brothers - Aberdeen | 1205 |
| 3rd | D Pirie - Aberdeen | 1079 |
Details of Leading Birds
 Section B winner and probable 1st open winner is Andrew Agnew & Son of Kelso who timed in a 02 bred blue pied hen at 12.57 flying 290 miles 1601yards for a velocity of 1323. She was raced the full programme as a youngster and had 2 or 3 races as a yearling unfortunately she was then severely injured and was out for rest of season. This year she has flown the full federation programme winning minor tickets in the club. She was entered into the Peterborough race last Saturday and was sent to the inland national with her first flight ½ way up. She is flown on what Andrew call’s the ‘The Make Up System’ which is a basic roundabout system, but Andrew’s makes it up as he goes along. He never keeps it the same as one day the cocks will have the next boxes and the next day the hens. It is the same with their daily exercise Andrew works at the local saw mill which is only a field’s length from his lofts. So for the morning exercise he may let the cocks and get them back in at lunch time and then let the hens out or it may be vice versa. Andrew says he has no set system and there is no rime or reason to his management he just does what he feels is right at the time. He stopped training his team of birds 7 weeks ago as he is murdered by hawks so much so that from the last young bird race of 2004 up until the 1st old bird race this year he has lost 18 birds due to hawk attacks. It is so bad that at times he has stood and watched his race birds coming home with a hawk in pursuit. Andrew felt that this may have happened to his national winner now named Sapphire (as she is now his little gem) when she dropped onto the loft. She landed at the back of the trellis and he had to climb up the back of the loft and chase her, she then flew over to the other loft and just sat as if stunned. Andrew went and took out another bird and let it go into the open window and she then followed it in. You can just imagine how Andrew felt trying to get her in as we have all been in this position some time or other ourselves and it is what keeping pigeons is all about. Andrew’s loft has been in fine form this season as he has already topped the federation from Newark, then last week he took 1st and 2nd federation from Leicester finding the 2 birds in the loft as he was giving someone wood from the saw mill and when he returned to the loft found his birds already home. He has also won the federation from Newark the same day that he is probable 1st open SNFC Newbury so you can see what I mean when I say he is having a dream season. As a matter of interest Andrew has won the federation old bird average these last three years and he has also topped the federation in the open race from Maidstone in seasons 2002 and 2003.
Now for some breeding details on the national winner Sapphire as a youngster her sire is a blue pied Cattrysse purchased from D Smith of Great Ayton and her dam is a Janssen hen who won 3rd club 5th open Basingstoke and 4th club Sartilly as a yearling unfortunately she had to be destroyed following a hawk attack. At this point I must thank Angela the partner of Eggy Jamieson who went out of her way to take photographs on her mobile phone for me. It then took her 5 hours to figure out how to get them onto her PC and then how to send them to me. This shows the spirit of the fanciers within the SNFC ‘All for one and one for all’. If we keep working as a team the way we are then it can only help promote our sport and let readers know that all we are interested in is the PIGEON and not the politics. To Andrew Agnew & son our congratulations on being probable winner of the SNFC first race of the new season and I personally look forward to shaking his hand the first time we meet.
 Second section B and probable 2nd open is George McLean of Duns who timed in a 3 year old blue cock to record a velocity of 1317. As a youngster he won 62nd region B in the young bird national the following year he was flown out to Melton Mowbray. As a 2 year old he race out to Folkestone in Kent this year he has received 5 races up to the inland national. With his last race from Melton Mowbray a distance of 200 miles last Saturday. He was sent to the Newbury race sitting on 4 day youngsters with his 2nd flight half way grown. Sire is a Busschaert from Mr Ogden of Liverpool and the dam is a George Corbett Busschaert from the entire clearance sale of the late Raymond Gray of Horncliffe near Berwick. Mr McLean hopes to have the blue cock set up for the last national of the year from Falaise, we wish him well and thank him for the details and I again congratulate him on this fine performance.
 First section A and 1st south section is R J Rome of Annan who timed at 12. 34 and recorded a velocity of 1260 they timed a 2 year old blue chequer cock now called the 'Motivator'. This is the 9th time this loft has won the south section which is a truly remarkable achievement and we send our congratulations to the Rome partnership. Motivator was raced on widowhood until 3 week’s prior to the inland national, he was then re-paired and was sent to Newbury sitting 10 day on eggs. As a youngster he raced the full federation programme and did the same procedure as a yearling. His preparation for this year 2005 was 3 races with the federation before going to the inland national. My thanks to David Smith of Gretna for his assistance in obtaining the details and photographs on the Rome pigeon he states, ‘Joe not a lot of details about the winners breeding other than he is Silver Toye x Van Reet Robbie said he would sent more details to you as soon as possible’.
 Section C winner is Bruce McKenzie of Dundee who is a pal of Mick McMurchie of Fife who went with me to verify Bruce’s bird. Bruce timed in a 2 year old mealy cock flying widowhood at 02.30 pm for a velocity of 1308 and probable 3rd open. Bruce’s mealy is a small handling cock with good feather quality and had just cast his first flight. He has a red yellow iris with a full yellow circle of coloration and handled as if he had not been out the loft. He is also very possessive towards his box and I had to coax him quite a bit to get him to turn round to obtain a photo and there was no way he was going to turn his back on me such is his character. As a youngster he had every federation race and was then entered into the young bird national were he won 21st region C and 197th open. As a yearling he was raced out to Huntingdon a distance of 306 miles. This year he has flown every race and in fact won 1st club, 1st federation, 1st Grampian Combine 1st open Amalgamation (this includes Dundee, Angus & Aberdeen federation as well as Inchcape club from Arbroath) he recorded a velocity of 1886. He was in such good condition that he was selected for the SNFC inland race and this proved to be a very wise decision as his 3rd open position proves. His sire topped the federation twice and was bred from a brother and sister pairing of birds bred by Bruce’s good friend Mick McMurchie who now lives in Glenrothes in Fife. This pair of birds are bred from Mick's old mealy cock who won 10 x 1st prizes to 3 different loft locations. He is from a direct Planet Brothers Van Loon while his dam is a Janssen direct from Schleahorst of Germany. The dam of Bruce’s mealy was a Barry Cuthill of Dundee Braspenning crossed with Ron Williamson of Bondhill fame. Bruce races to the Lawhill club and his loft is on an allotment however he has moved his young bird team to his house’s back garden and this will be his last year racing from the allotment. Bruce is hoping to send his mealy cock back to the open federation race from Maidstone and if he returns safe and well Bruce has promised a youngster for the SNFC late bred sale later in the year. This was a very nice gesture from Bruce and the official and committee thank him for his kindness. I thanked him and congratulated him again on behalf of the committee and members of the club.
1st Fife pigeon and 2nd section C is Mick McMurchie of Glenrothes who had a great race timing in 5 pigeons in the space of 17 minutes. I verified Mick’s winner today and he is a 3 year old chequer cock of Van Loon bloodlines he had cast his first flight on his left wing. He is an apple bodied small cock type of cock with a red orange brown iris with a full serrated circle of coloration with a black flash in his left eye. When I let this cock go he flew about the sky like a youngster and was heaven’s high it was not until I let Mick’s second pigeon go that he dived down to meet him and they both flew and flew. Which was a great testament to the condition they must have been in prior to the race. As a youngster he was very consistent and would often be in the first of Mick’s multi-drops of birds but he was never first in the clock. He won a club race with a minor federation prize and was then sent to the Newbury inland national and won 304th open position. As a 2 year old again very consistent without winning the red card he was again set up for the inland national from Newbury and won 38th section 166th open. Two weeks later he was looking as Mick say’s ‘awesome’ and was sent to the federation open race from Maidstone in Kent a distance of 371 miles. He was timed in after being 10 ¼ hours on the wing to win 1st club 5th open from an entry of 2,238 birds winning over £500 for his efforts. This year Mick did not widowhood the cocks until the 3rd race and the chequer cock won 1st club 6th section 7th open Ripon 3,635 birds. The following week he won 2nd club (beaten by loft mate) 3rd section 7th open Wakefield 3.050 birds. He was then sent to Leicester fully pooled and made a hash of it as he took 9 ½ hours to home. This was the same day that Mick won 1st club 1st federation open from Leicester. Mick watched the little chequer cock all week and on Wednesday he was back bouncing about this was enough to convince Mick that he had picked up and he decided to send him this week. He made him his main pooled pigeon as he had the experience of having won twice before from Newbury. He repaid Mick’s confidence in him as he wins 1st federation 2nd section and should be well up in the open result. Sire is a fantastic cock ‘Silver Shadow’ who won many 1st prizes in the club, section and open he has been over 30 times in the clock in a 6 year racing career. He won 1st club 1st open Maidstone classic and was 3rd open Central & East of Scotland Amalgamation with 8,245 birds winning over £600 for Mick. He is a direct son of Mick’s number one hen Miss Perfect direct from Louis Van Loon she is a the grand dam of 3 x 1st national winners. Dam of the little chequer cock is a pure Van Loon who has bred Mick a number of prize winners. She was purchased from the Up North Combine aces J & M Walton she is a direct daughter of their 1st open UNC winner Lamtarra who won 1st open 12,299 birds crossed with a daughter of Blackie Planet Brothers number one stock hen. I have taken a photo of Mick holding his old mealy cock that is the grand sire of Bruce McKenzie’s section winner. Mick like Bruce has promised a youngster from his winner if he comes home safely from the Maidstone race in a couple of week’s time. On behalf of the national committee I thanked Mick and again congratulated him on a fantastic race and I cannot wait until the result comes out to see how well his other pigeons have performed in the open result.
Section D has Henry Borthwick of Winchburgh in 1st and 2nd section positions with a couple of yearling cousins. The section winner is a mealy cock that only had 2 races as a youngster. This year he has been flown on widowhood and he has been raced from Otterburn, Bishop Auckland, Newark the Winchburgh Otterburn open then last Saturday he flew the Leicester race. Henry then did the normal widowhood system by showing him his hen prior to basketing for the national. His sire is a mealy cock that has topped the federation 3 times and in turn was bred from an Albert Talerton cock and an Ian Stafford of Newcastle Staff Van Reet. The dam of the section winner was purchased at Barry Cuthill of Dundee clearance sale and is from his Braspenning stock direct from Louella Pigeon World containing Van Moorsel lines. Henry’s second pigeon is also a yearling and had the same treatment as his winner i.e. lightly raced as a youngster and the above races this year prior to going to the SNFC Newbury race. His dam is the same Barry Cuthill hen and his sire is the brother to the 3 times federation winner. What a coincidence that here we have Bruce McKenzie’s 1st section C winner and Henry’s 1st & 2nd section D winners both having the common denominating factor the Barry Cathill Braspenning lines. While at the same time Mick McMurchie and Bruce’s pigeons are related to Mick’s old mealy cock line. It proves one thing if these inland pigeons are conditioned right they will compete in the highest competition no matter which part of the country you live in. My thanks to Henry for contacting me so quickly with his details after Dougie Bald had been in touch to congratulate him on these two outstanding section winners.
 Section E winner is J Newbiggin of Larkhall who timed in a 3 year old chequer white flight hen now named ‘Miss Casey’ at 14.07 flying 319 miles and recording a velocity of 1231. She had 3 races to 100 miles as a youngster then out to Maidstone as a yearling which is 360 miles then as a 2 year old she had 5 races to Newark. This year she was raced from Tow Law 105 miles and then Wakefield 175 miles she was then trained from Dalkeith three times which is a distance of 50 miles. She was then sent to the inland national sitting 9 day eggs on her first nest of year, and obviously still had a full wing. The parents are bred by Mike and Beryl Woodyard and they are from the Van Geel strain. My thanks go to committee member Jim Hannah for the details and the photographs on the west section winner. A special thanks also to Gareth Rankin who typed up the details and sent Jim’s photo’s by email so that we could have them quickly for this report. See what I meant earlier ‘All for one and one for all’.
Section F winners are Morris Brothers of Johnstone in Renfrewshire who are also 3rd section F. They timed in a 2 year old cock that as a youngster had 4 races and won 7th club Kelso. As a yearling he was 3rd club Otterburn and 3rd club Ripon and was sent to the inland national from Newbury but returned late. This year he raced every 2nd week as did most of the partners old birds, however he was never timed in but was never late always very steady and he is raced on roundabout x widowhood system. Breeding is from the Janssen line of pigeons from Pouw Brothers and Bert Camphius origin, the partners purchased them from Barry McNickolas. The Morris Brothers partnership have did very well with this family of pigeons in 2002 they were 1st region F, 2nd west section 11th open with his full sister. In 2003 they were 36th west section with his full brother and then in 2004 were 1st section F with his brother’s daughter and in this race their 2nd and 3rd birds are a full brother and sister.
I would like to congratulate and thank the brothers David and Robert for supplying me with the details of their birds and also for their kind remarks about the SMS text service which they say is first class. I had their wrong land line phone number however as they had joined the text service I was able to contact them as I had their mobile number which turned out to be a blessing in disguise as otherwise I could not have obtained details of their pigeon in time for this report.
Section G is won by John Hunter of Aberdeen who timed in at 15.59 flying 393 miles and recorded a velocity of 1217. John clocked a blue chequer yearling cock who as a youngster it had 9 races winning 3rd St.Boswells, 2nd club 14th federation North Allerton, 2nd club 18th Grampian Combine Wakefield and flew the Young Bird National Cheltenham 350 miles. This year he has had 7 races and won 1st Club 4th federation Doncaster and 1st club 7th federation Leicester last Saturday. He was sent to SNFC Newbury flying widowhood and is a Janssen based pigeon. Again my thanks to Arthur Evans of Stonehaven who collected the details on John’s pigeon for me he is going to try and get a photo this week and will e-mail it to me however it will be too late for this report. Congratulations to John Hunter on another North section win as he won the north section from the young bird race last year.
Conclusion
Going by the reports from fanciers that I have spoken to over the weekend the Newbury race has been very good with excellent returns. Many people had their Gold Cup entries away and the time on the wing will have done them a power of good. I believe we will have a good entry for the Alencon race as the birds now have 3 weeks to be tuned up for the ‘Big One’. What can I say about the people who been so helpful in obtaining details on the above winners without them this article would not be in print it is as simple as that. Yes I have had to work very hard running the Lib Line and SMS Text service as well as updating the web page. However if this article makes the pigeon papers a week after the race then we as a TEAM have done a great job. To each and every one of the members I again congratulate them on doing so well in the SNFC and let’s hope the Alencon Gold Cup race is as good.
Compiled by Joe Murphy SNFC Press Officer
Further Update
I have already compiled an update on the section winners for the fancy press and did not have time to contact the other successful winners in each section at this time. However with the help from the fanciers themselves and my fellow SNFC committee members I have obtained details on the second and third birds in each section. For this I thank everyone for their support and I must say that not one person has complained about being missed out on my first report on the race. Everyone appreciates that the winners are entitled to their moment of glory and all fanciers were happy to read about the winners the weekend after the race. Before I tell you about these other birds I would like to just mention a few important details. 589 members sent 3621 birds flying for £22,660.80p in pools and prize money. The winner of the race Andrew Agnew & son of Kelso win The Five Times a Lady Trophy and 1st National Hens. George McLain of Duns wins the 1st National Cocks with each section winner winning a trophy from the SNFC. These are as follows section A R J Rome, B – A Agnew & son, C – B McKenzie, D – H Borthwick, E – J Newbiggin, F – Morris Brothers, G – J Hunter. Claims are required for the Killyglen under 18 years of age trophy. The SNFC are indebted to the following sponsors: The British Homing World: - Publication of Results in BHW. Killyglen Studios: - Sponsorship of under 18 trophy, Stock Nutrition: - Who sponsored vouchers of 1st £20.00 & 2nd £10.00 in each region. Bamfords Feeds: - Supplying feeding for all SNFC Races.
News Update on Winners
Section A winners from David Smith of Gretna who does a great job helping out the SNFC committee he has sent me up details of the first three in the section I have already reported on R Rome’s pigeon however have not received any more details from the partnership. However David has supplied the details for the 2nd & 3rd south section Newbury Inland National winners.
2nd Region A & 2nd South Section 29th Open are the husband & wife partnership of Dennis & Lynette Skelton of Kirkpatrick Fleming who timed their 2 year old Busschaert chequer cock. The sire is ' Dennis the Menace' winner of the Frome inland SNFC national for the partners in 1999. The dam has always been stock and is from the old lines that Dennis & Lynette has cultivated for many years. As a young bird the 2nd section winner was flown in three races, as a yearling was then placed on the roundabout system and flew the full federation race programme. This year he was again raced on roundabout and was given 5 races prior to the inland national, he was allowed to have his hen all day on Thursday prior to basketing on Thursday night. He returned home from the National with the first flight just broken through.
3rd Region A & 3rd South Section 31st Open are the very successful partners of Henderson & Winterburn of Langholm. The partners timed their 6 year old chequer pied hen she is flown on roundabout she was given 5 races prior to the national; she was shown her mate two days before basketing for the race. In 2002 she returned from Claremont badly hawked and the following year she was raced very lightly. In the 2004 season she won 25th south section 91st open from the inland national and then she won 18th south section 60th open in the SNFC Gold Cup race and finished off the season winning 5th south section 20th open SNFC Falaise. (So you will see she is not a bad pigeon winning 3 times in the one year and here she is with her first card of the 2005 season. I wish her well in the other races this year Joe Murphy) The dam of their winner has previously won 3rd south section 3rd open in the young bird national in 1998 and the following year she won 9th south section 12th open from the SNFC Vire race the sire has always been a stock bird. Again I’m indebted to David Smith for his support this saves me a lot of time not just on the phone but saves me from having to drive down to the Solway area to obtain these details so David thank you very much.
Section B news of the Scottish Borders from my fellow committee member Eggy Jamieson with details of George McLain and Tim Hall’s winners, I have already reported on George’s pigeon so without repeating myself on the details will again congratulate George on his outstanding achievement. Eggy was telling me that George was quite overcome when he discovered that he was 2nd open SNFC as this is the highlight of his pigeon race career so far. George also timed in 2 other birds to win 28th and 105th open not bad from an entry of 5 pigeons at the race, well done again George.
3rd Section B 3rd East Section and 4th Open is Tim Hall of Chirnside who timed in a 4 year old chequer hen. As a youngster she flew to the south coast with the Up North Combine then as a yearling she won 30th east section 55th open from the inland national from Newbury. Then in 2003 she won 178th east section 232nd open inland national and was then doubled back into the Gold Cup race and she won 16th open SNFC Reims. Last year she was entered in to the inland national and the last race from Falaise without gaining a position however she is back in top form this year with her 4th open win. She has been flown on roundabout this year and had 3 races to the coast prior to the inland national race and as a matter of interest she has not cast a flight. Her sire was bred by Rod Adams and her dam is from Woodland Taga bred by Davie Reid of Duns (previous SNFC Claremont winner) Tim would like to thank his wife for all her help in the loft as without her he could not race his pigeons on roundabout. Tim flew his hens with the SNFC and the cocks with the SNRPC.
I would like to thank Eggy Jamieson’s partner Angela who has been a great help to me as she visited Andrew Agnew & son on the day they timed in their winner and took photographs with her mobile phone. It took her 5 hours to work out how to download them and send them to me as an email, however she did this and the final result was these photos and information made both pigeon weekly magazines. So a very special thank you to Angela and to Eggy as he has verified the birds and obtained the details of them for me. This saves me a lot of running about in the car however I will meet up with them when we make the video later in the year.
Section C my very good friend George Briggs of Dundee assisted me by verifying the D D & J Liddle of Forfar pigeon he also asked young David to send me this by email which he has done and I thank both of these fanciers for there assistance and support.
The winner of 1st Angus federation 3rd section C 8th east section 8th open Newbury was race by the D D & J Liddle partnership. Their winner is a dark chequer cock 2 year old that was timed at 14.59pm flying 368 miles. He was on widowhood and has just dropped his first flight, this season he has been to every club race including Leicester the previous week when he was third to the loft taking 18th Angus federation. As a young bird he flew the club programme to Wakefield when he was their first arrival taking 10th club. He then went to the young bird national and was again first to the loft but just missed the result. As a yearling he was 2nd club 2nd federation from Tow Law and flew every race to Maidstone (395 miles) His sire was a pigeon bred by Gordon Campbell from Montrose which the partners purchased at an Angus federation sale. This cock won 1st federation Tow Law as a young bird. The dam of 8th open cock was bred from a cock bred by the late Peter Fenton from Arbroath which we bought at a Forfar club sale. The grand dam was our chequer hen which was 2nd region 32nd Open from the 2000 young bird national. Dave finishes off by saying I hope this is enough information for you Joe and we look forward to reading your report we enjoyed the one you had out on the winners it was first class and this is what we want to read about the winners the next week not weeks after the race.
Section D received news of the J & H McGlynn of Laurieston partnership in the post, they won 3rd Section D 25th Open in the Newbury race timing in a 2 year old blue pied cock flying widowhood and he had a full wing on his return home. As a youngster he was raced to Normanton 184 miles scoring 3 times in the federation plus 1st federation Otterburn from over 3000 birds competing. As a yearling he was raced to Buckingham a distance of 297 miles scoring 5 times in the federation, this year he has had 6 races to Leicester with some short training spins in-between. His sire is a dark white flight 97 bred cock from George Bell of Coldingham and he is a son of his SNFC winner from Sartilly. This 97 cock has been a wise investment as he is the sire, grand sire of over 30 x 1st club winners and 5 x 1st federation winners, 3 x 2nd federation plus many more minor federation positions. Dam of the 3rd section winner is a 98 pied hen bred by Raymond Toft of Garforth in Leeds. She is a daughter of Raymond’s number one stock cock who is sire of 14 x 1st federation winners. The 98 hen is also capable of producing the goods as she is dam of 4 x 1st federation winners for the partnership and she is dam of a blue cock who has won 3 x 1st federation & 1st Amalgamation 6000 birds and 2nd Amalgamation 6000 plus birds for Henry Borthwick of Winchburgh who took the first 2 in this section in the Newbury race.
Section E Jackie Herd my fellow SNFC committee member visited Alex McInness of Blantyre to verify his pigeons and has forwarded the details to me for which I am very grateful.
Alex McInnes won 2nd & 3rd Section E 2nd & 3rd West Section 129th & 178th Open in the Newbury national his winners were as follows. The first bird was a 2 year old blue pied cock that had just thrown his second flight and was sent sitting 12 days on eggs. As a youngster he flew very steady as a yearling he had two second’s in Blantyre club. This year he had every race up to Leicester and was then rested and lifted into Newbury. He received 6 training tosses from Livingston and is flagged morning and night, his sire won 2nd open Lanarkshire federation Lille and also won 13th section 96th open La Ferte Bernard. As a matter of interest a son from this cock won 1st west section 4th open Lille. The dam of the 03 blue pied cock is a blue pied hen now at stock she is a three times previous winner from SNFC Rennes. Alex’s second bird was a 2 year old blue bar cock and had the same races as his first bird. Sire of this bird is a Desmit Sticklbauk which was purchased at Blackpool show of the year. Dam of the blue bar cock won 5th open Lille and is a sister to Alex’s 2nd open the sire of his first bird. I have had a look through the result and noticed that Alex has another 3 birds on the result in 16th, 19th & 24th Section E which is very good flying indeed well done Alex. He also won 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th club from Huntingdon the same day as the Newbury national and the following week he won 1st & 3rd open Lanarkshire federation from Otterburn so the loft is on form at the moment let’s hope it continues for the remainder of the old bird races, my thanks to Jackie Herd for obtaining this information.
Section F Morris Brothers of Johnstone won 1st and 3rd Section from Newbury I have already reported details of their winner however Robert has kindly emailed me details of their 3rd section winner which is a 2 year old chequer cock as a young bird he had four races to Otterburn and homed from this race two weeks late. As a yearling he had six races to Doncaster and was always in race time. This year he had four races to Leicester were he was 7th club and 16th federation before going to Newbury. The last few years we have had four or five birds make the federation result almost every week and this makes our loft very competitive and although some of my birds don't get timed in they are still homing in good race time but are beaten by loft mates. I hope this information although not full of performances helps you when writing your article. The write-up you gave the leading birds in the SNFC Newbury race the following week was excellent and David and I would like to thank you and the SNFC for this. Once again thanks for giving our birds the publicity they deserve and look forward to reading more of your articles. The experience and feeling of timing in a bird from the Scottish National race is second to none and will live with us for ever yours in sport Robert Morris.
2nd Section F is Andrew McKie of Kirkconnel in Ayrshire who sent me a short note on the details on his winner. Andrew timed in a 2 year old chequer cock that has been a very consistent bird for Andrew. As a youngster he had every young race in the federation programme and did the same as a yearling out to Leicester winning a few minor cards on the way. This year he was mated up on the 1st February reared 2 youngsters and was then split from his hen. He was raced every week out to Stafford on a loose type of roundabout system by this Andrew mean he saw his hen 2 or 3 times a week. He had not dropped a flight prior to basketing for the national. A sister to this chequer cock has 1st and 2 x 2nd prizes to her credit this year. Their sire is an Eggy Jamieson crossed Herb Allison Van Hee’s and the dam of the pair is a92 bred CA hen from Robert Cormack of Winchburgh and was raced by Eddie Lynch of Blairhall in Fife. She scored three times from Sartilly for Eddie and was purchased at his clearance sale. Andrew finishes off his note by saying how much he enjoys my articles in the BHW, thank you Andrew and good luck in the Gold Cup race.
Section G news of 2nd Section G 2nd North Section 73rd Open for Elliot Brothers of Aberdeen flying a distance of 399 miles, they timed in a 3 year old blue bar cock now known as Birthday Boy. The reason for this name is that the youngster brother John was 40 on 2nd of June with his brother Kevin 41 on the 3rd of June and the blue cock won in the national on the 4th of June so the name was very appropriate. Birthday Boy had 5 races as a youngster out to Arniston a distance of 111 miles. Then as a yearling and 2 year old he was raced to Doncaster a distance of 255 miles. This year he has had Cupar 66 miles, Arniston 1 & 2 then Hexham 152 miles and then Northallerton a distance of 196 miles. This was 2 weeks before the inland national from Newbury the cock is raced on widowhood and has been a very good pigeon as he has topped the federation 4 times and obviously has had 4 x 1st clubs as well. His 2 full brothers have won 24 x 1st prizes between them and in fact one of them won 479th open for R Peat from Boston in the NRCC Perth race with an entry of 4,246 birds on 29th May this year the result was in 10th June issue of BHW. The parents of Birthday Boy and his brothers were purchased from J S Lofts and are from the Soontjens bloodlines being from the Statesman line. Birthday Boy has an NEHU ring on his leg however he was bred by John for his brother Kevin who lived in Redcar at the time and asked him to breed some youngsters for him. However before the youngster was ready Kevin decided to return north to Aberdeen to stay. On return Kevin and John joined forces and the Elliot Brother partnership were duly formed. This was their first attempt at a Scottish National Flying Club race for over 10 years and Kevin told me that when they had timed Birthday Boy in John was running round the back garden with his hands in the air like he had scored the winning goal in a cup final he was so excited. They are both over the moon with this performance and to be so high up in the open result has been an added bonus to them. The excitement in Kevin’s voice when he was telling me about his pigeon and his brother is what makes the job of being a scribe all that more pleasurable. To see people obtain so much enjoyment out of their pigeons inspires not just them but me as well. Kevin was also saying that his wife Elsie has a small loft and has started off this year with a small batch of youngsters so we wish her well in this new venture. John and Kevin have promised the SNFC a youngster for the sale later in the year this will be direct from the parents of Birthday Boy as they never breed late bred’s from their widowhood cocks. I thanked them both on behalf of the SNFC committee for their generosity.
3rd Section G 3rd North Section is a very special friend of mine Dave Pirie of Aberdeen who only entered one bird a 4 year old blue white flight cock who won the following 3rd section G and 3rd north section. He sent feeding a 26 day old youngster and sitting 3 day eggs, he had just burst his 2nd flight. As a youngster he flew out to the SNFC Worcester race point a distance of 343 miles. He was stopped after Doncaster 250 miles as a yearling but as a 2 year old he was Dave’s first bird from Maidstone 420 miles and was his first bird from Falaise 579 miles as a 3 year old. This year he has only had one race from Northallerton 200 miles and he was sent to Newbury 400 mile in confidence and also in preparation for the Alencon race in a few weeks time. Sire is a pencil blue cock Belgium 95 rung from Robert Venus his sire was Shlieercousse 1st National Bordeaux 1st National Perpignan and he is a grand son of Super crack. Dam of the 95 stock cock is Geschielpte and inbred grand daughter of Super crack. Dam of Dave’s 3rd section winner is a 97 bred Delp stock hen known as the Moon Hen she is the dam of a number of winners including Alec’s Choice 12th open Clermont 571miles on the day when only 22 birds were recorded into Scotland on the day of the race. Sire of the Moon Hen is the nest mate of Ashleigh Again who won 1st north section 81st open Sartilly 582 miles on the day. Dam of the Moon Hen was a 89 bred hen (dam of Ashleigh Again) from Jim Biss out of Hillside Moon his Spanish diploma winner. My thanks to Dave Pirie for sending me the details of his winning bird and I wish him luck with him at Alencon. Thanks also to Sandy Robertson the SNFC committee member who gave Dave this paperwork when he visited to verify his winning pigeon.
Other information
Having had a good look at the Newbury race one or two things stuck out which I would like to report on. For example Brian Cunningham of Prestonpans timed in last year’s winner Bankton Belle to win 9th open which is outstanding well done Brian. The Dundee lads have been improving over the past few years and we have Bruce McKenzie winning the section and ending up being 3rd open he also had 2 more birds in 38th & 187th open places good flying up into the Law Hill well done. Another Dundee partnership is Smith & Brown who timed in 4 birds to win 11th, 19th, 150th and 183rd open well done lads. Mick McMurchie of Fife took the first 4 birds in the federation which is a record as far as I’m aware (if anyone knows different then please let me know) he is also 6th federation. Mick ended up 6th, 13th, 14th, 27th, 34th and 58th open great flying and well done to Mick. John Bosworth was another fancier with 4 birds well in being 18th, 101st, 113th and 166th his next door neighbour Richard Combe was 74th, 81st 91st and 133rd two outstanding fanciers who have been at the top for years. Just a few hundred yards up the road is Norrie Cochrane who won the following positions 89th, 93rd, 128th, 156th, 160th, 204th and 231st great flying by these Elphinstone members well done. Last but not least is the Lady Fancier from Macmerry Karen Newcombe who timed in 7 birds in 23rd, 82nd 159th, 164th, 179th, 193rd and 209th open great flying indeed from this top lady fancier. What about her famous husband well he managed to scrape on near the end of the result. I have heard that Dale is sleeping in the loft this week to try and get some piece and quiet as someone has been on a ‘High’ since the result came out. Never mind Dale the big one is coming up? In finishing off the Newbury result I noticed that Mr Graham of Annan had a good race being 37th, 84th, 135th and 145th open.
Going by all reports the returns were very good with only the odd bird missing however the main item that the majority of fanciers have highlighted is their birds have come on a treat having had the time on the wing. This will only help the pigeon’s fitness and should help the birds prior to the Gold Cup race from Alencon which will be flown this week end. Could I please again ask all members of the club to phone lib line with their early arrivals as it helps not just me but their fellow fanciers within the club. Good luck to all members of the SNFC and I hope to be speaking to some of you personally over the weekend when obtaining details of the winners for the fancy press. This is the greatest pigeon race in the world as far as we Scottish fanciers are concerned they can have their Barcelona race with all the big entries. We Scottish fanciers are steeped in the history of long distance pigeon racing from as far back as when our great club was formed in 1894. We the present members continue to uphold the traditions passed down from our forefathers by competing with our feather friends in races from France so in fact are creating our own part in history.
Compiled by Joe Murphy SNFC Press Officer
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