KEITH MOTT
Writes about winning fanciers past and present
Mark & Dick Evans of Myrtle Lofts (Record Breakers)
The day the Midland National Flying Club held their 2013 Blue Riband Race from Bordeaux turned out to be a very exciting one for Mark and Dick Evans from Myrtle Lofts as the MNFC held a extra shorter race from Vire of 326 miles, on the same day. The new partnership of Dave Hawkins and Mark Evans clocked two cocks to take 3rd, 4th Section, 9th, 11th open National. Their first pigeon on the ETS was ‘Cruise Missile’, who has a long string of National performances and this was his last race before being transferred to the stock lofts. This wonderful pigeon was bred by Dave & John Hawkins. ‘Cruise Missile’ is the kind of pigeon you dream about as he never fails to impress. Later that day, the excitement came into play when Lewis Milne of Sutton phoned Dick Evans to tell him that he was 99% sure he had topped his section and had taken 3rd open in the Bordeaux Blue Riband National, flying 602 miles and approximately 600 yards.
The following morning Dick received a phone call from an unknown fancier who wanted to pass on his congratulations to Dick and Mark for breeding the National winner the day previous. Dick thought this guy had got ‘mixed up’ with other races held on the same day, but it is unbelievable but they had two more calls from different people to say that they had bred the National winner. After three days Dick decided to ring the fancier who had won 1st open National and ask him point blank if it had anything to do with Myrtle Lofts and the fancier clarified the matter and told Dick the pigeon in question was the dam of the National winner and was one that M. & D. Evans had bred and sold as a youngster. Therefore the fact is the hen was bred by ‘Myrtle Lofts’ and she was one of 54 youngsters sold to a fancier in Northern Ireland. For some unknown reason, after a short period of time, this hen popped up in an auction sale. The Scunthorpe fancier said he purchased her as he required a good stock hen and so she came back to Yorkshire very close to where she had been hatched in the first place. Her sire was one of ‘Myrtle Lofts’ top stock cocks, ‘Solitaire’, who in his racing career won a National and nine other first prizes in top class company. In one Midland National race alone there were five different offspring from ‘Solitaire’ in the first twenty open National taken by five different fanciers racing to five different loft locations winning: 2nd, 4th, 8th, 18th and 20th open National with 7,131 birds completing. The grandam of the National winner flew the English Channel twice as a young bird. This wonderful hen recorded 17th open National and in her second attempt she won the Midland National Flying Club ‘Gold Ring’ from Picauville, winning in the region of £1,300. Mark and Dick were not surprised in the breeding of this 1st open National winner!
When I spoke to Dick after the race he said, “the 3rd open Bordeaux National winner, raced and owned by Lewis and Angela Milne, was something that you dream about, as this was their only entry in the Blue Riband race and was bred by Mark and I at Whitley Bridge. His sire is a pigeon called ‘Calvin’, who in his racing days before being put to stock was a winner of nineteen prize cards. The hen he was paired to was known as ‘Cosmic Girl’, she was another one full of M. & D. Evans bloodlines. She topped the Up North Combine and we acted very quickly by purchasing this hen back for their own stock use. Now back to Lewis and Angela's 3rd open National winner, now named ‘Champ Seventy Seven’. Lewis and Angela were admiring the cock only a few minutes after being clocked in from Bordeaux and they both were of the same opinion that this cock could have gone on another 100 miles or more - who knows? There is one thing for sure, this cock must have gone to a National race super fit and well-motivated. As they watched admiring the cock after the clocking in, he was chasing his hen around and was attempting to fight anything that got in his way. Lewis has confirmed to us that no way is he putting this cock to stock loft. Lewis and Angela have both agreed to race the pigeon on! In his short career racing, he has quite a few National prize cards and was 3rd ‘ace’ pigeon long distance in the north section in 2013 and also won a R.P.R.A Region Award. We can only wish them the best of luck for the future. Who knows what the future holds with ‘Champ Seventy Seven’ in his future racing career”.
There is a bit more to tell concerning this story and you could say is ‘putting the icing on the cake’. Within a few days of the Bordeaux race, someone told Lewis that his champion may have created a new record for a pigeon fling over 600 miles. Lewis phoned Mark and Dick asking them if they knew of any records. Without any hesitation they waded through the archives and found the record which was put up by a pigeon flying from Lerwick into the South of England, flying 601 miles to the home loft. This pigeon was owned and raced by Dr Tresidder who lived in London and this record was set in 1931. The facts are Lewis and Angela's ‘Champ Seventy Seven’ had created a new British record beating one that has stood for over 80 years and now he is the fastest pigeon ever recorded flying over 600 miles in to Great Britain. A wonderful story and fantastic pigeon!
Early in 2013, Dick and Mark Evans formed a new racing partnership with the Hawkins family of Doncaster. As Dick is now 84 years old and not in the best of health, they thought a partnership would help lighten the workload and they had an absolutely super first season. Without making this article boring by printing many excellent performances, I would like you to study the Old Hens’ National, flying in National Flying Club. In the strong Section K they took 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 9th and in the Open National were 13th, 18th, 26th, 28th, 29th, 35th. They took the first six places in the North East 700 mile Club from Carentan (293 miles).
The North East 700 Mile Club recently held their prize presentation and Dick and his wife, Margaret, attended to represent their new partnership. After 70 years in the sport, they both thought this was the best venue they had been to and it certainly was a presentation with a difference, with members and friends arriving from 12 o'clock onwards. Approximately 70 members and friends sitting down for Sunday Lunch at 1pm prompt. Ticket buyers had a choice of menu when ordering and on the menu was chicken wrapped in bacon, salmon, beef, Yorkshire puddings and both the service and cooking was done to perfection. Looking around there were quite a lot of faces who figured prominently on the results sheets of National Flying Club and that is how competitive the 700 Mile Club is. Dick said he felt humbled and honoured to be competing and having success in such an outstanding organization. Richard Turner of Worksop was Chief Guest of Honour and describing Richard you could say he is a young man going places. Although there was a table crowded with raffle prizes, Richard kindly offered dinner for two at the same venue as a prize. The venue for the presentation was at Cave Castle, South Cave, which is situated by the side of the M62 motorway and not too far away from the East coast. Dick said to me after the presentation, ‘I would like to say a big thanks to the officials of this club as everything was extremely well organized and can only be described as ‘spot on’, with every one enjoying a great occasion’.
The 1st and 3rd open Bordeaux National winners in this article help Dick and Mark Evans to answer a question honestly and in fairness, the question being, ‘how far can you send your birds and expect them to figure predominately on the National results?’ The answer, says Dick, is short and simple, 600 miles plus and win Nationals and not only win but create new records on the way!
Mark and Dick Evans kindly let me have two pairs of Gaby Vandenabeele stock birds a couple years ago and they have really been breeding fantastically, having produced some brilliant racers including 1st open Combine and 2nd Three Borders Federation in 2013. The key pigeon has been the blue white flight hen, ‘Myrtle Exile’ and she has produced premier winners with both our two M. & D. Evans stock cocks. Our four Gaby Vandenabeele stock birds were all bred by Mark & Dick Evans and ‘Myrtle Exile’ is a granddaughter of the world famous Champion ‘Golden Gaby’, winner of 1st open National Orleans (12,875 birds). What a fantastic breeding hen! ‘Myrtle Exile’ has produced, being paired to our grandson of ‘Pre-Olympic’, a cock we gifted to our great mate, Terry Haley of Watford and he has won as a young bird in the 2013 season: 14th Spelthorne open Yeovil (650 birds), flew the L&SECC Guernsey Young Bird Classic (a really bad race), was then clocked from the NFC Carentan (France) Young Bird National to record 415th open (3,330 birds) and seven days later was turned 205 miles North Road to Aycliffe to win 1st club (by 20 minutes), 1st Thames Valley Federation, 1st open North Thames NR Combine. He is now named, ‘The Watford Wizard’ and another the same way bred that we donated to the Spelthorne Breeder / Buyer and purchased by Derek Reid of Spelthorne won 3rd club Wincanton for him, beaten by two loft mates on the ETS. ‘Myrtle Exile’ and our grandson of the two ‘Myrtle Lofts’ legends, ‘Shadow’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’, ‘Myrtle Supremacy’ are our original pair of stock birds from Mark & Dick Evans and have been mate together for most of the time we have owned them and a daughter of them produced two babies in 2013 to win 1st club, 2nd Three Border Federation Taunton (1139 birds), 4th club, 13th Three Border Federation Blandford (1050 birds) and 3rd club, 12th Three Borders Federation, 12th SMT Combine Yelverton (606 birds) for Colin Crook and Andy Iddenden of Esher. Looking at my breeding book I noticed our beautiful daughter of ‘Lord of the Rings’, ‘Myrtle Sovereign’, when mated to ‘Myrtle Supremacy’ produced a youngster this season that made the main Belgium race in Somerset One Loft Race for Brian Batchelor of Godalming, which is a good achievement in itself. Fantastic results in the 2013 season with only two pairs of Mark & Dick Evans / Gaby Vandenabeele stock birds!
Well that’s it for this week! Once again congratulations to Lewis and Angela Milne on the wonderful achievement with their ‘Champ Seventy Seven’, a brilliant performance! I can be contacted with any pigeon ‘banter’ on telephone number: 01372 463480 or on my new email address:
TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT
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