KEITH MOTT
National winner killed by a Sparrowhawk
I recently had a phone call from my good fiends Ced and Clive Allwright of Ashford in Kent to tell me the bad news that their National Flying Club winner, Champion ‘Falaise Supreme’, had been killed by a Sparrowhawk while on a Sunday morning fly out around the loft. The father and son partnership, like most pigeon fanciers, have always had problems with Raptors, but their problems have become far worst in recent months, with some Peregrines moving in and now nesting just up the road from their loft. I’m very sorry to hear this bad news and can appreciate how upsetting it is to lose a wonderful champion in this way.
The National Flying Club ended the 2003 season with a brilliant Young Bird National from Falaise in northern France, when members entered 6,175 birds and enjoyed excellent returns. The day of the National started off dodgy with rain in northern France, but the sun soon broke through and the NFC chief convoyer at that time, Colin Bates, cut the strings at 0835hrs and liberated into a light south-west wind. The wind was north-west in the Channel, turning to west in mainland England and favoured members on the east side of the country, especially Section E, as the final result confirmed to be correct. This National proved to be a great delight for me personally, as my good friends, Ced and Clive Allwright, won the young bird race and recorded their second NFC win. The father and son partnership sent 15 youngsters to the National, recording their first bird, a 'darkness' blue chequer cock now named ‘Falaise Supreme’, at 11.28, flying 164 miles. They topped up a brilliant day by recording the best five young birds and best old hen, by 30 minutes, in their local clock station. Ced and Clive's old bird finishing up 7th Open in the Old Hens National result, this hen being clocked approx. 18 minutes after the Young Bird National winner.
The partners won the Young Bird National for the first time from Pontorson (6,469 birds) in 1998 with their champion Haelterman blue pied hen, Champion 'Starlet', and both the parents where bred by Frank and Anne Tasker from their fantastic 'Filmstar' bloodlines. Frank's 'Filmstar' was a champion racer and breeding cock, winning many premier prizes, including 26 times 1st, 12 times 1st Open Federation and is responsible for breeding countless winners. Champion ‘Falaise Supreme’ was a Haelterman/Allwright distance family cross with the dam of 'Starlet' being the grand dam of the Falaise National winner.
The 2007 season saw Ced and Clive finish up by winning their third National Flying Club race. This must be something of a record to win the National three times and I wouldn’t think many fanciers have achieved its equal in past years? The Allwright partners won the Guernsey Old Hen National in 2007 and to make it an extra special day also recorded 9th open Young Bird National. Their latest National winner was their champion yearling blue chequer hen, ‘Vera’, and she was bred down from the best of De Klak Janssen and Jim Biss bloodlines. The sire is one of the Allwright’s best racers at the present time and he is the De Klak blue chequer, ‘Rumpy Pumpy’, winner of five firsts racing. He was bred by the north road flyer, Gary Rump of Bexley Heath, and was purchased at a breeder / buyer sale for £50. Ced said it was the best £50 they ever spent as ‘Rumpy Pumpy’ has won five firsts and bred a National winner. A really great pigeon! ‘Vera’, named after Ced’s dear late wife, had three races as a young bird including the very hard L&SECC Yelverton event and after several short races in 2007 was sent to Guernsey sitting due to hatch. Clive trained eight old hens with the young birds and picked out four for the Old Hens National, with an outstanding result. Ced and Clive’s 9th open Young Bird National winner was a game little Tasker / Haelterman blue hen named, ‘Amy’, and she was sent to Guernsey feeding a small youngster. She paired up with an old hen and hatched one of their four eggs, and Ced told me that the old hen sat at night and ‘Amy’ pushed her off the baby to sit it during the day. Ced maintains successful pigeon racing is mostly opportunist and pigeons quite often produce their own winning conditions. The partners were very proud that ‘Amy’ was the first pigeon into Kent from the Guernsey National and won ‘The Vera Allwright Memorial Cup’, which they presented after Vera’s very sad passing three years earlier. I’ve been a close friend of the Allwright family for over fifteen years and when this wonderful lady passed away it was a great blow to all of us, and I must say it is very pleasing to see the partners win her beautiful cup. ‘Amy’ was bred from the very best Haelterman bloodlines, Frank and Ann Tasker breeding her sire, and Clive says he couldn’t praise his good friend, the late, great Frank Tasker, enough as most of their success over the past twenty years has come through the Tasker pigeons.
Ced has been in the sport for 60 years, starting during the war years with the help of a friend who was a local National Pigeon Service rep. His father was an outstanding fancier in London and specialised in long-distance racing, winning many premier positions in the London N.R. Combine. In turn his father was a great fancier, making Clive the fourth generation of pigeon fanciers in the Allwright family and Ced has racing diplomas dating back to 1912. For many years Ced flew on the north road in partnership with Vera, and says that she was a great worker with the pigeons. She clocked in many winners from the long distance when Ced was at work. Clive became interested in his father's pigeons at the age of four and has been a partner for over 30 years. Ced says Clive is a great worker in the partnership and selects and purchases the new stock for breeding. They race their 25 pairs on the natural system, with Channel racing in mind, but like to compete in the shorter races. They have raced the odd pigeon on the widowhood system, but say they enjoy seeing their birds in the garden. They stagger their pairing up, starting in the first section in January and work through the loft, finishing the job in mid-March. The main racing loft is 30ft long, five sections, and all trapping is in to sputniks. The whole loft set up is in a big wire compound to keep out cats: The old birds are hopper fed on winter mixture and in one of their best seasons they were fed maple peas only. They say all corn must be of premier quality. Old bird training is from the west and north, wherever Clive is working, and he likes to take them 30 or 40 miles if he can. Ced has been an all-round bird man for most of his life and for many years had a big bird room at the top of his garden where he bred prize Canaries and foreign Finches. On my many visits to the Allwright’s Kent home, I took great delight in looking around Ced’s bird room when they were breeding. The partners enjoy showing their racing pigeons and at one time they kept one or two show racers, and have been very successful, winning most of the local club shows and points trophies. Ced Allwright is a great stock man and is always being asked to judge at the premier local shows.
The Allwrights are a wonderful family and it is depressing to hear they have lost their champion blue chequer cock in this manner! That’s it for this week! My Telephone number is: 01372 463480 and my new email address is:
TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT (www.keithmott.com)
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