FRANK BRISTOW
OF HORBLING
by Keith Mott
I first visited Frank Bristow’s home in Lincolnshire in the mid-1990s and he was a fantastic pigeon racer then, but in recent years he has taken his performances to the very top level, and must be rated as one of the premier fanciers in the UK today. My good friend, Brian Goodwin, is a regular visitor to the Horbling loft, being a good friend of Frank’s over many years and Brian recently asked me if I would like to come and meet Frank again. The month of December saw Brian, Jamie Parker and myself make the 150 mile drive up to Frank’s home in Lincolnshire to see his fantastic loft and pigeons, and what a great day out it was. In my 40 years as a pigeon racing writer I have visited thousands of lofts all over the UK and I must say Frank’s wonderful double decker loft is one of the best set ups I have visited. It really is something special!
Frank was born in Billingborough, about half a mile from where he lives now and the Bristow family moved to Horbling when he was five years old. His father’s cousin was a pigeon fancier and his mother’s cousin was the Grantham pigeon racer, Albert Williams. His first recollection of pigeons was when he was a small lad living in Billingborough, with the local baker, Cyril Titley, who was a pigeon fancier and kept his birds on a small piece of ground close to where he lived. The young Frank used to accompany Cyril when he was tending his birds and Frank says, ‘thinking back, I must have been a right nuisance! I was about four years of age at the time and I was always following in this man’s footsteps when he was trying to tend to his racing pigeons. On moving into a new council house with my parents and two older sisters, I noticed a near neighbour had pigeons and his name was David Hill. David was 12 years old at that time and I spent a great deal of my time with him at his loft. David and I are still good friends to this day! My parents were not keen on me having pigeons of my own and thought it would be better if I had a rabbit, but rabbits didn’t have the ‘wow’ factor, or give me a buzz at all. I eventually obtained my first pair of birds in 1954 at the age of six! My mother visited her aunt in Grantham and told her pigeon fancier cousin, Albert, about my never ending request to own some racing pigeons. The following Sunday morning there was a knock on our front door and Albert’s father, Horace, walked in with a cardboard box containing two young pigeons. They were a Mealy and a Blue and I was over the moon. I was now a pigeon fancier! Within an hour the rabbit was given to a friend, the hutch was cleaned out and the two youngsters installed. I’m happy to say I have never been with out pigeons from that day”.
Frank enjoys watching most sports and played football for the school team on a Saturday morning and a local senior village team in the afternoon. He gave up the football when he left school and started work as a painter and decorator. The fancier who made a big impression on Frank personally was the late great John Lovell of Lincoln, who was famous for his wonderful performances in the mighty Peterborough Federation and North Road Championship Club, including winning ‘The King’s Cup’ three times from Lerwick and twice 1st open Perth. Frank's late father-in-law, George Musson, was another good fancier of the old school and was only interested in long distance racing on the north road. Other fanciers who drew Frank’s attention in the early days were Rob Wright of Bourne and Frank Perkins of Boston who both won the NRCC from Lerwick. Frank says the list of great fancier goes on, but Alan Reynolds of Morton was another genuine person and dedicated fancier he knew in the early days of his pigeon racing years. Another fancier who Frank spent a lot of time with was W. Boyfield who lived in Horbling. He first made a visit to the Boyfield loft when he was about eight years of age, telling this ‘ace’ fancier he was a new starter in the sport and he made him very welcome. He became a life long friend and supplied Frank with some champion youngsters, including a red cock, winner of 22 first prizes. A nest pair of natural raced Boyfield / Marriott cocks, were ‘Spike’ winner of 13 first prizes and ‘ Bighead’ winner of 11 first prizes. Frank says, ‘happy days”.
Frank has had pigeons since 1954, joining his first club, the Heckington Homing Society, in 1959 and won his first race in 1961. His ‘rabbit hutch’ loft turned into a ‘chicken hut’ loft and finally a while later Frank’s father and Mr Boyfield built him a proper pigeon loft with 18 nest boxes and a young bird section. When I asked Frank about mistakes he made in the early days, he said. ‘I have made many mistakes with pigeons over the years, but hopefully I have learnt from them. I always maintain that a man who makes the least mistakes will have the best racing season”.
Frank likes to race at all distances, sprint, middle and long distance, and told me, winning the NRCC “The King’s Cup” from Lerwick is his best performance to date. The best performances are his NRCC Lerwick win with a velocity of 1100ypm and winning 1st open MNFC from Lessay doing 2260ypm, the fastest ever MNFC winner. Frank has won countless 1st Federations through the years on both the North and South Road and is one of very few fanciers who have won National races on both the North and South routes. He has owned some brilliant racers through the years, including: ‘Rachel’ winner of 14 first prizes, ‘The Streeter’ winner of 20 first prizes including 5 times 1st Federation and RPRA East Midlands Award, ‘Twinkle’ RPRA East Midlands Sprint Award winner, Champion ‘Kezie’ 1st open NRCC Lerwick winning “The King’s Cup” and RPRA East Midlands Long Distance Award, Champion ‘John’s Choice’ 1st open MNFC and RPRA East Midlands Middle Distance Award winner, “The Blue Pied Cock’ RPRA East Midlands Middle Distance Award winner, “Erica” winner of seven first prizes as a yearling and twice 1st Federation as a two year old in 2011, “Cilla” another Federation winning hen and now at stock, plus many premier racers, too numerous to mention.
Frank races in two North Road clubs and two South Road clubs weekly, plus the NRCC and MNFC. The Bristow loft has won 1st Federation countless times through the years, including 19 times in the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Frank mostly races in the very strong Central Federation Peterborough and in 2011 won: OB - 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 8th, 10th, 14th Federation Bubwith (1,590 birds), 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th, 10, 12th, 14th Federation Wetherby (1,842 birds), 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th Federation Alnwick (1,003 birds), 1st, 5th, 6th, 9th, 13th Federation Dunbar (384 birds), 1st, 2nd, 8th, 9th, 15th Federation Berwick (1,423 birds), 1st, 6th, 10th, 16th, 18th, 19th Federation Perth (581 birds), 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 16th Federation Wetherby (1,157 birds), 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 9th, 14th, 16th Federation Scotch Corner (897 birds), 1st Federation Thurso – 412 miles (408 birds), 1st, 2nd, 13th, 19th, 20th Federation Aycliffe (750 birds), YB - 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th Federation Wetherby (1,831 birds), 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th Federation Berwick (954 birds). The Horbling loft won lifted nine Federation averages and trophies in the 2011 season. Racing a few times in the Harrowden Federation in the 2011 season, Frank recorded with his young birds: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 16th Federation Bedhampton (658 birds). Frank tells me he has won six times 1st section in the NRCC and four times 1st section in the MNFC. He says he is one of a very few fanciers who has won 1st open National on both the North and South Roads, recording 1st open NRCC Lerwick in 2008 and 1st open MNFC Lessay (6,313 birds) in the 2009 season. Frank’s performance racing in the Central Federation Peterborough in 2010 were: 1st Federation Scotch Corner (1,852 birds), 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 8th, 16th, 17th, 18th Federation Scotch Corner (1,770 birds), 1st, 2nd, 4th Federation Perth (658 birds), 1st, 9th, 12th Federation Berwick (1,400 birds), 1st, 8th, 11th Federation Thurso (530 birds), 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 11th, 12th Federation Scotch Corner (1,124 birds), plus 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th Fens South Road Federation Lyndhurst (1,384 birds). A fantastic racing record!
As I previously mentioned, Frank Bristow's loft is one of the best I have ever visited! It’s not the biggest or the grandest, but it has a great atmosphere and the birds seem very happy living in it. It is a truly wonderful set up and I really enjoyed visiting it again! Frank’s double decker loft was built in 1976 and he tells me he has made alterations every year since. He says he thinks he has got it right this time, but says that every year! The stock team have a very big area on the ground floor and the racer have back to back sections on the top, with the North Road racers in the front and South Road birds racing into the back sections. Frank told me, ‘I think aviaries on the young bird and widowhood hens sections are very important, and I have a venting extraction system in the roof area, and radiation heating panels installed for winter breeding. The main reason for this system is to control humidity. The system is controlled by Hygrostat and thermostat, which is very important in my opinion”. Frank's garden is a great spectacle, featuring a big ‘monkey puzzle’ tree and the loft is magnificent.
Frank races cocks and hens on the widowhood system with fantastic success! He tells me he races the hens to old retired racing cocks and this has proved very successful as the cock is aways at home when the racing hen returns. Frank has tried the roundabout system, but was unable to maintain form for the whole season and never re-couples birds during the season for the longer distance events, as this practice also tends to ‘knock’ their form. The widowhood hens are given only two training tosses before the stat of the season and these are from 10 and 15 miles. The only time they go into a basket after that is to go the marking station for racing. Widowhood cocks are given about three training tosses prior to the first Federation race and are fed in their nest boxes, with the racing hens being fed communally in troughs on the loft floor.
The present families raced are Casaert, Thas, Ceulemans, Kipp and Waerniers. Frank has recently brought in some Jan Aarden based pigeons, which he fancies to do well! When I asked him when he pairs up he told me, ‘I can winter breed as my stock loft has heating, so the stock birds are mated up in December, with the widowhood cocks being paired in mid-January and the racing widowhood hens in early February. All my old birds, cocks and hens are raced on my own widowhood system, which a bit different to the conventional system, but has proved very successful for me, racing from 80 through to 500 miles”. The young birds are raced both North and South Road and the two teams total about 140 birds. In the 2012 season Frank plans to race his youngsters only South Road. The young birds are darkened and also put on the light system from mid-July. They are trained to 40 miles prior to the first young bird Federation race and once racing has commenced they get two mid-week tosses. Frank mixes his own young bird feed and tells me they are reared on maple peas via a hopper and then after fed three times a day on a breeding mixture. He also adds G10 pellets and ‘Homoform’ to their diet.
Frank loves the breeding side of the sport and has no hard and fast rules in the stock loft, and tends to work on impulse. He says he has a few tame birds and some not so tame, but what he likes is when he enters the loft and the birds come towards him.
The birds are parted after racing and the young cocks are moved into the old bird racing sections after the last young bird race. Frank’s young birds are darkened and then put on the light system, so at the end of racing they have a lot of flights the moult. He likes to get them accustomed to their new sections to finish the moult. All the nest boxes are closed, with just the front ledge to perch on and they never fly put around the loft during this time of the year.
He is now semi-retired from work, but still assists in the running of the family painting business. God help us if he was in full retirement and had more time with his pigeons! His family are great help with his hobby and often take the birds training or the clock to the club for checking. Frank has a good friend in Robert Lotts who helps with the basketing of the birds and takes the birds to one of the clubs on marking night.
Frank has always been interested in the eye-sign theory and told me, ‘I read and studied Bishop’s Secret of the Eyesign book when I was about 13 years old. I don’t consider eyesign to be the answer, but just part of the jigsaw! I have my own theories and take this into consideration when coupling my breeders. I have judged a lot of eyesign shows over the years and there is always at least one fancier who thinks that I’m good, usually the winner! I have not entered any shows for many years, but have been invited to judge at the BHW ‘Show of the Year’ Blackpool twice’.
Frank is a good worker for the sport, being President and Federation delegate in the Sleaford Club, and is on the committee of the RPRA East Midlands Region. He told me he was aware of the decline in the sport of pigeon racing in the UK and said, ‘when I was a boy we all had animals or birds of one sort or another, but kids don’t so much these days. I don’t think the general public are aware of the competition in the sky from April to the end of September with our birds. Unfortunately pigeon racing is not even recognised as a sport. If and when a new starters begin with pigeons, we must all try to help them with advice, gifts of quality stock birds and try to encourage them to compete’.
As I submit this article to the editor Frank has had his first race of the new 2012 season and took the first 18 positions in the Central Federation Peterborough from Bubwith (67 miles). Well done mate! So that’s the Frank Bristow story, one of the very best pigeon racers in the UK!
TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.
