NORTH ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP CLUB
Looking back at Lerwick . . . No 11
By George Wheatman
Lerwick presents the toughest of challenges to all pigeons, and the fanciers who prepare them, but it is tougher for some than others.
Those at the bottom end of the North Road Championship Club territory can be flying almost 100 miles further than the shortest flyers, and a lot can happen in that extra time the birds are on the wing especially with the weather.
Nevertheless, despite the odds being against them, these longer flyers turn in performances that attract admiration from the whole membership time after time.
Fanciers in Suffolk, Essex and London have acquired teams of hardy pigeons capable of flying from Lerwick, and the consistency of some of these people is nothing short of amazing.
Here are just a few who have caught my eye in recent years. This is by no means all-embracing as my association with the NRCC is too short-lived to give credit to all deserving past successful competitors, and records are woefully inadequate.
Back in 2005, Cecil Bulled and Son, of Harlow, won Section H, as it was then, with a day bird flying 582 miles. This was a three-year-old blue chequer pied cock sent sitting 12 days, its father being a Roy Fox pigeon. They sent three pigeons to the race and the other two were timed next morning.
Section I winners that year were Sandy and Averline Ainslie, of Ipswich, flying 567 miles with a two-year-old hen. It was to be their swansong with the NRCC as they were moving back to Scotland.
George Colthorpe, sadly no longer racing his pigeons, is a man who epitomises the standards set by Ipswich long distance fanciers over much of NRCC history.
He was 73 in 2007 when he won his section at 566 miles with a four-year-old Westcott hen. This was his only NRCC race that year. He was section winner again in 2009, and yet again in 2011, this time with a two-year-old Westcott bird sent sitting and recording a velocity of 1232ypm to also take 31st open.
That other Ipswich legend in his own lifetime, Peter Crawford, has taken numerous section wins, at all distances, with the NRCC and these include success from Lerwick in 2010 and 2014.
London section winners have included R and W Fox and Justice, of Harrow, in 2009, Pat O’Sullivan, of Enfield in 2010, with Celtic Spirit, a direct daughter of the legendary Limerick Lady, and J Lamprill, Cheshunt, in 2014 with a pigeon that covered 586 miles at a speed of 1370ypm.
x x x x
Another fine London winner, in 2011, who had that section’s only bird on the day, was Dennis Smith, of Bethnall Green.
This is part of the report I wrote at the time on that outstanding achievement: “One of the most enthralling aspects of NRCC racing nowadays is the performance of the London members. From Lerwick, it was the turn of 65-year-old retired council worker Dennis Smith, of Bethnall Green, to impress with the only bird on the day into the capital.
This three-year-old blue chequer hen won 1st open London North Road Combine, 1st in the increasingly strong Long Distance Club, 1st Section Seven NRCC, and 36th open NRCC. What a pigeon, recording a velocity of 1226ypm after flying 598 miles. It is a fact of life when the London fanciers compete in the NRCC that, often, they will not enjoy the same weather conditions as many of the shorter flying members. In a country of fickle weather, there is always the chance that, at the end of a long flight, their pigeons will hit the worst that Mother Nature can offer.
This was the case from Lerwick. The weather had deteriorated by the time their birds were on the home run. Dennis had pretty well given up hope of a day bird, and had shut up shop. But a glance at the provisional results on the website showed that there were late afternoon timings in Newark, so that left a glimmer of hope for a London bird being home on the night.
So Dennis put the lights on just in case. Good job he did, for not long afterwards he found his gallant, winning bird on the trap.
Sire of this hen is a dark Janssen from Derek Reis’s Honeysuckle Lofts, and the mother is a Jan Aarden from Louella.
She was paired up for this ultra-marathon and was sent sitting, having been raced from the young bird section previously. She had been a consistent bird, but had not won anything until responding to the ultimate test.
Dennis sent three and had them all return.Here is a fancier who has had good results from recent Lerwick races, and here is another London fancier providing evidence to suggest that the winner of an NRCC race
in the not too distant future will come from their midst.”
x x x x
One of the best results of recent times, in my opinion, came in 2013 when Norman Holiday and Son, won Section 8 with a bird that flew 586 miles on the day.
To make this even more impressive, they were also fourth open.
x x x x
Looking back to only last year there was another outstanding London performance from the father and son partnership, M Connolly and Son.
Again, part of the article I wrote after they won Section H, and took 18th on the very first occasion that they had competed from Lerwick, probably tell the story best:
Mickey and Mick Connolly NRCC section winners at their first attempt from Lerwick.
“The Connollys took the move in their stride, warmed up with a third section place with a yearling from Fraserburgh (434 miles) and now have won first section, and an impressive 18th open, from Lerwick, a few yards short of 600 miles.
There’s more to this incredible story. Neither father nor son drives and they don’t train their birds. Haven’t trained their young birds for the past eight years.
“They are incredible when exercising round the loft, though,” said Mickey. “Other fanciers are amazed when they see them.”
How have they managed this? By natural selection. Any birds that do not fit into the home exercise routine quickly find that they have board and lodging withdrawn, hence they have a family of birds which get themselves fit around home.
Many, however, would believe these are hardly all the ingredients necessary for success from Lerwick. But the Connollys, like many of their London NRCC compatriots, are top-class fanciers, observant and a foil to each other. They are, for instance, twice winners of the Tommy Long Trophy for the best average in the London North Road Combine’s three longest races into Scotland. And mugs don’t win that!
On the Friday after the NRCC Lerwick, the Combine had a tough race from Thurso, with only four birds home on the day. Two of them were to the Canning Town loft of the two Michaels.
Their Lerwick section winner was a four-year-old blue widowhood cock, from their old family and Casaert lines from Billy Lynch. Son Mick looks after the cock birds as he is quick to remind anyone who will listen, especially his dad.
A proven bird, it had had about eight races in preparation for the trip to the Shetland Isles. The day following its epic journey home, it flew out of its box,
over Mick’s head and through the open doors and flew round home for half an hour.”
The bird appeared so well, in fact, that they sent him back to Thurso and, guess what, he won the section from there too!
Ross Olive first and second section from Lerwick.
1st and 2nd Section I and 13th and 14th open Lerwick in 2015 Ross Olive, Wickham
Here was another outstanding distance performance with the NRCC from Lerwick laast season:
“Twenty-eight-year-old bricklayer, Ross Olive, of Wickham, declared himself “well pleased” with this performance. And he has every reason to do so.
Wickham, in Essex, is about 30 miles from London, and 593 miles from Lerwick if the pigeon takes a straight line which obviously it does not so to take first and second in a section full of experienced distance fanciers is a tremendous achievement for a young flyer. Moreover he had another second-day bird down the list at 129th open.
Unfortunately, Ross did not see the birds arrive. Being a young family man, he had to work on the Monday of the race, but the ETS system came into its own and his mum was able to verify.
First arrival was at 8-51am and the second 14 minutes later at 9-05am to record velocities of 855 and 845ypm.
One man who would have been particularly proud of the birds, and of Ross, would have been his dad, a lifetime fancier who died about eight years ago.
Ross, the only one of a big family who was interested in the sport, took over his dad’s birds and today his loft houses descendants of Michelson pigeons acquired in the 1970s. The loft remains at his mum’s house.
Mr Olive senior was interested mainly in distance racing, and that is an interest Ross has continued to pursue.
The section winner is a five-year-old dark pied cock bird, with a lot of experience, sent sitting 12 days. He had had quite a few short races and had been to Dunbar and Perth with the NRCC.
Second bird, also a dark pied, was his sister and, having been sitting on pot eggs, she was motivated by being given a baby before basketing.”
This year sees the 100th NRCC race from Lerwick. It will, almost certainly, produce more dramatic stories.
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