NORTH ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP CLUB
by George Wheatman
THURSO SECTION WINNERS 2014
The spotlight in this article falls on the section winners of the North Road Championship Club’s last old bird race of the season, and the second longest of the programme.
The race was won by Carl Upsall, of Boston, with an excellent performance in Section Two, but it was a tough race for many and there were top-class performances in all sections, some of which were won with second morning timings.
SECTION ONE MR and MRS A RICHARDSON, NEWARK
Only a handful of fanciers have won from both Lerwick and Thurso in the NRCC by my reckoning four lofts have achieved this feat. There have been 37 races from Thurso and the four winners from this racepoint who have also won from Lerwick, I believe, are: Jepson Brothers and Curtis, of Peterborough (Lerwick in 1939 and Thurso in 1945); Frank Perkins, of Boston (1964 and 1956); Jake Cotterill, of Boughton (1991 and 1997); and Mr and Mrs Graham Parrinder, of Louth (2000 and 2001).
Mr and Mrs Tony Richardson, winners of Section One.
But the Newark partnership of Mr and Mrs Tony Richardson came close to becoming the fifth claimants to this honour when they won Section One from Thurso this year, and also finished second open. They had come to prominence when they won the King’s Cup from Lerwick in 2011.
The section winner from Thurso was from a different line to the Lerwick ace, being a two-year-old widowhood cock bird of Gevaert x Soontjen breeding.
The Richardsons sent 12 to Thurso. “We sent everything that could fly,” said Tony. We left one cock at home because it had been hawked in mid-season. It was a hard race and we got two on the day, and all the others came except two.”
The loft the winner raced to
Tony and his wife have health problems that would deter many people from racing pigeons, and there are many things he would like to do in preparing birds for races, but he is unable to carry out some tasks and has to compromise and settle for what he can cope with.
That is why he races just widowhood cocks, when he would really like to compete on roundabout and test some of the hens.
However, he says that they have had a decent season in the Newark club, and the Thurso success is the icing on the cake. “I was quite pleased with it,” he said in his usual, understated, modest fashion. “I was looking through the front of the loft at the other birds when he came, and I thought he was going to land on my head.
“I do try to look after the birds the best I can, and the wife is very good in helping. I have not been able to train this year as much as I would like to have done, and there is also a big hawk problem in the area and you cannot always let the birds out safely when you would like to.
“The pigeons, though, help to keep us going.”
The Thurso section winner, which has been a steady, consistent pigeon, will stay in the race team for next season, as his father is still in the loft and has bred another bird that is flying well.
The section winner. Photos by Chris Sutton.
Meanwhile Tony, now 67, is still hopeful that his Lerwick winner will produce something special in the future. One daughter is producing good pigeons and he is hoping for success through the grandchildren.
It was an impressive win from Lerwick three years ago when Mr and Mrs Richardson became the first fanciers from Newark to lift the coveted King’s Cup since 1931 when Captain Quibell Graves was the winner.
That big win came thanks to a four-year-old blue cock called Beacon Hill Kai which is still the pride of the loft.
That was Tony’s biggest win since starting in the hobby in 1959. It may still overshadow this year’s Thurso section win, and second place overall, but the latest success is still something of which the husband and wife partnership can be proud.
Beacon Hill Kai had never won a race before his Lerwick triumph, but had picked up a number of minor cards. The same year he was Tony’s only bird on the day from the tough Fraserburgh race.
The Thurso section winner also has a similar low-key history, but came up trumps on another difficult day something that the Richardson pigeons appear to do.
Geographically, from east to west, there was a big distance between the winner based in Boston, and the Richardsons’ runner-up in Nottinghamshire.
There were plenty of other good performances by fanciers in the Nottingham area, and it is interesting to note that all the first 20 in Section One featured in the first 50 in the open result, some of the fanciers featured having more than one pigeon in the early positions.
The Richardson set-up
Top 20 from Thurso in Section One: 1 (2nd open) Mr and Mrs A Richardson, Newark 1020; 2 (4) W Poll and Son, New Ollerton 1013; 3 (9) Nuttall and Son, Nottingham 990; 4 (13) Mr and Mrs J Kirkpatrick, Nottingham 965; 5 (15) M Wilson and Daughter, Calverton 958; 6 (22) J Nuttall and Son 944; 7 (24) Rouse and Webster, Kimberley 938; 8 (25) W Bearder and Sons, Nottingham 937; 9 (27) K Lawson, Ollerton 936; 10 (30) ML Horton, Nottingham 934; 11 (34) KD Spiers, Nottingham 926; 12 (35) Mr and Mrs K Sterland, Newark 924; 13 (37) Riggott and Richardson, Newark 922; 14 (41) Riggott and Richardson 915; 15 (43) M Wilson and Dtr 913; 16 (44) H Taylor and Son, Eastwood 912; 17 (45) W Poll and Son 911.7202; 18 (46) Riggott and Richardson 911.6513; 19 (47) Nuttall and Son 907.7428; 20 (48) Mr and Mrs G Knowles, Mansfield 907.2107.
SECTION TWO UPSALL and FROST, BOSTON
It has been an eventful year for Carl Upsall, of Boston, winner of the open race and Section Two.
First he has had to battle with health problems and his pigeons did not start the season in the kind of form that has become expected in recent years.
Then he experienced the uplifting experience of friends coming to his assistance with training, resulting in a surge in form as the season progressed and culminating in this fine win from Thurso to add to a previous NRCC open win back in 1991 when competing as Upsall and Trigg.
The excitement did not end there, as his young birds showed scintillating form with multiple placings in club and Federation.
And, to cap all the drama, a well-bred pigeon returned to the Upsall loft after going missing as a young bird in 2005!
No wonder Carl began to feel better as the season progressed.
Carl Upsall, open winner and winner of Section Two, with grandson Reece.
Carl’s own description of his Thurso success was “incredible”. He took the first six places in his club, Boston Central RPC, as well as finishing 1st, 31st and 40th open, and 1st, 8th, 11th, 22nd and 33rd Section Two, all with yearlings.
Carl’s dad, Bill, a top fancier until his retirement from the sport a number of years ago, won an NRCC race from Thurso, back in 1977.
Nevertheless, a family double to celebrate and, Carl believes a better performance than when he won the NRCC open race from Perth, as part of the Upsall and Trigg partnership, back in 1991.
Carl’s winning pigeon is a medium sized blue chequer cock flown on widowhood.
Carl explains its breeding in his own words: “He is bred in the purple, containing Soontjen bloodlines from the great Micky Betts, and Daykin bloodlines via Dr Geoff Richmond.
“The sire is a gay pied cock, son of The Doctor when paired to a light blue chequer hen of Daykin x Betts blood.
“The dam is actually his sister from a previous year.
“These two birds contain the blood of The Doctor who was the same way bred as the 1st Section Midlands National Flying Club for Dr Geoff Richmond, and came to Boston as a Midland Social Circle exchange pigeon. This bird became a great source of pleasure, winning from Whitley Bay, Fraserburgh (2nd Fed, 5th open NRCC), 1st Stonehaven (EMNRCC), 1st Perth, 1st Berwick, and many other positions in the first six, scoring up to Thurso.
“The dam was The Special One, bred from a son of Mick Betts’ Pied Angel when paired to a daughter of Superblue. The cock was a loan bird from Micky’s stock loft.
“As you can see brilliant bloodlines.
“As a young bird the winner was sent to every young bird race, winning third club Whitley Bay and 6th club Berwick.
“This year he has flown the Peterborough and District Federation programme up to Berwick, only missing the first week, and has scored 6th Berwick, 2nd Newton Aycliffe, 1st Alnwick and now 1st Thurso, all of these performances in his last four races. Incredible.
“He is the only cock in the loft whose box is covered in, and he seems to relish getting behind the cover with his hen.”
Section Two is a particularly competitive section, and there are a number of past NRCC open winners in the result.
Top 20 in Section Two were: 1 (1) Upsall and Frost, Boston 1053; 2 (5) Wright and Newbold, Louth 1004; 3 (6) D Perry, Alford 1000; 4 (8) M Sharpe, Hogsthorpe 994; 5 (14) Kingswood and Hannah, Alford 964; 6 (19) Mr and Mrs R Boulton, Skegness 951; 7 (21) Mr and Mrs P Rodgers, Skegness 948; 8 (32) Upsall and Frost 931; 9 (33) R Mamwell, Louth 930; 10 (39) Bartle, Harrison and French, Skegness 916; 11 (40) Upsall and Frost 915; 12 (53) Kingswood and Hannah 897; 13 (56) Mr and Mrs Rodgers 889; 14 (57) Mr and Mrs P Newbold, Friskney 887; 15 (59) Mr and Mrs AW Chapman, Sleaford 880; 16 (67) Wright and Newbold 872; 17 (68) T Bennett, Boston 869; 18(71) Mr and Mrs Boulton 864; 19 (76) R Mamwell, Louth 855.4571; 20 (77) R Mamwell 855.2778.
SECTION THREE PJ PALMER, STAMFORD
There is a special pigeon in a modest loft in the picturesque Lincolnshire village of Duddington, and it belongs to Phillip Palmer winner of Section Three, and third open, from NRCC Thurso.
As it goes through its annual moult it will be blissfully unaware that its life is due to get a whole lot better next year. No longer will there be the battle to return home under its own steam from far-flung places like Arbroath, Fraserburgh, Lerwick and Thurso. Those days are over. From now onwards it will be a life of courtship and changing female company. For this pigeon is going to be put to stock in the hope that it can produce a team of birds in its own likeness. If it does, the name of Philip Palmer will be noted regularly in the NRCC results especially on days when the going is tough.
The pigeon I am talking about was not only the winner of Section Three from Thurso - and third open for good measure but, less than three weeks earlier, it had been the first bird that Phil had ever timed on the day from Lerwick.
But there’s more. It was 10th section, 108th open, and second club, from Arbroath, and 76th section from Perth.
And there is still more. From the extremely difficult, and controversial, Fraserburgh the year before, it was third section behind Mr and Mrs Brian Guilford, of Long Eaton, who took the first two sections positions. It was also 18th open in that race.
It is performances like this, in hard and long races, that have earned it a place in the stock loft.
The bird in question is a four-year-old chequer cock flown on widowhood and descended from Lee Van Rijn pigeons that are supposed to specialise in sprint and middle distance racing.
“It likes a tough race. It is a very good pigeon,” said Phil, who continues to compete from the north because his current Bourne club extended their radius to accommodate him when his previous club, Stamford, turned south.
He sent only the one pigeon to Thurso, and only two to Lerwick, the second one returning after a few days out.
After first being introduced to pigeon racing as a schoolboy, 54-year-old farm worker Phil was re-acquainted with the sport in 2006 and joined the Bourne club four years ago. On the whole, he says he has had a poor season but there have been highlights in NRCC racing none more so that the section win from Thurso.
No wonder he says: “I have enjoyed NRCC racing.”
The first big moment was to time a bird on the day from Lerwick for the first time. “I have got to say that it was a thrill,” he said. “I have sat there for a few seasons just waiting, and then been disappointed, but it was good to time in this year.”
The condition of the chequer cock on arrival home from the Shetland Isles, and in the following days, prompted Phil to send him to Thurso. “It had hardly lost any weight. I have had pigeons in worse condition after a 150-mile race. The bird was in such good shape, I thought he had to go. I had every confidence in him.”
It had had a hard race from Berwick, did not go to Perth, but then excelled from Arbroath, Lerwick and Thurso.
Staple diet for the Palmer birds is beans, barley and wheat and that is, primarily, because they are cheaper direct from the farm where he works.
He usually starts the season with 25 pairs of racers, but only competes with the cock birds. Young bird racing comes at a bad time for him because that is when they are particularly busy on the farm bringing in the harvest.
His preference is for the distance racing as he says he has not mastered the art of feeding, and building pigeons up each week, for sprinting.
A born and bred countryman, Phil is also a gun dogs enthusiast and is a B Panel Retriever judge.
When he re-started in the pigeon sport, he had some Naulaerts from a man in the village and, one day, decided to ring the late Dale Newcombe to enquire about buying some from him. This coincided with the time that Dale had received the devastating news that he had cancer. The call turned into a long conversation because Phil knew someone who had recovered from the same form of cancer and was able to offer some reassurance.
“I think I was just someone to talk to at what was a bad time for Dale,” he said.
The upshot was that the ace Scottish fancier who, in the light of his bad diagnosis was planning to sell many of his pigeons, sold eight pairs to Phil who said: “He did not charge a lot for them. They came complete with pedigrees, and they did well for me.”
Phil reckons that, perhaps, one of his major drawbacks to having more consistent success is his loft. “It is terrible,” he said. “Just two garden sheds with sputniks on the sides.”
But he has a good reason for leaving things as they are, and his explanation suggests that this could be a wise decision.
First 20 in Section Three were: 1 (3) PJ Palmer, Stamford 1015; 2 (16) A Bennett, Peterborough 955; 3 (20) L Berry and Son, Gt Glen 949; 4 (23) AF Parkinson, Spalding 942; 5 (28) W Lawrance and Son, Bourne 935; 6 (29) D Bird and Dtr, Chesterton 934; 7 (30) G Fielding, Spalding 921; 8 (54) D Parker and Son, Grantham 894; 9 (55) MJ Lewis, Spalding 893; 10 (58) D Bird and Dtr 884; 11 (63) S Hope, Leicester 876; 12 (66) W Lawrance and Son 872; 13 (72) Mr and Mrs T Augustini, Leicester 863; 14 (75) DG Cardall, Bourne 855; 15 (78) Mr and Mrs B Guilford, Long Eaton 852; 16 (87) M Moore and Son, Leicester 844; 17 AF Parkinson 841; 18 (90) Mr and Mrs P Shaw, Ruddington 838; 19 (94) and 20 (99) A Bennett 830 and 821.
SECTION FOUR TERRY ROUGHTON, WISBECH
While compiling this report, I have been unable to contact Terry Roughton, the man who took first and second places from Thurso in Section Four with birds that were a commendable 7th and 11th open. To complete a good race, he was also 5th and 13th section.
I believe that Terry has been away on holiday, but this year’s NRCC results show that the Thurso section winner, a five-year-old bird, was also 9th section from Perth (20th open) and 10th section Arbroath.
Terry can now be rated as one of the top fanciers in the country after his excellent results with the NRCC in recent seasons have, lately, been enhanced by equally good results on the south road.
He had a particularly good pigeon from the NRCC Lerwick race this year when he timed a yearling to take second open and second Section Four. This same pigeon was 5th section, 13th open from Perth.
First 20 in Section Four were: 1 (7) and 2 (11) Terry Roughton, Wisbech 999 and 973; 3 (12) Mr and Mrs J Dixon, Holbeach 969; 4 (36) Becker and Catchpole, Norwich 923; 5 (52) T Roughton 900; 6 (73) Mr and Mrs Dixon 862; 7 (106) GE Knight and Sons, Kings Lynn 815; 8 (111) G Staff, Norwich 806; 9 (118) T Winterton, Holbeach 794; 10 (137) S Rudledge, Norwich 727; 11 (138) FC Skoulding and Son, March 723.7622; 12 (139) Mr and Mrs Dixon 723.2500; 13 (142) T Roughton 711; 14 (143) Mr and Mrs O King and Son, Norwich 705; 15 (145) Mr and Mrs Dixon 698; 16 (148) D Fox, Norwich 690; 17 (155) Hall and Seabourne, Norwich 678; 18 (158) G Staff 677; 19 (162) Hall and Seabourne 671; 20 (171) G Staff 660.
SECTION FIVE Miss M JUDD, RAMSEY
Once again, top flyer Gary Wilkes, competing as Miss M Judd, had this section pretty well to himself, but still managed to secure commendable open positions, with 18th and 26th being the best.
The nine timers from this section were all to his loft, so results were: 1 (18), 2 (26), 3 62), 4 130), 5 (151), 6 (152), 7 (210), 8 (208) and 9 (319) Miss M Judd, Ramsey 952, 936, 877, 746, 681.817, 681.2589, 613, 524 and 479.
SECTION SIX J BUCKLE and SON, STOWMARKET
I have already enjoyed immensely telling the story of Jason Buckle’s triumph in Section Six, but I am sure a précis of that earlier article will make good reading once again.
Jason is a 39-year-old sub-contract roofer, a tough job. He is married to Rachel and they have three lovely young children, Harvey (10), Kezia (8) and Rosie (2). Another tough job providing for, and helping bring up, a family.
For many, there would be no time for a hobby. But Jason manages to squeeze in time for the pigeons he has loved almost since birth. He was born into the sport for his dad, Ray, was and still is a pigeon fancier.
The pigeon that brought such delight, a two-year-old blue chequer, made an inauspicious start to its racing career and, in many lofts, would not have survived. He had one race as a young bird, and then was lost as a yearling from a 100-mile race from Laceby, returning at the end of the season, ring still intact and obviously having been living rough.
By the time the first NRCC race of the season came around, Berwick on May 10th, it had had only three races in his life. He negotiated Berwick safely, as he did the NRCC Perth race two weeks later. Neither race was easy.
He missed the Arbroath race and was sent to the “big one” Lerwick. And he did very well, finishing 21st Section Eight, 180th open on a velocity of 1165 yards per minute, a flying time of 14 hours 27 seconds for the 556 miles.
That was it for the season or at least that was Jason’s plan, well satisfied as he was by the performance. There had been a holdover, and this race was on a Sunday.
There was a 274-mile club race with Saxon Valley from Berwick scheduled for the following weekend, with basketing on Thursday. No thought of sending this bird again so quickly until it began to “talk” to Jason.
“He came home from Lerwick in very good condition, and then blossomed until he was in better condition than he had been when I sent him to Lerwick,” said Jason. “So I sent him to Berwick, even then wondering whether I had done the right thing.”
Result? Second club, second Federation on a velocity of 1331ypm compared to the winner’s 1341.
Phew! Lucky to get away with two races covering a total of 830 miles inside such a short space of time.
Definitely, that was it for the season for this bird, and Jason continued his preparations for the NRCC Thurso race where he planned to send a team of six. The Lerwick cock was not one of them!
Jason Buckle, winner of Section Six.
But his hen had laid the night before he went to Berwick, and he would be sitting 12 days at basketing for Thurso, the same time as he had been sitting prior to the Lerwick race . . . the stirring of possibilities in Jason’s mind?
And one of the hens earmarked for Thurso really did not look up to the task . . .
“I kept looking at him,” said Jason. “His condition was immense. I was a little bit worried about the two races he had already had, but everything about him was amazing.”
Outcome was that the doubtful hen was dropped from the team, and the chequer cock bird was brought in as a substitute a match-winning substitute as it turned out.
It was a hard race, was Thurso, but this outstanding pigeon made it over the 476 miles to the loft of J Buckle and Son in a flying time of 14 hours 16 minutes and 16 seconds to record a velocity of 979ypm and take 1st Section Eight and a highly commendable 10th open, being the longest flying bird at this stage of the results. Total distance flown in these three races: 1, 306 miles.
“Someone said I was a hard taskmaster, but this is something I would not normally do,” said Jason. “It makes you feel so humble that a pigeon will do that for you. I think it is an incredible performance, and it has given me such a boost. He was in such good condition, and this is what dictated my decision.
“Having done that, I don’t know what his future will be. I know I shall be careful with him next year.”
Father of the bird is a Flor Engels and the mother a De Klak Janssen.
When he first started on his own, Jason became friends with Tommy Hawes, a top fancier from Kings Lynn, and obtained some Houben-Kirkpatrick birds from him. He won his first two young bird races, but then found that it was not always so easy.
The friendship with Tommy endured, and when another respected fancier, John Pratt, entered partnership with Tommy he, too, became a good friend.
“I have been lucky to have these two fanciers as good friends, and the Flor Engels came from them. The De Klak side of the pedigree came from a good friend in Cornwall. I am very grateful to these friends and for the pigeons I have had from them,” he said.
Jason flies the widowhood system early in the season but he thinks the birds become a bit jaded after a few weeks, so he pairs them up for the longer races, and sitting 12 days seemed to the ideal position for the new star of the loft.
Incidentally, Jason sent six to Thurso and had five home by the end of the second day, a team performance of which many fanciers would have been proud for that particular race.
First 20 in this section were: 1(10th open) J Buckle and Son, Stowmarket 979, 2 (17) and 3 (31) W and HE Attlesey, Ely 954 and 932; 4 (42) and 5 (50) Moore and Ransome, Chatteris 914 and 902; 6 (80) W and HE Attlesey 849; 7 (126) and 8 (133) I and SA Rich, Isleham 753 and 739; 9 (141) W and HE Attlesey 714; 10 (144) J Buckle and Son 701; 11 (153) B Mower, Cambridge 680; 12 (154) I and S Rich 678; 13 (159) E Aldred and Sons, Lowestoft 676; 14 (163) CH Bird, Wymondham 671; 15 (167) B Brooks, Carlton Rode 666; 16 (179) E Aldred and Sons 653; 17 (182) Buckle and Carter, Stowmarket 650; 18 (189) K and D Carter, Stowmarket 639; 19 (193) S Kaschner, Diss 635; 20 (209) J Buckle and Son 616.
SECTION SEVEN P O’SULLIVAN, ENFIELD
Pat O’Sullivan, of Enfield, added another Section Seven Thurso win to his many past distance successes with his Braveheart family.
Latest off the seemingly never-ending production line of endurance racers is a two-year-old pied cock, grandson of No 2 son of Braveheart, sire of many winning pigeons including Dream Maker, first Southern Counties Lerwick in 2008.
The dam’s side features a grandson of Irish Rose, second London Combine from Lerwick in 2008. And the line goes back through Braveheart and Steptoe, going back to the 1960s.
This is a family that has enabled Pat to time in from Lerwick, 588 miles to his loft, every one of the past 20 years except 2006, and that was only because of a difference in race closure times between the Combine and the NRCC.
This year’s Thurso section winner had three races in preparation for the big task, and these included Alencon with the British International Championship Club on the south road.
He was sent sitting 12 days on eggs.
Pat O’Sullivan, winner of Section Seven.
Family upsets have disrupted Pat’s preparation time for the big races this summer, but he still timed on the day from Lerwick, and had four more on the second day. He had eight home from his entry of 12.
“When I lose pigeons it is usually in the short races,” said Pat. “I seldom lose them at the distance but it has been hard racing on the north road this season and I have lost pigeons at Berwick, Perth and Arbroath. Generally, my pigeons seem to be able to get up and race the second day.”
There were just five birds in the Section Seven results from NRCC Thurso, and Pat’s winning velocity over 498 miles was 744 yards per minute, with a flying time of 19 hours 38 minutes five seconds.
Three of the other five birds in race time were timed into Hoddesden by B and R Chapman, a fine team performance by another loft whose brilliant results enhance the quality of the NRCC.
They took second, fourth and fifth section on 689, 620 and 532ypm. They fly 493 miles.
Congratulations must go to another Enfield fancier, L Niedzwicki, who took third place on 647ypm.
There were five timers in this section, as follows : 1 (132) P O’Sullivan, Enfield 744; 2 (149) B and R Chapman, Hoddesden 689; 3 (184) L Niedzwiecki, Enfield 647; 4 (203) and 5 (280) B and R Chapman 620 and 532.
SECTION EIGHT KR CHENERY, FELIXSTOWE
If ever a man deserved a section win, then that man must be Ken Chenery. He had been runner-up ten times before making the breakthrough to the winner’s enclosure by topping the strong, distance-minded Section Eight from Thurso.
No wonder Mrs Preston, the wife of former NRCC President, Bob Preston, nicknamed him The Bridesmaid!
The Suffolk village of Trimley St Mary, situated between Felixstowe and Ipswich and famous for having two churches in one churchyard, is where the Chenery family live. It usually has a carnival each July, but this year Ken had one in his own back yard, thanks to a blue pied hen with an already impressive record competing alongside fanciers who are the backbone of the NRCC, and who possess some of the best long-distance lines in the country.
The three-year-old winner was sent sitting eggs for 10-12 days and, not surprisingly for a Suffolk fancier, was of Westcott breeding. Over 80 years ago the Westcotts of Ipswich, in successive years 1926 and 1926, had their names engraved on the famous King’s Cup, as winners of the race from Lerwick. Amazingly, the descendants of these birds are still taking top prizes all these years later.
Ken says that 90 per cent of his birds are of Westcott breeding, and this hen bird has a good, steady history in NRCC racing, remembering that all the races into Suffolk are a pretty hefty haul.
Ken Chenery, winner of Section Eight.
In 2012 she was 28th section from Dunbar (675 open), 110th section Perth (616) and 20th section Thurso (201); in 2013 she was 11th section Thurso (314); and then came her first section Thurso in this year’s far-from-easy race, also earning 101st place open, being timed first thing on the second day.
She will, says Ken, carry on in the race team next year.
He has also clinched a Diploma of Merit award this year with a seven-year-old blue hen, another Westcott, for her performances from Lerwick. She has been timed on four occasions (it could have been five had not the birds been brought home in 2012) as follows: 2009 6th open, 2nd section; 2010 92nd open, 5th section; 2011 277 open, 30 section; and 2014 214 open, 19th section.
This pigeon will now be retired to stock.
Ken’s near-misses when he was runner-up in the section came from the following racepoints: Lerwick (4 times), Thurso (3), Fraserburgh (1), Saxa Vord (1) and Berwick (1).
Now you can understand his relief at gaining a section win at last. Will it have opened the floodgates? Only time will tell, but Ken has already proved himself to be one of the top distance fanciers in the NRCC, with consistency being the keyword.
Now aged 71, and a retired dock worker, he has been a fancier for 31 years, not entering the sport until he was 40 years old as a complete novice.
“I was working with a man who had pigeons and he got me interested,” recalled Ken. “He got me started, but I was such a complete novice that when the pigeons laid a second round of eggs, I did not know what to do.”
How things have changed!
“I have taught myself about the sport mainly. I have listened, and read about it, and in recent years there have been videos and DVDs. I remember one chap telling me: ‘I am not telling you anything; you might beat me’.”
I am sure that he must have beaten that particular gentleman anyway, because he has had more than 60 wins competing in the Saxon Valley and formerly Essex and Suffolk clubs.
Ken took early retirement 14 years ago when a change in working patterns meant he had to do night shifts which he did not like. Next Spring he hopes to celebrate another big occasion his Golden Wedding.
He started with birds from a local fancier and has developed his team (currently 85-strong) by selective breeding, and by testing his pigeons from the distance. He loves the long distance racing, and uses club racing mainly as preparation for NRCC races. He and a lot of his like-minded Suffolk colleagues would like to see another Saxa Vord race on the programme.
Ken says he is “old fashioned” in his feeding with the generous use of old beans and maize, and a plentiful supply of seeds.
In this year’s £1,000 nomination, he clocked his named birds in every race, except the last Berwick young birds where he was 5th section and had good returns. Only birds missing were the two he had nominated!
There were 19 birds timed in this section as follows: 1 (101) KR Chenery, Felixstowe 821; 2 (125) SP Crawford, Ipswich 759; 3 (127) R Olive, Wickford 753; 4 (131) J and T Ivatt, Ipswich 745; 5 (136) SP Crawford 732; 6 (156) F White, Laindon 678; 7 (161) PR Easter, Maldon 672; 8 (168) SP Crawford 665; 9 (176) M and J Hodgson, Braintree 657; 10 (187) PR Easter 639; 11 (192) SP Crawford 636; 12 (197) R Olive 633; 13 (237) J and T Ivatt 579; 14 (260) W Hall, Felixstowe 557; 15 (265) R Olive 553; 16 (282), 17 (285) and 18 (310) KR Chenery 529, 526 and 505; 19 Miss R Bacon, Rochford 472.
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