“This Man”
Steve Williams Bromborough
When talking of fanciers on the Wirral and or, the North West, or especially fanciers in the west Cheshire South Road Federation one of the first that spring to mind is the racing loft of Steve Williams. A man who has not only built a reputation with regard to his business but has built over fifteen years a relationship with his partner Angela and through buying, selling and revamping houses has put himself and his family in a position of stability with regard to his life and their relationship.
What does this have to do with pigeons? Well in the three years I have been observing pigeon fanciers one thing that is apparent is most of the best fanciers I have been fortunate to meet have a secure and stable personal life and background. “Behind every good man” they say is the “good woman”.
Steve’s partner Angela (who hails from Huddersfield) has helped Steve Williams stabilise his life, put life into a prospective that gives him the knowledge and confidence to do whatever he needs or requires to promote or enhance his success when racing his pigeons but also the same has applied to his business and his business acumen and life in general.
Steve & Angela in their self-built conservatory
Steve is also an avid shooting fanatic, the weekend winter mornings will find him and his dogs at the local game shoot beating and picking up. Steve is an avid dog trainer and his renowned locally and nationally for his ability not only to breed the spaniels that form part of his family but to train them to such a high standard that they are in demand all over the country.
Steve’s first adventure and contact with racing pigeons would come via Jonny Hazlehurst of Leesowe, on the Wirral. “My dad worked on a market garden with Jonny Hazlehurst’s sisters” Steve recalls, and it would be from this relationship that the first three pigeons of Steve’s pigeon career would appear. The other thing to come from this introduction was a lifelong friendship between these two fanciers which would only be curtailed with the ill-timed passing through cancer of Jonny in 2013.
Due to personal circumstance Steve found himself racing his pigeons from various residences, the only familiarity being they were all on the Wirral peninsular and included Leesowe, Wallasey, Moreton, Port Sunlight, Eastham and finally Bromborough where both he and Angela reside today. What I will call Steve’s wilderness years were spent buying, renovating, and then selling the various houses that he bought to reside in this enabled Steve to get back onto the ownership ladder and get him back to a standard of living that would now suit both Angela and himself.
The many house moves and the many loft relocations did not dampen the enthusiasm of this gifted fancier and nor did it impede him winning his share of races. However the fact that he is now settled and happy with his lot (with regard to the home) and the fact that he has now stayed put in one place for the last six years the pigeons have taken on another direction.
Steve now races his pigeons in the ultra-competitive Rock Station Homing Society, joining some ten years since when living in Eastham and racing the last six seasons from Bromborough. One thing he says with a passion is his thoughts of their club secretary George Tomlinson. George has been a great secretary for our club and has enhanced the club since he has been at the helm, George’s health has been failing in recent years and he may not be physically fit as he was a few years ago but his mind is as sharp as ever and he still carries the helm of the Rock Station club and long may it continue.
George who is extremely well known throughout the Wirral peninsular as well as across the water in neighbouring Liverpool. As this profile goes to editing George has announced his retirement from the helm of the club and has handed the reins to John Wheadon (himself a tireless worker). George has left the helm in safe hands and so George moves into retirement but only as an active officer.
Not only does George take to the pen and get some local publicity for the area in both the Racing Pigeon and the British Homing World weekly magazines but he also ofay to arranging the annual Doncaster coach trips along with the annual four day Dutch show trip which also takes in the Natural Breeding Station along the way. A man which every club needs at the helm and directing and controlling everything to enhance the members racing season. So a huge thank you George from your fellow fanciers and friends especially Steve and John at the Rock Station.
Steve has spent best part of his life around pigeons from his first introduction when as kid he was asked to hold a box that contained a fantail at the age of seven, and still some fifty two years later Steve is as keen as ever. Steve has an in built pigeon radar is on the constant lookout out to learn and pick up any minor detail he can. An extremely knowledgeable fancier it is no surprise to hear that in his pigeon racing career he has travelled the length and breadth of the country meeting multifarious different fanciers in their own domains and continuously asking questions, listening and observing. “You can’t learn much if you are the one talking” Steve states. “Common sense, good husbandry and good pigeons is what is required it’s not really rocket science”.
Steve will tell you everything he has learned (if you are prepared to listen) his experience has come from every one of the multitude of fanciers he has visited and or met during his lifetime of pigeons, he will also tell you he has not stopped learning. Just with my own experience when I asked Steve about the Dutch trip that George operates his immediate reply “you must go, you will definitely learn something, I learn something new every year, speak to the multitude of vets and see the array of stands with the new or latest motivational ideas, it’s a must for the true pigeon man”.
The view from the Williams patio doors “Not a loft in sight”
I can tell you from my own experience he was right, I learned a lot but not enough not to attend again travelling into Europe opened my eyes as Steve said it would. On another similar topic about learning, I had heard previously on a pigeon forum from another local fancier: and I quote “You can take anything Steve Williams tells you about eye sign to the bank”. This intrigued me as when I asked Steve about eye sign the answer I received was somewhat astonishing? In Steve’s own words he recalls “I don’t really understand eye sign, but what I do know, is that my pigeons that perform in the breeding lofts for me and the pigeons that are in my racing lofts have certain types of eyes, they may have different eyes but all have what I class as good eyes” “or what the eye sign men might consider a descent eye. I will even choose pigeons for breeding by eye sign but I am really no true eye sign man”.
The breeding loft (stock loft) of Steve Williams
In 2014 Steve’s breeding lofts were getting on the elderly side so for the first time in a long time Steve produced a round of pigeons purely to be kept as stock, he parted 30 youngsters and left them to mature. After the maturing period Steve selected eight of these to go into his stock loft, all chosen purely on eye sign. The very first breeding season in 2015 these new parents struck with such vigour the likes of which the West Cheshire federation had not experienced in the past. So in a ”nut shell” Steve does use eye sign but as he states he does not totally understand it only that his pigeons carry certain eyes for racing and breeding.
This place that Steve and Angela call home is a sanctuary of calm, looking from the back patio doors from there extremely nicely renovated and modernised home you can see nothing but a garden of shrubs and flowers, what lies beyond these is an area that is not really compact, but well laid out, nicely built and certainly immaculately maintained. The first thing you notice when you visit is that this does not come across as a pigeon fanciers home, “definitely a woman’s touch here” although I am assured by Angela that Steve tends to be the chef of the house and all the work that need carrying out is also done by Steve.
There is certainly a relaxed atmosphere around this house, extremely light in terms of colour and plenty of flora with some extremely unusual plants that inhabit the living space in this residence. One particular plant the Christmas cactus, this itself has a story in that it has been with Angela for over half a century which is indicative of this partnership longevity and stability has to be a factor when you read of their performances.
Angela with her Christmas Cactus that is over fifty years of age
Something else that fellow fanciers may not know about this self- employed painter and decorator is his love of spaniels (especially springer spaniels). Steve breeds and trains these dogs especially as working gun dogs. Reacting to the whistle he spends huge amounts of his copious spare time training and teaching these dogs to either enhance his other hobby (hunting) or to sell on to fellow hunters to work with guns. The close pigeon season (the winter) you will find Steve early weekend mornings picking up at the local shoot or busy training and exercising his dogs.
Steve’s kennels and his cocker spaniels
The trait of this now established family home is one of breeding, Steve states jokingly the fertility around at this place is second to none; a good friend of mine once had canaries that wouldn’t or couldn’t breed. They came here and straight away started breeding, no matter what it is from gold fish to dogs once it settles in here they breed straight away, so if you know anyone who is struggling to procreate you know where to send them?
Steve puts is success partly down to his ability to breed superb pigeons from his stock team “Breeding is Gold” he states, this is not the first time I have heard this saying from a top fancier, breeding is everything for me. You have to have the production line of producers to give you your
ammunition if you can’t breed good pigeons you won’t win races, you can have all the additives the best loft, be in the best position and feed the best corn but if your pigeons are not good that is exactly how you will fly.
Steve with his blue hen 7th Section MNFC Carentan YB 2015
Steve gets his motivation from as he says “the love of pigeons” I enjoy my pigeons I enjoy getting them fit I enjoy breeding them and I enjoy racing them, If I don’t win on a Saturday I have no time to dwell on a result, if you must dwell on it use the Saturday, and start again on the Sunday a new race is coming the following week. You must gain experience and learn how far you can send your own pigeons, to many fanciers today race them out over the channel, they lose them and scratch their heads, you should only lose those pigeons once and not send the siblings again, you must learn, it’s all about experience, horses for courses is the correct saying if birds win on the land they stay on the land. My channel pigeons are that they race on the channel.
The old bird (nearest) and the young bird racing lofts of Steve Williams
Steve’s team of pigeons today are predominantly Walter Dox based, Steve has been around the block somewhat gaining his pigeons, he has travelled the length and breadth of the UK in search of good pigeons and fanciers for that matter. I used to travel everywhere to sales and if I couldn’t get there then my friend Gary Downing from Smethwick Birmingham would attend and get the birds I was trying to procure. I then went direct to Walter Dox himself. By way of a direct telephone conversation I contacted Walter; I have not looked back since. These pigeons sprint from 0 to 300 mile for me.
Having managed to try and race Walter Dox pigeons I then managed to bring in pigeons of the same strain form Charlie McCardle and Terry Archibald (McArdle & Archibald) of Liverpool, these two fanciers need no introduction to the pigeon fancy. I have been able not only to procure some fantastic pigeons from my now great friends Charlie and Terry but they have also given me some fantastic breeding pigeons for which I am for ever grateful.
Steve has also started turning his eyes towards a channel team with the North West Combine and the nationals in mind and has commenced assembling a channel team of pigeons which are mainly Hardy Kruger’s. These have been brought in from Steve Cuthbert in the North East of England and Ian Gibb (Gibb & Byrne) of Ireland. I have also been direct to hardy Kruger himself to procure pigeons. Again like most I have had to through a few pigeons to land on what I like and what I want Steve recalls.
The racing lofts of Steve Williams
The breeding stock in their boxes
The breeding (Stock) Cocks enjoying their aviary
The 2015 season was to produce some tremendous results but also some lasting memories for Steve, the advent of the new Amalgamation with the North Wirral Federation would see most of the clubs racing onto the Wirral join forces which really has enhanced the returns and the racing along with adding another edge to the competition.
The competition in the West Cheshire federation is keen as it is in the North Wirral federation. To take a federation average is a target for many, to then try and win the overall federation points trophy is a goal for many but only one fancier per annum can achieve as it’s only awarded once a year. With point only awarded for the first four pigeons in the federation should a fancier can amass points totalling in the forty to fifty range for a full season (some 22 races) you can probably count yourself amongst the top in the federation. The 2013 champion would win with less than forty points with 2014 champion breaking through the 60 point barrier which was to be considered a brilliant season. However in 2015 Steve Williams was to take all the federation records and tear them apart. From the “get go” in April where he figured at the bottom of the federation sheet he would go on to break all the records winning the federation points championship with a huge 111 points the first occasion that a fancier has broken through the magic 70 never mind the magic 100 points. A brilliant and totally unique achievement. I must point out here that the federation has picked me up on this mute-point; do we race for points or pounds? Whatever it is we are racing for it culminates to the same thing a total amount which either points or pounds equates to the same record result being achieved by this fancier in 20156
Steve Williams won four first federation prizes, six second’s, eight thirds, and seven fourth federation prizes. Steve also won the young bird averages and the old bird inland averages. Steve also managed to win the coveted gold ring race from West bay (the last young bird race of the season) winning £111 in federation cash and a further £769.35 in gold ring prize money totalling £880.35.
Steve Williams, (Rock Station HS) 2015 West Cheshire Federation Champion receiving his Championship trophy from Federation Secretary Jenny Dodd.
In 2016 Steve William would again rise to the top of the federation winning three first federation prizes, six second’s, and five third federation prizes. Steve also managed to win the coveted gold ring race from West bay (the last young bird race of the season) winning £71 in federation cash and a further £470.90 in gold ring prize money totalling £541.90. His £71 in federation cash is yet again the second highest prize accumulated since I started scribing in the area. “He will now enter into 2017 looking for his THIRD federation championship in as many years.
As well as being one of the best fanciers in his area Steve Williams puts his heart into helping, aiding and abetting the locality. This keen and ultra-enthusiastic fancier throws himself into whatever he does. The federation needed a president he stepped forward, the Amalgamation needed steering and a president and again he responds with his feet and gets involved.
As the years move on and times change and we lose more people from this sport of ours, if we could take Steve Williams and put him on an advert, with his zest and enthusiasm for this hobby he would surely attract a huge new influx of new starters.
“This man” who has changed from racing widowhood cocks to just racing his hens. “This man” who steps forward on every occasion asked to ensure that fellow fanciers can race and enjoy their racing. “This man” still can’t sleep on Friday evenings with the excitement and anticipation of racing his pigeons. “This man” openly states “you can’t beat sprint racing” and looks up to the sky when he says “there’s no feeling like it” “This man” who looks for the best pigeons he can find and does not worry about fashion. “This man” has taken all before him to success with an instinctive passion. This man is Steve Williams.
