L&SECC FORUM

with Keith Mott

RICK & JULIE CLEVERLEY

OF BASILDON

In the first few weeks of the 2005 season the wind had been fixed in the South and West, producing very fast racing every week. The London & South East Classic Club sent a record birdage of 2,738 birds to last weekends Tours event and true to recent form, the wind was in the South West and produced another fast race. The birdage was 300 birds up on the previous highest in the mid-season classic, with most of the leading pigeon being recorded on the East side of the club. The day of the race had perfect racing conditions, with blue sky and sun shine, and the convoy got off to a good start being liberated at 06.35 hrs.

The winning pigeon was clocked at the Basildon loft of Rick and Julie Cleverley and their champion yearling blue chequer hen was recorded at 12.12hrs, flying 290 miles into Essex. Rick has named his Tours classic winner, ‘Fred’s Girl’, after his late father who was an outstanding North Road fancier in the 1970’s. She is raced on the natural system and was given a big youngster on the Tuesday evening prior to marking and never wasted a second trapping into the loft, on her return from Tours. This wonderful little hen was bred from stock obtained from John and Meg Murry of Essex and flew the channel twice from Alencon, the two weekends prior to her Tours Classic win. Rick only trains his old birds lightly and ‘Fred’s Girl’ was given several tosses off the south coast on the local club transporter, before the start of racing. As a young bird she was put on the darkness system and raced the whole programme. Well done to Rick and Julie on their wonderful success!

GARRY INKLEY

OF HILLINGDON

The 2003 longest old bird race was to be flown from Pau, but because of adverse weather at the race point, the pigeons were moved and liberated at Dax (530 miles). Garry Inkley of Hillingdon had a brilliant race, recording 1st. and 2nd. Open, with his champion duo, ‘Festival Enigma’ and ‘Rathen Echo’. If  I said that Garry had a good season racing in the L.&S.E.C.C. in 2003, it would be an understatement. He won 1st. and 2nd. Open Dax, 2nd. N.W. Section Bergerac, 2nd. and 3rd. N.W. Section Guernsey (1), 3rd. N.W. Section Tours, lifting a T3 quartz clock and six trophies, including The Amtrax Cup for the L.&S.E.C.C. Fancier of the Year.

Garry first became interested in pigeons as a nine year old, when on a summer’s day in 1967 he rescued a stray pigeon whilst playing football on the local green. With some help from his pigeon fancier grandfather, he converted a 8ft.x 6ft. garden shed into a pigeon loft and a team of Logans were set up for him, by his grandfather. Garry says, after a year of breeding his own birds and training them from 3 miles on his bike, with heavy losses, his parents had noticed that he had become obsessed with pigeons. Consequently, his father encouraged him further and applied to join the Hayes N.R.F.C. in 1968 as J. Inkley & son, in order to fly the 1969 season. Garry maintains that members of the Hayes club were a great bunch of characters, amongst who was Ken Hine, who lived opposite the Inkleys. As the Logans were lost by the seventh old bird race from 300 miles, Garry looked forward to young bird racing, where he won his first prize cards. It was at the end of 1974 that Garry was invited to become Ken Hines partner and Garry says it was then that his pigeon education began. Together with Ken and George Burgess he visited some of the best lofts in the country, including Peter Titmuss, Ron Mitchieson, Eric Cannon and Tubby Tate. As the insignificant 17 year old boy in the group, the young Garry always kept his mouth shut, but his eyes and ears open to learn anything he could from the greats of the sport. Garry’s pigeon education took a massive leap forward when on a trip to the Blackpool Show, he met Bob McDonald of Fraserburgh, who was on his stand, displaying his Ko Nipius family. Garry was astounded at the quality of Bob’s pigeons and immediately ordered six youngsters for the following year. In 1980 he met his wife, Val, and pigeons started to become a close second and consequently the partnership of Hine & Inkley went its separate ways. In 1984 Garry and Val were married and moved to their present address in Hillingdon. A very close friendship had developed between Garry and Bob McDonald and the Inkley loft raced the Ko Nipius pigeons hard up to 560 miles, with much success, including 1st. Bergerac (only bird on the day), 1st. Marmande (only bird on the day) and twice 1st. Dax (545 miles), with the same pigeon. Garry considers Bob to be a master at conditioning pigeons and developing a family. The other great influence on Garry was Eddie Newcombe, now in Malta and they became good friends, consequently many Festival eggs were brought home in a loaf of bread and reared at the Huntingdon loft. During the 1990s Garry progressed winning a car, the Federation countless times and won his second R.P.R.A. Award in 1999 in the form of the Victory Trophy. This trophy was for the best three longest races and Garry maintains it’s a proud moment when your name is on the same trophy as Alf Baker and Jim Biss. Through the years Garry has gone on and won everything in front of him at Combine, Classic and National level, with the climax being his wonderful victory in the 2003 Dax Classic.

PHIL ANDERSON

OF WICKFORD

The London & South East Classic Club held its first race of the 2003 season from La Ferte Bernard and Phil Anderson of  Wickford in Essex, had a brilliant race, by recording 1st. and 2nd. Open and winning £2,800.

Phil has a 40ft. double decker  loft, with eight sections and races 30 hens and 20 cocks on the widowhood system. The racers are paired up the first week in February, with Channel racing in mind and he is not a member of a Saturday club. He is only interested in National and Classic racing. The birds are exercised around the loft twice a day and are hopper fed Buxton’s Irish/Ruby mixture and are never broken down during the racing season. Phil never races his young birds, but sometimes trains them down to the south coast. Phil's Classic winner is a 2 year old Van den Bosche / Wildemeersch dark chequer hen and on her build up to her La Ferte Bernard win, had several training tosses and a hard fly from Falaise with the B.I.C.C. This hen was in fact Phil's second pigeon home, with his first arrival sitting out for three minutes and clocked second. This bird, which recorded 2nd. Open, is a 3 year old Janssen / Soontjen blue chequer hen and she previously won 7th. Open L.&S.E.C.C. Tours. She was Phil's fancied pigeon for the La Ferte Bernard Classic and won a T3 clock, ETS clocking system and £1,100. The Anderson loft entered ten pigeons in the La Ferte Bernard Classic and clocked four, to record 1st, 2nd, 37th. and 51st. Open. Brilliant pigeon racing!

Phil started up in the sport in 1972, when his grandfather purchased some Cattrysse pigeons and his present family is Heinz 57 varieties, made up with good pigeons of any strain. The main stock pair, a Janssen cock and Soontjen hen, cost Phil £8, and they have produced many winners, including the 2nd. Open Classic hen. The Janssen cock was an outstanding racer before being put to stock, and recorded many positions on the road, including five times 1st. club, 2nd. Federation (4,200 birds), 2nd. Federation (3,300 birds) and 5th. Federation (3,500 birds). The Anderson pigeons were raced on the North Road up to 1999 and the best positions were 7th. Open Essex Combine Ripon (young birds) and on the South Road, 4th. Open B.I.C.C. Brugge, 11th. Open B.I.C.C. Falaise and 13th. Open B.I.C.C. Falaise.

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.