Keith Mott writes...

DAVID & KATH BACON

OF KENT

My good friend, Eric Cannon of Godalming, passed away in 2000 and I took over the management of his wonderful team of long distance pigeons, until I sold them four months later, at three dispersal sales. I made the 25 miles drive to Eric and Pat’s Wormley home, nearly every day, tending the birds and there was one young blue hen, which caught my eye every time I went to the loft. There was about 80 youngsters in the loft at that time and this little gem stood out from the rest, and I said to Eric’s wife, Pat, several times, ‘she’s the one!’ She was bred down from the ‘Culmer Producer’ lines and a very good Cannon hen that Eric had obtained from his good friend, Ron Dodd, when he gave up the sport, a few years ago. When the time of the dispersal sales arrived, I received countless phone calls from all over the U.K., from fanciers asking about Eric’s pigeons and I recommended this blue hen, to the Cannon’s close friend, David Bacon of Pettswood. I told him, I fancied the hen very strongly and after inspecting the blue, he purchased the pigeon at the Sutton dispersal sale. Dave recorded 3rd. section E, 4th. open in the Colombovac Saintes / Pau National, with a granddaughter of that original Eric Cannon blue stock hen that he purchased in November 2000. The Bacon loft is normally flown on the widowhood system, but this season, Dave flew a few pairs on natural and his 4th. open winner was a blue hen sent to the Grand National, sitting a two day old youngster.

David’s father was an outstanding distance fancier and raced the Red Logans. He says that as his dad had no car, he found it very hard to train his pigeons, but nevertheless, did very well in the long distance events he loved. David has inherited his father’s keenness for the long distance and is only interested in National Flying Club racing. His ambition is to win a National race, which he says is like winning the lottery, but has come close many times. His list of National Flying Club positions won through the years is endless, but the main ones are: 3rd. section, 3rd. open Cherbourg: 4th. section, 4th. open Sartilly: 1st. section, 5th. open Pau: 2nd. section, 6th. open Pau, 15th. section, 29th. open Pau, 20th. section, 26th. open Pau: 11th. section, 19th. open Pau: 11th. section, 20th. open St Malo: 9th. section, 30th. open Pau, 24th. section, 67th. open Pau: 18th. section, 64th. open Pau: 29th. section, 55th. open Sartilly: 42nd. section, 77th. open Sartilly: 85th. open Saintes: 47th. section, 87th. open Sartilly: 20th. section, 97th. open Pau and so on. Apart from his wonderful record in the N.F.C., he has won many club firsts in channel racing, including only bird on the day several times. A brilliant loft performance!

The main families raced at the Pettswood loft are Albert Bennett, Fear Brothers and Eric Cannon. The very best of long distance. David visited Fear Brothers with Eric in 1978 and purchased an eight year old red chequer cock, which had won 1st. open West of England Combine from La Reole, before being put to stock by Sam and Roly. After David purchased this great pigeon a lot of his offspring won Classic and National races for the Fear Brothers, including the bird’s son which won 1st. open N.F.C. Pau, for the west country ‘aces’. David bred a wonderful family of long distance pigeons around the great old red cock, before presenting him back to the Fear Brothers at the age of 14.

One of David’s premier pigeons in recent seasons, is his good Albert Bennett blue cock, winner of 1section E, 5th. open N.F.C. Pau in the 1999 season. This game cock was raced on widowhood and had two Nantes races before being sent to the Pau National. David’s second bird from Pau that season, was a half brother to the blue cock and he recorded 64th. open National. This widowhood blue chequer cock had previously won 1st. club Laval as a yearling, being the only bird on the day of liberation in the club. On a recent visit to the Bacon loft in Kent, he showed me his wonderful red chequer cock, which had won many premier positions in the N.F.C., including 30th. open Pau. He is a son of Dave’s good Eric Cannon red stock cock, which is a son of Champion ‘Culmer Gold’ and ‘Culmer Rose’, when paired to a hen bred from the original red cock from Fear Brothers.

David races 20 cocks on the widowhood system, but tells me he is thinking of going back on to the Natural system fully next season, because he has always done so well with hen in past years. The only ‘downer’ for him racing Natural is he looses a lot of pigeons to the hawks, with the open loft, which he likes to give the Natural birds. When I asked him about his system of racing long distance pigeons on the widowhood, he told me he paired up on March 1st. and only reared one youngster from each of the cocks. The hens are taken away at about 10 days on their second round of eggs and the cocks are on the widowhood system. Training is kept down to only two 16 mile tosses because of the very bad hawk problem in his area and flies the race team around the loft twice a day. He never trains in the racing season, but uses the club to get the widowhood team fit. The birds are never broken down and are fed twice a day with a heavy mixture, which contains Bean, Peas and Maize. A few seasons ago, David repaired for the long distance races and sent three hens to San Sebastian, clocking all three in half an hour. He maintains that hens take some beating on long day flies from the long distance events.

The Bacon’s very smart 32ft. tiled roof loft has five sections, one for young birds, one for stock birds and three for the widowhood cocks. Each of the old bird sections has 12 nest boxes and trapping is through open doors into a corridor. David keeps his hens in a small loft at the rear of his wonderful big garden and when he brings in a new bird for stock, he says he uses his ‘stock sense’. He keeps about 32 young birds each season and these are raced to the perch, never being paired up. He likes young bird racing, flying in the local club most weeks, but is only really interested in the Young Bird National. The youngsters are trained twice a week and if there are some nice cocks in the team, they are not sent to the National, but saved for the widowhood system.

David says, Albert Bennett’s pigeons are the back bone of his loft. The two men have been good friends for many years and although Albert hasn’t raced for several years, David says his advice is invaluable and he is always trying to coach him to his first National win. One of the top stock birds at the Pettswood loft is the pencil blue cock, a direct son of Albert’s 1st. open N.F.C. Pau winner, Champion ‘Hermes’, who has bred many winners for David Bacon. Dave says, that you need a good family, to be consistent at the long distance and Albert Bennett has one of the best.