Keith Mott writes about winning fanciers past & present

GEORGE BROWNLIE

OF CARLUKE

On one of my video tours north of the border, in Scotland we stopped off at Cleghorn in Lanarkshire to spend a day with my good friends David Jamieson and Bruce Simpson. The Jamieson & Simpson part­nership recorded some fantastic performances in the S.N.F.C. when the lofts were sited in the City of Glasgow, but since moving to Cleghorn in the countryside, five miles outside Lanark, it has been almost impossible to race their birds with the birds of prey attacking nearly every time the team is let out of the loft. I talk to Davey and Bruce regularly on the phone and they are always telling me about their birds being killed, but if I'm honest I didn't know how really bad the situation was. Peregrines were attacking the birds flying over the lofts the day we were at Cleghorn, and what appears to be the perfect spot to race pigeons is really no good at all. The birds of prey problem is generally very bad right across Scotland, and fanciers can't train on the line of flight, because of what they call `Bandit Country', pockets of hawk-breeding country, and have to toss in towns and cities in the opposite direction, so the birds get a clear run to the loft. When will it all end?

While in Lanarkshire, Bruce took us out for the day and we dropped in on George Brownlie of Carluke. He is down from a long line of pigeon fanciers, with his father and grandfather being successful long-distance racers and his grandfather's brother won 1st. Open Rennes S.N.F.C. in 1925 with a red Putman cock. George first became interested in the pigeons at the age of 11 when he helped his grandfather carry the race panniers across the fields and along the railway lines to the local station to race mark the birds. George's first birds were the old Putmans from his grand­father, and these were originally purchased at great expense from Ireland in 1916, where they were sent for safekeeping from Belgium. The young George raced in the Carluke FC, which was 40 lofts strong, and said the Putmans were excellent on the distance, but in the early days he did not have the knowledge to be consistent.

George had several lofts at his Carluke home and the main factor behind their design was good ventilation. He raced 40 pairs on the old Natural system with long ­distance races in mind, and raced his 45 young birds on the ‘Dark’ system in 1996 with outstanding results. George was a retired construction contracts manager, and he gave the Natural pairs their liberty all day, saying happy at home means successful results. In 1977 he had a team of Nash of Cray pigeons and a few pairs of Jim Biss Dordins which were doing very well. On advice from Jim Biss he purchased six pairs of Vanhees and their youngsters were raced very hard, and by 1983 were winning out of turn. They won the Federation Averages and outstanding results in S.N.F.C. including 2nd Sect, 6th Open Rennes S.N.F.C., 4th & 5th Sect Avranches, lst, 2nd & 4th Dorchester S.N.F.C., 2nd Falaise S.N.F.C., and so on. These pigeons were still the base family when I visited the loft, with some odd crosses, which all had a Stichelbaut base. George said his family of Vanhees were outstanding up to Rennes (535 miles). When he brought the birds to his present address he started to feed similar to the Belgian system with more carbohydrate, no beans and maximum 25% peas in the race mixture.

On his first Channel race on the system he clocked at 5.25 am, with no day birds clocked in the race, and recorded 5th. Open Federation. Through the years the loft has won countless prizes in the S.N.F.C., and some of the premier pigeons were: ‘Day Lady’ blue hen, 2nd West Sect, 6th Open Rennes (north east wind): ‘Day Dream’ blue chequer hen, lst West Sect, 51st Open Rennes; ‘The Mealy Pied Hen', 2nd West Sect, 18th Open Falaise, 23rd Sect West Section Rennes: ‘The Vanhee Cock’, 1st West Sect Dorchester: ‘Mr Vanhee’ blue cock, 2nd West Sect Dorchester.

The racers got short training tosses from 25 miles owing to the hawk problem, and went every day prior to a big race. He liked cocks feeding a big youngster and looking at the hen or hens on chipping eggs on the day of basketing for the main long ­distance races. George had concentrated very heavily on breeding over several years, and several Scottish National winners have been bred from his lines including the 1995 S.N.F.C. Rennes (479 miles) winner for N. McCulloch & son of Dalbeattie. He said he has been very fortunate with stock pigeons and had a dream pair of breeders from the Nash family which kept him going for years. His blue pieds during the 1960s were outstanding in the SNFC results. When he paired his number one pair of Vanhees together, someone upstairs must have guided him as they started a dynasty. He concentrated on their offspring and that was the base of his very  uccessful team. George kept 30 pairs, including feeders, in his very big stock loft, and the breeding pigeons were fed on 75% maples and 25% home farm Dutch pellets.

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT