Keith Mott

Writes about winning fanciers past and present

The Champions of Yesteryear - Part 7

JOE BRADFORD

of Sutton

This week I'm going to feature a very special long distance fancier, who I first met in 1977 when he won 1 st . open British Barcelona Club Palamos, Joe Bradford of Sutton. Joe has been around pigeons for many years, serving his apprenticeship under his father, Joe senior, who was a great fancier in his own right. His father was an 'ace' at the long distance although he also won inland, so young Joe had a burning love for the 500 mile plus pigeons, which he found were few and far between. Young Joe did most of the loft chores in the early days and in 1952 he went into partnership with his father. In 1954 the partners won 1 st . club, 4 th . Federation, 6 th . London S.R. Combine Libourne and won the longest old bird race five times in six years, from 1954 to 1959, totting up a 3 rd . and 4 th . the other year. Joe did his National Service from 1957 and on his demob in 1959 he had a chance to race partly on his own, as his father was working away from home, only getting home once every three weeks. Joe won 1 st . club Poitiers and 1 st , 3 rd . and 4 th . club Bordeaux , with some positions in the Federation and Combine. In 1962 Joe married Vera, and in 1966 he started racing on his own at the present address.

Joe's main family was Joe Shore of Northwich with crosses from birds obtained from the late Joe Cheetham of Pontefract. He purchased eight birds direct from Joe Shore and two of these originals were in the Bradford stock loft for many years, one was considered to be the sire of the loft. It was a handsome blue with a wonderful violet eye, which handled medium with a long cast. His sire and dam flew Pau for Joe Shore , the violet eyed cock bred most of Joe Bradford's best birds and was the sire of 'Lucky Lad' and grandsire of Champion 'Jubilee Lady', the 1977 B.B.C. Palamos winner. This great stock cock was paired to a Shore dark chequer when he bred 'Lucky Lad' and his brother, which was the sire of Champion 'Jubilee Lady'. 'Lucky Lad' spent 1977 in the stock loft and did not go to Palamos. Joe told me that the cock had flown Palamos four times, recording: 1973: 169 th . open (arrived home with his back ripped open), 1974: 41 st . open, 1975: 33 rd . open, 1976: 3 rd . open and after that he didn't have to prove anything to Joe. In fact, he rated his champion blue cock the best bird he has ever owned, with 'Jubilee Lady' a close second. Unlike his sire and dam, 'Lucky Lad' was a very nice handling pigeon, being medium in size. Joe said his pigeons were not a nice type, but what they lacked in looks they make up for in courage.

Racers and stock birds were paired up about 12 th . March and one week after the first round of young birds were taken away the racers started training. The Palamos candidates only reared one baby and racing started at the third event from Exeter , then into Rennes and onto the big one, Palamos with the British Barcelona Club. The main target each year was the Palamos race and work on the birds for this event began more or less after the moult in the year previous to the race. Joe's loft was in a small wire compound to keep out our four legged friends and give the birds some peace and quiet. The loft was self built, 'L' shaped and was over 40ft. long, including a corn store. The floor was concrete and the loft was nice and light with laminated windows in the roof. There were 21 big nest boxes in the racing section, although no more than 15 pairs of racers were kept, and between 35 and 40 youngsters were bred each year. The loft was cleaned out twice a day and the water could be changed as often as seven times a day in the breeding season. Joe said most diseases start through the drinking water. The birds were fed on beans all the year around with linseed. Trapping was through drop holes and the young birds were given a small aviary on the top of the loft until they were strong on the wing. The youngsters only got exercise in the evening, until they started to run, then they were let out in the mornings. He trained the youngsters later than normal and started them at the third young bird event from Seaton. Their first toss was at about 20 miles, then in stages down to the coast, then at many points along the coast, through the season. He thought that this was an ideal start in life for a young pigeon and the best were sent to the N.F.C. Young Bird event and the B.B.C. Rennes race.

Joe's champion blue hen 'Jubilee Lady' was a small, nice type pigeon and she sat in the hand like a tennis ball. This great hen was bred in 1972 and her full performances were, 1972: 7 th . club Avranches, with only nine birds home on the day, she came home very battered, 1974: 4 th . club Seaton and into the N.F.C. Pau open result, 1975: 1 st . club, 2 nd . Croydon Federation (2,064 birds) Exmouth, 143 rd . open B.B.C. Palamos, 1976: 21 st . open B.B.C. Palamos, 1977: 1 st . section, 1 st . open B.B.C. Palamos. A true champion! Over 1,000 birds were liberated at 07.30hrs. in a light variable wind at Palamos on Friday, June 24 th , 1977 and Joe said his hen came like an inland pigeon, timed at 13.40hrs. on the Saturday. She was sent sitting 24 day old eggs, having a chipping egg placed under her the night before basketing, and in fact, the egg hatched only minutes before Joe basketed for the journey to Winchester for marking. She was bred from a full brother to 'Lucky Lad' and a Joe Cheetham hen, which Joe said she takes after for type. Her grandma flew Pau four times for the Cheetham loft, being in the section result three times. The most birds that Joe sent to the Palamos event were six and in 1977 he sent four and got three. He was opposed to mid-day liberations in the long distance races and said the birds were not on the wing long enough on the day of liberation. He thought Palamos was the 'Number One' race, as the birds fly all the day of toss, then they have to get up and come again the next day.

The Bradford loft was 2 nd . open B.B.C. Palamos in 1970, with a 1964 bred Gits red chequer cock which hatched from a gift egg from Joe's good friend, Ernie Parker. This cock's full performance was outstanding, recording 1 st . club Exmouth, 2 nd club, 30 th open Combine Le Mans, 2 nd . open B.B.C. Palamos (found on the loft) and had flown most channel race points, including Bergerac. The Parker red cock was of medium size and apple bodied, with a nice strong back and looked well for an old pigeon.

Joe liked a small to medium pigeon and said, 'You don't see big marathon runners'. He rated the Fear brothers partnership of Clandown the best long distance fanciers of the 1970's. He told novices to go to a good consistent fancier for their first stock and said Joe Shore was clocking 12 pigeons in race time every year from Pau . Joe Cheetham's record was second to none, when he was looking around for a start with long distance pigeon racing. Joe maintained that there is too much money in the sport with the money side fast overriding the performance side of racing. He said performance first and the money is the bonus.

Joe's wife Vera, was a great help with the birds and she timed in a lot of the Palamos pigeons. She, in fact, clocked Champion 'Jubilee Lady' for her 1 st . open Palamos win. Joe said she was a good, reliable stand in for clocking their when he was at his work.

I hope you have enjoyed the Joe Bradford story, he is still racing pigeons today with outstanding success! I can be contacted on Telephone: 01372 463480. See yer!