Keith Mott

Writes about winning fanciers past and present

The Show Racers of Great Britain! (Part 8)

DONALD SPEDDING

OF CLEATOR MOOR

Donald Spedding is one of only a very few fanciers, who I’ve never met, but I’ve heard about his brilliant talent with the Show Racer from the fanciers I’ve met over the years. I recently had a phone call from Don congratulating me on the current Show Racer series of articles and I took advantage of the call, and asked him if he fancied being part number eight. Don is only part time in the sport these days, being a busy professional singer, but spends as much time as he can at the Show Racer loft of his cousin, Alan, who is a very successful fancier in his own right.

Don was born in Cleator, Cumbria and his father and uncle raced pigeons for many years. He first became interested in the Show Racers during his National Service days in Oswestry and used to visit an old fancier named Mr. Simpson, and he had some lovely birds. After he finished his Army Service, he watched the Classic Show results and saw that at that time Bill Meader of London was the top man, so wrote of to him for a pair of birds. Bill, ever willing to help, sent him a blue chequer cock and a blue white flight hen.

The hen won for Don and he was ecstatic! He had many birds over the years from Bill Meader and visited his loft in Leytonstone many times. Don told me, Bill was a brilliant show man, who taught him a lot about showing and breeding winners, and remains a great friend to this day. He was lucky to live near Keswick, where the great H. E. Dalzell lived and obtained quite a few birds off this wonderful fancier’s, winning blue chequer family. Harold Dalzell had won Best in Show at the G.Y.A. twice, at what Donald says, was the height of the showing era in this country.

Donald had his small loft in Wath Blow at this time and was visited by many fanciers from all over the U.K. He said, too many to mention, but people like Bill Meader came to see the birds and later when he moved to his present address a young Jimmy Fitzpatrick come down from Scotland many times to visit. In Don’s opinion, ‘wee’ Jimmy has developed into one of the best, if not the best, Show Racer fancier from north of the border!

The Spedding loft housed only ten pairs of birds, which were paired up on February 14th. and he was always very selective with the pigeons, always looking for something to get rid of. Don told me, that he only had a small loft, so could only keep a small team and kept a family of blue chequers, which he enhanced by introducing a cock from Harry Spratt of Belfast. He called this cock, ‘Harry’, and he was bred down from pigeon he obtained from Don Spedding and a dark hen from Graham Rougvie. This champion breeding cock produced many fantastic pigeons to win at National and Classic shows. Don also obtained a young blue cock he fancied from Harry Spratt and he went on to become the famous breeding cock, ‘Irish Blue Cock’, and he is the sire of Alan Speddings loft today. Donald told me he had many great years showing his birds, but one of his biggest thrills was the year he bred his champion mealy hen, ‘Lady Di’.

She won seven Classic shows in succession as a young bird, then went on to be Best in Show (1,300 birds) at the G.Y.A. as a yearling. At the G.Y.A. she beat Bill Meader’s, Champion ‘Princess Asti’, winner of 30 firsts and many times Best in Show. Don says his greatest thrill was showing in the 1970’s and 80’s when showing pigeons was at it’s height in this country. He won Best in Show at the mighty G.Y.A. Show seven times! The two great fanciers, Harold Dalzell and George Greenshield, had both won it twice, so it was a wonderful thrill to win it seven times.

Don did inbreed a lot in those days. He gave the birds special attention when moulting, with Linseed and plenty of baths to help the new feathers burst out. He told me he has met many lovely people showing his pigeons through the years, some now gone and some still with us. People like Ron and June McCarthy, still going strong after many years of success at the very highest level, Tony Baugh, Danny Ferguson and Russell Davidson, who he has known for many years. Keith Foley of Bideford still keeps in touch with Don. He says, John Robilliard of Cornwall was a great show man many years ago and there he is still there setting records at the B.H.W. Blackpool Show a couple of seasons ago.

He maintains the number of premier shows has dwindled in recent years and the camaraderie doesn’t seem to be in the sport, like it used to be years ago, although the quality of the birds and fanciers is still very high. Don still goes to the Blackpool Show, enjoying the day out, and the pigeon chat with his fancier friends. He says, his cousin, Alan and his wife, are now showing the Spedding pigeons with outstanding success, having won Best in Show at the ‘Old Comrades’ Show twice. The two ‘Old Comrades’ champions were both typical Spedding blue chequers in the form of, ‘Mr. T’ and ‘The Old Comrades Hen’, and both were bred down from the ‘Irish Blue Cock’. Don still goes down to the loft regularly to see the birds and enjoys his limited time with them. There you have it, Donald Spedding, the champion Show Racer!

Letters to the England Prop Forward!

I receive many letters, emails and phone calls each week from fanciers all over the pigeon world. Most of my correspondence in recent months have come from fanciers asking about Pigeon Fanciers Lung and the ‘Rabbit Hutch’ loft system. I’ve had as many as three phone calls in one day on the problem. I think the ‘Rabbit Hutch’ system has, given some Pigeon Lung sufferers a new hope and a chance to continue in the sport, like my self. I’m reproducing two letters I received recently and have enjoyed very much!

Dear Keith,

My apologies for not recognising you at the Blackpool Show. In my defence, the photograph at the top of your column looks as if you’re chairing a board meeting and in reality was an England Prop Forward! It was great to meet you and I know you sort out the order of your articles with Steve. I guess that over the years you’ve met all five of us who work in Editorial – Ann, Eleanor, Gaynor, Lesley and me – should you have a problem, hopefully one of us would be able to help. Hoping to see you at Blackpool in 2007.

Yours sincerely – Helen Edwards (B.H.W. Editorial)

Well Helen, it was great to see you! The lads keep telling me I’ve put a lot of weight on lately, so I’m going into training and at Blackpool 2007, I will look slick like an England Wing Three Quarter.

Dear Keith,

I have been wanting to write to you ever since the death of Eric Cannon, but have only just seen your address in last week’s B.H.W. I first met Eric in 1948 when I was appointed head master of Bramley School. I’d decided they’d be  no pigeon flying there and then almost the first person I met was Bill Anscombe, secretary of the Godalming F.C. Eric and his friend, Eric Pearson, used to cycle over on Sunday mornings to visit Bill and then me. The club were then flying North Road and Eric’s birds were not the force that he eventually achieved.

At a velocity checking meeting I discovered that the highly respected Federation secretary was making an error in his calculations when there was a holdover. Simple mathematics, 9/24 is not the same as 9/48. Nobody was interested in correcting him and soon there was a holdover and Eric and I had each had a bird well out in front and separated by a decimal. I told Eric of my concern about the Federation calculation. Eric was splendid at long division and sure enough our positions were reversed. I can’t remember whether he or I was declared the winner, but what I do remember is that it didn’t matter a two hoots to either of us. Eventually I ceased flying and moved away from Bramley, but at the age of 87 I get tremendous interest and pleasure from the B.H.W. Eric was a grand fellow and I’ve always been interested in his career as a fancier. Similarly I was delighted to read your recent article about your ‘Rabbit Hutch’ or rather in army language – ‘Loft, pigeon, individual pair for’.

Sincere congratulations on conquering pigeon lung and giving hope to many fanciers. Writing to you has been on my mind, as you will realise, for many years. One more achievement!!

All good wishes – Dennis Knight of Aylesbury.

Dennis thanks for a really nice letter, Pat Cannon and I have enjoyed reading it very much! Eric Cannon was the best pigeon fancier I’ve ever met and a close friend for many years. As you say in your letter he was a gentleman and every thing had to be ‘spot on’ with Eric. Thanks again, it was great to hear from you!   

That’s it for this week! I can be contacted on telephone: 01372 463480. See yer!

TEXT BY KEITH MOTT.