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ERIC MATTHEWS TRIBUTE

by Keith Mott

I was very sad to hear of the recent passing of Eric Matthews, who was a very special fancier, who I have known and respected since the 1970s. He was one of the gentlemen of our sport and will be greatly missed. In the later years he moved with his family, Rod and Angela, to Hampshire, but lived and worked most of his life in Ashford, Middlesex. He was a bricklayer by trade so it's understandable that his wonderful loft in Ashford is partly built of brick. Eric retired from his very successful building business several years ago and his team of Cattrysse and Silver Dawn pigeons kept him good and steady, making him one of the most consistent fanciers in Middlesex over the past 40-odd years. Eric found his pigeons a great relief from the pressure of business when he was working and they took his mind off building problems when he was at home.

 

Eric first purchased the Silver Dawn pigeons from Hughie Ambler of Southend in 1955, obtaining one pair to start. The cock was a 10year old blue called the ‘Smashing Blue’, being a really handsome pigeon and he was a champion breeder and racer in his own right. He won seven times 1st prizes and scored right up to Thurso, 500 miles. The 'Smashing Blue' was paired to a Silver Dawn grizzle hen and bred many winners for the Matthews loft. At that time Eric also purchased a pair of Moss pigeons from a great friend of Hughie Ambler, a Mr Wilkinson of March, and Eric then gradually blended the two families together. All the Silver Dawn / Moss pigeons in the Matthews loft went back to those original two pairs. Those pigeons won inland, but really excelled at the long distance. Eric's main family were later made up of two lines of Cattrysse pigeons, one from Les Davenport and the other direct from Cattrysse Brothers some 40 years ago.

 

In the 1980s the loft housed so many outstanding pigeons that it is hard to know where to start, but I think we will begin with the great Cattrysse champion blue cock, ‘Solitaire’. He was a Davenport Cattrysse bred down from Les' first national winner, ‘Game Lady’, and Eric said ‘Solitaire's’ eye was the same as the Davenport champions. Eric paired up by eyesign and tried to breed the Cattrysse champions' eyesign into his birds. ‘Solitaire’ was very nice in the hand, being medium, and his outstanding racing performances are, 1974: 1st. club, 1st. Federation (1,743 birds) Plymouth. 1995: 1st. club, 11th. Federation, 30th. open S.M.T. Combine (4,256 birds) Niort.1976: 1st club, 1st Federation, 5th open SMT Combine (4,003 birds) Bergerac. 1977: 1st. club, 1st Federation (1,688 birds) Plymouth; 43rd section Nantes NFC, 4th club Lava, 1978: 2nd club, 8th Federation Plymouth and bred some outstanding racers. A true champion! Eric's 1980 combine winner was a three year old Cattrysse / Silver Dawn blue cock called ‘Oscar’, flying the Matthews widowhood system. Members of the Seven Counties Combine sent 5,553 birds to their second Laval event and because of adverse weather the convoy was held over to the Sunday. The combine liberated at 7.30am in a north, north west wind and Eric clocked Oscar at 1.27pm, also recording four other pigeons in the combine open result. Eric said his first two pigeons came together and it was a matter of first bird to hand which won the combine, recording 1st, 2nd and 7th open combine. ‘Oscar’ was a very consistent racer winning 3rd. Federation Weymouth, 10th open combine Niort and 1st open combine Laval. A wonderful performance! Many great pigeons have been bred in the Eric Matthews loft including the great '69 blue cock Champion ‘Bullet’. Eric bred this cock from Cattrysse Brothers pigeons and he was raced by Eric's son-in-law, Rod Berry, with outstanding success. ‘Bullet’ won 13 times 1st in the Ashford N.R. Club and 3 times 1st in the Thames Valley N.R. Federation, winning at most race points including Perth (364 miles). ‘Bullet’ was bred down from the Cattrysse champion ‘Draaier’ and was sold to a Midlands fancier for £700.

 

I think Eric Matthews was one of the pioneers of racing pigeons from the long distance on the widowhood system, perfecting the method 40 years ago and being one of a very few fancier to be consistently outstanding over a lot of years, on the system. The birds were raced mostly on the widowhood system with the early part of the season being flown on the natural system. Eric designed his fantastic 50ft ‘L’ shaped loft and a few of his carpenters built the front out of red cedar. There was a nice wire flight at the rear and stock birds and the widowhood hens were housed in that. Eric was allergic to dust, so the loft floors were slatted to let the dust fall away and the birds were cleaned out twice a year, from under the loft.

 

KEITH MOTT.