Keith Mott

L&SECC Guernsey 2 & Gordon Marsh of Southwater

My assistant for the second London & South East Classic Club Guernsey young bird classic was my son, Mark, and we delivered the baskets to the marking stations on Thursday, the day before marking. That evening I saw a Sparrowhawk hit one of best hens while exercising and chased her off through the trees. The following morning we set off in the club’s transporter and a few yards up the road I saw my hen lying dead beside a garage, left mutilated by the hawk. Too say I was gutted would be an under statement, as the pigeon was my good blue hen, ‘Foxwarren Eventually’, winner of 2005: 119th. open L.& S.E.C.C. Pau (552 miles), 2006: 71st. open L.& S.E.C.C. Bergerac, 2007: flew Pau (552 miles) and was a daughter of my famous Number 2 Eric Cannon stock pair. I normally exercise the birds in the morning, but because of the early start dropping the Classic baskets to the marking stations there wasn’t time that day and I let them out at about 16.30 hrs, as they were going to be locked up for three days while I was away in Guernsey. A very big mistake! I had all the birds out, including my stock team, but luckily after I cleaned out the loft I got the breeders in and then the Hawk struck. Why is it they always take a good bird and not one that is not so important? As far as I know I’ve never had a bird killed around home before, but have had loads taken racing and training through the years. The hen was a lovely quite bird, who always got on with her business with no fuss and it wasn’t very nice to see her mutilated body, after being eaten alive. I’ve never had a Sparrowhawk hit in my garden, as I think it is too small and we have several families of Crows nest in the trees above our gardens, and they tend to chase the Hawks off. I not going to get on my ‘soap box’ and call for the Hawks to be ‘done’, as that has be called for a million times over the years, and the situation has never been worse than what it is today. In the general run of things pigeons always take second place, whether it be Hawks, ‘bird flu’ or ‘foot and mouth’ and all these escalating problems are killing our great sport! So the Guernsey Classic weekend didn’t get off to the greatest of starts!

We watered the birds on arrival at the Guernsey liberation site at 03.30hrs and it was a good clear night, but there was a bit of ground mist hanging in the fields around the car park liberation site. After trying to get some sleep we awoke at 06.00hrs and topped up the water troughs at first light. I sat in the transporter cab and watched the sea mist slowly coming in and anticipated a late liberation, as early weather forecasts promised good weather over the whole race course that day. I telephoned my weatherman, Steve Appleby in Guildford, at 07.30 hrs and he informed me that the little bit of mist in the channel was clearing very fast and a liberation was looking certain. The sun came out and the whole situation changed very quickly, with the day blossoming in to blue sky and bright sun shine. We cut the strings and liberated at 09.14 hrs in a light North West wind. The 2,000 plus birds in the convoy cleared Guernsey very quickly, apart for one little chequer hen who broke out of the batch, dived down to the transport and ran back in to the basket. She was so keen to get back in the basket that if she had gone the other way, she might have won the race! I gave our secretary, Peter Coles, a phone call before boarding the Portsmouth bound Ferry late that afternoon and he informed me that early reports on the race were very good, with the birds making good velocities and returns were also very good. Many thanks’ to Mark and Steve Appleby, who did a great job on this our last race of the season. Normally I finish the season tired and had an enough of convoying, but this season has been great fun and I have finished wanting a bit more! A big ‘thank you’ to every one at home and abroad, for their help this season. I’ve really enjoyed it!

Gordon Marsh of Southwater

Gordon Marsh was the Chairman of the London & South East Classic Club for many years and was elected President at the club’s A.G.M. in January 2006. This gentleman is the best Chairman that I've met in my time in pigeon racing and in my opinion, Gordon is one of the main factors in the Classic Club's success of recent years. 

Gordon Marsh was born in South Wales, but only lived there for a year and has now spent most of his life, living in West Sussex. He is from a racing pigeon family, his grandfather had pigeons, as did his father and both his brothers. Gordon says he was born into pigeons and as far back as he can remember, he was always in the pigeon loft with his dad. The loft was up on 6ft. poles, with double door trapping and it had a cabin, with easy chairs and paraffin stove to make tea on. He spent hour up in his dads loft and it was in 1965 that Gordon got his own place, and started up his own loft of pigeons. His first stock came from his fathers loft in the form of a complete round of youngsters and he recalls that Jed Jackson gave him a really nice pied hen, which was surplus to his requirements. Gordon's first major success was with a young blue cock, which recorded 2nd club, 3rd. Federation and was well up in the S.M.T. Combine result from Avranches. When I asked Gordon, who was the first fancier who drew his attention to their performances in the early days? He quickly replied, without question my boyhood hero was Jed Jackson of Worthing. He would wait outside Worthing station just to see Jed get off the bus, with his dog in one hand and his basket of birds in the other. Gordon told me that even 50 years ago Jed was a hard man to beat and of course went on to win the Pau Grand National. Gordon's first pigeons were mainly Logans, Barkers and Kirkpatrick crosses, as raced by his father and his father before him, and they won at all distances. He joined one of the best clubs on the south coast, the Worthing & Dist. H.S. and his loft was set up for the natural system, with just two sections. He wintered ten pairs of old birds and bred only 12 youngsters, which had to race the programme. Gordon maintains, he was a well trained pigeon fancier long before he was ever let loose on his own, but has made many mistakes since and hopefully learnt from them. His two biggest mistakes were undoubtedly, in the 1970s, making winning his one aim, forgetting that he loved to be around pigeons and being impatient. 

Gordon races his pigeons in partnership with his wife, Delia, and their present loft set up is three sections for racing and a small section for stock birds. The loft is a traditional wooden structure, with a pan tile roof and has stall and open door trapping. He maintains, the most important factor in any loft design is good ventilation and getting rid of the warm, stale air is a must. The pan tile roof provides an excellent way to ventilate pigeon lofts. Gordon uses deep litter in his loft, because it suits his management and he has never had any problem with it. He says it comes cheap; he just pinches Delia’s horse bedding! The old birds are flown on a basic roundabout system, but some years he races on the natural and likes to race both his hens and cock birds. Some of his best results have been won on the roundabout system up to 300 miles and then re-pair for the long distance events. Racing his birds on this method has been very successful for the Marsh loft, having won 1st. Open London & South East Classic Club (twice) and 1st Kent & Sussex Palamos B.B.C. on this system. He feeds a basic mixture with peanuts, linseed and Hormoform added to suit the requirements of the season and the condition he wants to get them in. Gordon says, feeding is an art, but you need to watch your birds at exercise, as they will tell you when you have got it wrong. He never breaks his pigeons down.  Most of his yearlings go to Tours (300 miles), with some going on to Bergerac (450 miles) and all the old birds go to the longest race points. He tries to discover how individual birds do best at the longest races and set them up that way, but the norm going to marking sitting 10 to 14 day old eggs. In the last three years he has been trying to put together a completely new team of pigeons, having taken a two year break from racing, to give time to his family. Gordon says, he owes a lot of thanks to Keith Mott, Alistair Muir, Russell Broad, Brian Doick, Gavin Mitchell and Roy ‘Mr Eyesign’ Underdown, for their friendship and help in putting a new team together.

The Marsh loft houses about 30 young birds each season and these get plenty of training tosses from Portsmouth (35 miles), and then are sent to Guernsey with the Brighton & Worthing 5 bird club and the L.&S.E.C.C. In the 2003 season Gordon’s youngsters had at least three Guernsey races each, with him dropping only four birds. Last season was the first time he tried the darkness system, and he says, it was o.k., but he thought two moults in one year was too much and will affect the birds as yearlings, so he won’t be doing it in 2004. His youngsters are allowed to mate up if they want, but not many do.

Gordon had the good fortune to take early retirement from work and although he races as Marsh & son, his sons don't take part in the running of the pigeon loft, they prefer football and computers. His wife, Delia, is known by many fanciers, as she started the C.H.A.S.E. Charity Show, which is run every winter at Horsham. Gordon says, she is an excellent stock woman, having spent her life with horses and can pick out a fit pigeon in the basket, and tell him which one will be the first to the loft. In the time that they have been married, they have had pigeons and she has built lofts, cleaned out lofts, trained pigeons, and taken care of them when Gordon has gone away, clocked winners, chased cats and looked good on presentation nights. Gordon says, could I ask for more?

He likes all pigeon races and enjoys winning at any distance, but in recent years has only really raced from over the Channel. He told me one of his best pigeons ever was a dark chequer cock, bred down from the old Marsh pigeons in the 1970s and he flew Thurso seven times (twice on the day), winning on three occasions, also winning 2nd. and 3rd. on two other occasions. His first London & South East Classic Club winner was also from the old Marsh stock and she was a yearling chequer pied hen sent feeding her first ever youngster. Over the years you own many good pigeons, but some you never forget. Gordon says, he has had many thrilling experiences with his birds, but one of the best must be seeing his pigeon on the loft at just after six, on the day of liberation from Thurso and half an hour later seeing his hen arrive, to take 1st. and 2nd. club, only two birds on the day. Winning 1st. Open London & South East Classic Club twice ranks highly in his most thrilling experiences category.

Gordon was the Chairman of the London & South East Classic Club for many years and maintains that too many people join committees just to pursue their own agenda and leave when they are unable to do so. Members empower you to manage! It is for each of us to ensure we make decisions that will move the club forward, whilst keeping it on a sound financial footing. In a big club, such as the Classic, it is almost impossible to get everyone to agree, but then, Gordon sees that as healthy and democracy at work. However, it is important to ensure you carrying out the majorities wish and stays within the rules, they have set. He is a firm believer that the members are the club and not the officers. Democracy is all about choice. Gordon told me he thinks a lot of things have improved over the last 20 years, including faster pigeons, better feeding, better transport and better communications. Sure, we have lost some of the things that many of us saw as good times of yesteryear. We are right to cherish great memories, but the world will move forward with or without us. He says let’s make sure it’s with us or we will be in great danger of becoming extinct!

Well, there you have it, one of the sports gentlemen, Gordon Marsh of Southwater. I can be contacted on telephone: 01372 463480.

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.

19/9/07