SPELTHORNE SRFC PRIZE PRESENTATION

by Keith Mott

The month of February saw the Spelthorne club hold its annual prize presentation at its H.Q. in Sunbury and Reg and Richard Maybey of the Sunningdale were invited along to present the prizes and trophies. About 120 members and guests attended the evening, and a wonderful buffet was put on by Karen, Theresa and Diana. This great club was only formed in recent years and is fast becoming one the premier organizations in the London area, with a pay in the 2007 season of over £2,400. The club won the very strong Berkshire Federation three times in 2007, with Brian and Angela Goodwin winning it twice with old birds and Mr. & Mrs. Peter ‘Fat Wallet’ Mercer topping the Federation from Fougeres. The music for the evening was provided by a very good disco and they played a good verity of sounds. I had little chat with the Maybey family at the presentation and they had enjoyed a great racing season in 2007, winning a fantastic 24 club firsts in Federation racing. Brilliant pigeon flying! The Spelthorne club just missed winning the Berkshire Federation Championship by one point and the member recorded some good performances in the UBI Combine, including Peter ‘Fat Wallet’ Mercer 3rd open and Trevor Cunningham & Phil White 5th open. Aaron Robinson was presented with The Fred Sturgess Memorial Trophy’ for being the club’s sportsman of the year in 2007. Aaron is a young fancier, racing only four young bird races, in this his first season in the club and came down to help out near every Friday and Saturday evening through out the year.  

Premier prize winners for the 2007 season were: 1) Brian & Angela Goodwin, ten firsts and several trophies, including Belgium Young Bird Race Winner and Old Bird Inland Average. The partners won ten of the thirteen old bird races they entered and twice 1st Berkshire Federation: 2) Don Herbert, five firsts and several trophies, including the Old Bird Average, Young Bird Average, Longest Old Bird Race Trophy, The Freddy Vandeheede Championship Young Bird and Longest Young Bird Race Shield. Don also wins one the club’s coveted awards, ‘The Tosser of the Year Trophy’: 3) Mr. & Mrs. Peter ‘Fat Wallet’ Mercer, three firsts and several trophies: 4) John & Darren Watson, two firsts and several trophies, including ‘The Show Cup’: 5) Trevor Cunningham & Phil White, one race first. Trevor is the club’s new secretary and is doing a brilliant job! 6) Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Fowler – the club’s president, one race first: 7) Mickey Nunn & son: 8) Mr. & Mrs. Willy Worley, one race first: 9) George Kimpton.

I think in this great sport of ours, there are many fanciers who achieve success, but fancier who consistently achieve success over many years are not so common. One such loft that has achieved outstanding success at the highest level for well over 30 years is that of the Spelthorne’s 2007 premier prize winners, Brian and Angela Goodwin of Hanworth. In spite of one or two health problems, Brian, had a few races in 2007 and won the Berkshire Federation twice with old birds, winning ten of the thirteen old bird club races he competed in. One of his 2007 Federation winners was the blue chequer hen, ‘My Claire’, bred by Willy Thas of Melle, Belgium. These Thas pigeons are certainly racing well for the Goodwin loft and this game hen has a string of prizes, including 1st Federation Yelverton and 20th Federation Kingsdown. His other 2007 Federation winner, bred by Foxwood Lofts, was the chequer cock, ‘Mercer’, and he topped the Berkshire Federation from Yelverton.

The Goodwin’s breed many winners for other fanciers and in the 2007 season the Charlie and John Cudmore partnership of the Bedfont club won the Federation twice, once with an old bird which also topped the UBI Combine and the other was a youngster. The young bird was a Willy Thas blue hen named, ‘Katie’, which won the Federation from Kingsdown and she was bred by Brian Goodwin from direct Belgium stock birds. The partner’s old bird UBI Combine winner was a Willy Thas blue chequer hen named; ‘Christine’ and she won the combine from Fougeres in France, being sent sitting 12 day old eggs. She was also bred by Brian Goodwin and on her build up to her Combine win she had a couple of inland races, recording 2nd club Kingsdown. The Cudmores have brother to ‘Christine’, bred by Brian and he has been to Bergerac (450 miles) four times with the Classic and has been home four times on the day of liberation, flown natural.

Through the years the Goodwin’s have been well known for racing the Emiel Deweerdt pigeons with brilliant success, but in recent seasons Brian has been over to Belgium and brought back several new strains, which have also performed very well. In the 2006 season, Spelthorne club members, Don Herbert and Peter Mercer, won 1st. and 2nd. open UBI Combine Wadebridge and both these two young birds were bred from Brian and Angela’s Willy Thas stock birds. The Goodwin’s have several Schoors – De Waele of Maidegem in Belgium stock birds which have bred some good winners since they imported them. Brian bred a blue pied cock from these birds, now named ‘Bert’, for A. Hand & son of Feltham and in won 1st. club, 1st. Berkshire Federation, 4th. open UBI Combine Saintes. The Hand partnership are relations of the late Feltham fancier, Bert Hand, who was well known many years ago for his good work for the Old Comrades Show. ‘Bert’ is a wonderful looking cock and was bred from a grand-son of the champion Schoors – De Waele blue white flight cock ‘Den Bonten Vincke’.       

I have known Brian and Angela Goodwin for over 35 years and you couldn't ask to meet two nicer people. The Middlesex couple won 1st Open SMT Combine Bergerac (450 miles) recently and recorded their fourth 1st Open Combine winner in 35 years in the sport. They have won the SMT Combine an incredible four times – from Penzance, Melle and the longest old bird Bergerac race (twice). Brian's latest winner was a little blue Belgian hen raced on the roundabout system having had several good Channel races before winning the very strong SMT Combine from Bergerac. Every now and again he has a trip to Belgium and brings back a few fancied young birds. The blue hen was one of these imports, being purchased at a little loft in Belgium, and he doesn't even know the breeder's name.

The Spelthorne’s 2007 second highest prize winner was the club’s chairman, Don Herbert, and he won 1st open UBI Combine Wadebridge (young bird) in 2006 with a Willy Thas hen. The hen now named “Dinky”, because she is only tiny, was sent to Wadebridge sitting 12 day old eggs. Don tells me, she was so keen, she went straight on her eggs when she returned from the race and only took a drink and some food when her cock bird had also returned home. She had every training toss and race on her build up to her Combine win and Don says the young birds race the whole programme and he never misses a race!

Don is a natural racer and starts to pair up each year on his return from holiday in January. He starts with his six stock birds, then goes on to the 25 pairs of racers. The main stock cock is ‘The Schoorisse Cock’ and his bloodline runs through the whole loft. This premier breeder is of the Gaevart Schoorisse of Belgium strain and won five firsts and 2nd. Federation twice before being retired to the stock loft. The main family kept are the Willy Thas pigeons obtained from Brain and Angela Goodwin of  Hanworth and Don tells me as well as winning the Combine with these birds in 2006, he has also won the Channel Average in the Berkshire Federation. He likes racing from all distances and says he prefers Channel racing, winning two or three races from France every year in the Spelthorne club. Don’s 25ft. two section loft was built by the Sunbury long distance fancier, Les Kid, and is built on brick pillars 30ins. off the ground. It has 25 nest boxes and an open timber slatted floor, with the birds being cleaned out off a concrete slab under the loft once every two years.    

Don started up in pigeon racing in 1950, when he joined forces with his father, Gordon Herbert, who was a very good fancier in his own right and raced in the Hounslow H.S. Gordon who was a natural flyer, liked to race from all distances and won firsts every year. Don started on his own when he got married in 1963, when he moved to Hounslow and flew just around the corner from the great George Burgess, who was a legend in the West Middlesex Federation at that time. Don won his fair share of races in the Hounslow and Isleworth clubs and his best pigeon then was an Alf Baker blue pied hen, that recorded one 2nd. and two 1st. in the longest old bird race from Bergerac (450 miles), three seasons on the trot. Don was a founder member of the Isleworth club and he got the signatures of the first ten members. The Isleworth club didn’t fly in the Federation in it’s first season because it couldn’t afford the charges, but raced all inland race points through to Penzance that year and joint the West Middlesex Federation the following season, and won the Federation Shield.

The Spelthorne SRFC was only set up in recent years and when I asked the now retired club secretary, Darren Watson, when it was formed and said, ‘It was set up in the year 2000 and it was the brain child of Kevin Fowler and Mick Cudlip to start a club with excellent facilities, with a group of members who had no animosity between them. The idea was to start a club where other social events subsidized the members racing costs, with the club paying all the flying members subscriptions’. Only two of the founder members still race with the club, Kevin Fowler, who is the clubs president and John & Darren Watson. The club began racing young birds in the year 2000 with the now defunct West Middlesex Federation and continued to race with that Federation up to the end of old bird racing 2002. At this time the club decided to join the Berkshire & District Federation and have been enjoying racing with them so ever since. The club currently has 15 flying members, having lost a few in the past couple of years due to old age. Members of this club have enjoyed quite a lot of success in both the Berkshire and District Federation and the UBI combine in recent years, with many members topping the Federation and two members topping the UBI Combine. Mickey Nunn & Son from Guernsey with old birds in 2004 and Don Herbert in the 2006 season from Wadebridge. Most members bring their partners along on the Saturday race checking night for a real social get together and which ever member wins, every other member shakes his or her hand, and congratulates them on their success.­

The club also runs various other races within their races. They now hold annually a Young Bird Gold Ring Race and a separate Belgium gold Ring Race, which normally pay out in the region of £500.00. This is on top of a weekly pool of around £50.00. The club have an annual Young Bird Sale, although this was not held last year due to the bird flu scare. Plans are already in place to hold a sale this year. The club also run a series of shows in the winter months, which are popular amongst the members with the pool money often being around £30 to £40 just for the each show! The club also hold a Prize Presentation evening even year with anywhere between 120 and 140 people in attendance.

The Spelthorne is a wonderful family pigeon club and I would like to wish them the very best of luck for the forthcoming season. Well that our article for this week! My phone number is: 01372 463480. See yer!

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.  

28/2/08