MIDLANDS NATIONAL FLYING CLUB

MIKE LAKIN

THE QUEEN'S DIAMOND JUBILEE RACE

A Great Success For The Midlands National Flying Club

The MNFC members and fanciers competing in the RPRA Queen’s Diamond Jubilee race enjoyed a good race from Fougeres and were liberated at 7.10am on Wednesday the 6th June after a one day holdover. At the racepoint it was sunny with a light South Westerly wind blowing and after a quick circle of the area the 5,403 bird convoy were soon off in the direction of the Cherbourg Peninsula.

At the home end fanciers were estimating the anticipated time of arrival and a ‘mile a minute’ day looked a distinct possibilty. This proved to be correct for the leading two birds which arrived home together to the loft of Toddington fancier Ron Fullbrook. In their eagerness to hit the trap one of them literally did hit the trap but was coaxed in to record 1776, 13 yards a minute behind the winner. Both of these birds were bred by the National winning loft of Mr & Mrs Corkett & Sons. This result was a fine reward for the roadwork that Ron and his grandson Mason put in in the build up to the race which the partners had ‘set their stall out’ to win. The loft is situated on the farm of his good friend Chris Gadsden and it was Chris who told me that Ron’s small team of yearlings had been exercising fantastically well but their results on the Widowhood had been very disappointing so the birds were coupled up and the winners were sent sitting 10 days on eggs obviously this was more to their liking and the result was 1st & 2nd SE section & Open MNFC and a Gold Medal, 1st & 2nd Yearling National and the RP sponsored Crystal Decanter, 1st East Midlands Region of the RPRA and 1st Open position in the Queens Diamond Jubilee race which was flown in honour of Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II. I wonder if in all of Ron and Mason’s wildest dreams did they think that this dual performance was a possibility. Well the dream became reality a real fairy tale ending.

Ron & Mason, the race winners

In not only 3rd Open but 5th placing also we find the successful partnership of Chris & Denise Sutton of Markfield, Leicester. This was a super result for the loft and they recorded velocities of 1742 and 1738. Their first timer is a blue 2 year old cock he is a crossed bred Charles Van Lancker x Willy Thas. Both of his parents have won prizes with the club so he is carrying on the tradition. Their second bird is a yearling Dark Chequer hen and will be 1st SC section in the Yearling Classic race.

C. Sutton, 1st & 2nd SC section

In 4th Open and 3rd SE section we see Mr & Mrs George Butts. Their  2 year old Blue Chequer cock will finish 2nd in the Diamond Jubilee race. As they live quite close to the race winner, Jim and Robbie who are making the film to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee race and promote the RPRA ‘future of the sport’ programme, said that we should visit them and we enjoyed a warm welcome and several glasses of ‘single malt’ whisky which certainly warmed the ‘old cockles’ on a rainy day. George told me that his bird was bred by his mate Terry Westwood from Sandy from birds which Terry got from Mick Betts the bird is a Soontjen x Willy Thas. The sire being a g/son of a winner of 13 1st prizes and RPRA award winner. The dam is a daughter of the famed Thas cock ‘Zero’. Many thanks Terry.

Frank Bristow continues his fine winning ways with 6th Open place. Once again I am told it was the same bird that topped the section from Carentan. A yearling hen which was nominated in the Yearling Classic, the QDJ race and the RPRA Tranter Loft Nom kindly sponsored by John Tranter and his family. John also sponsored a Gold Medal to the RPRA. The winner to be decided by a selection panel.

Frank Bristow, 1st East section

Another superb loft performance was put up by Dave and John Hawkins of Dunsville. Not only were they 1st and 2nd North section but 7th and 11th Open a fantastic result on the day to a loft flying over 100 miles further than the race winner their velocities were 1734 and 1725.Their first bird is a 2 year old  Blue Cock and is a Myrtle lofts x J & D Staddon. He is a proven ‘Good Un’ with a string of MNFC placings to his credit which enabled him to win 2nd North Section Ace Bird’ in 2011. Their 2nd bird a yearling hen wasn’t far behind on 1725 and this one is bred from ‘Shadow’ bloodlines. 8th Open is won by Willie Beckett who timed a Blue 3 year old cock.  Willie bird is a Brian Kaid x  Soontjen which has won 7 first prizes including winning earlier this season from Lyndhurst. It was Willie’s first bird from Carentan with the MNFC. This bird is the same way bred as Paul McMillan’s 3rd national Chale young bird winner this loft has been in great form and has topped the fed nine times in the last three years. I am told that this widowhood cock will be going to the Tours National Race unsurprisingly as his number 1 fancy.

D & J Hawkins, 1st North Section

9th Open and 1st NE section is the ‘Rocket’ in the form of Ron Wright of Meden Vale. Ron timed a three year old blue hen bred down from a pair of gift pigeons from Terry Smith of Worksop, and of Timmermins blood lines.

Rocket Ron Wright, 1st NE section

Rounding up the 10th open place is Mr & Mrs Cook, West & Ward from Huntingdon who clocked a two year old dark cock with a velocity of 1730.

3rd SC Section is Wally Gair, Son & Grandson. Their pigeon is a two year old blue cock, and is a cross of Vandy blood which the partners have flown for many years, and is flown on the roundabout system. 

Rounding up the 4th SC section is Smith & Wheeler who timed a three year old checker hen of Janssen blood lines. The sire aquired from the late Derek Stone, and the dam from C & J Wheeler containing the old Geeloger, Arjan Firske lines.  Earlier in the year this pigeon came back from a short race after a hawk attack, was rested and has since been to both MNFC races. The partners would like to thank Claude and John for letting them have the mother to the winning pigeon.

Rounding up the NE Section, in 2nd place is Peter Lee of Warsop with a late bred 2009 cock, raced on widowhood and won 9th section last year from Caretan, and is of the old Lee Bros family past winners of MNFC from Le Ferte.

In 3rd NE Section is G & S Daykin & Son with a three year old chequer hen. She is half Soontjen and quarter Eddy Janseen and Antoine Jacobps. This bird has flown well previously for the partners, and is in fact one of Gary’s favourites.  4th NE Section is Ron & Nigel Dennett, who also timed a three year old hen which was having her 3rd channel race of the year, and was well placed in the Notts Fed from Falaise just ten days previously. The partners are carrying on their good form from last year, when they were the MNFC combined average winners.

In the North West section it marks the return of the Silvester Brothers Carl and Steve who are now flying in partnership with Peter Mellor and it’s good to see the Silverados up with the leaders which will give Steve a huge boost following a rough period. The winner is a yearling Blue w/f and named ‘Mellors Boy’ because Peter had faith in this Staf van Reet cock even when he had a 5 day AWOL after he made a mistake a few weeks ago. Well he has now repaid the faith with interest.

Silvester Bros & Mellor, 1st NW section

In 2nd section is A & S Rushton and they have just joined the MNFC and so they should because they have been flying brilliantly in the North Staffs Fed for a while now. Their bird is a Mr & Mrs Geoff Kirkland based pigeon so will have no fear of channel racing. The Rushtons bird recorded 1677. Just 3 yards a minute behind the section winner.

In 3rd NW section is Mick McGraw and Son 1664. Their pigeon is a 3 year old hen flown on the natural system. She was 6th section in her last channel race. This loft has some good channel pigeons and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them feature well in the next two long races. Cheadle fanciers Prince Brothers win 4th NW section with a 2008  Dark cock which has a good past racing record which includes 3rd Meir Yearling Classic from Messac. It’s sire is a Busschaert and was a winner of the prestigious Meir Yearling Classic a few years ago. While his mother was a good bird being twice 2nd Band C in the MCC. She is a Nauwlaert x Staf van Reet.

Over now to Cleethorpes one of the main fishing areas in the country and we find Roly Rusling who timed a beauty to finish in 2nd East section and an impressive 18th Open placing. The pigeon responsible is a fine Blue cock 4 years old which is a Leo van Rijn x Van Camp. His sire was from the Fountainhead stud while the mother is a Van Camp hen containing the Genie bloodline. The 2nd section winning cock is called ‘Joe 90’ and he is a worthy winner of the North East Region of the RPRA Queens Diamond Jubilee race. Many congratulations Roly.

Kenneth Braithwaite fills the 3rd section place a 3 year old Blue cock doing the damage the bird’s velocity is a very creditable 1684.5. Obviously the sea air must have suited the birds on this occasion as Ken’s loft is in nearby Scartho which is very close to the bird which pipped him in the NE region’s QDJ race but 2nd NE Region is a valiant effort.

4th East section is Smith & Smith of Humberston. The partnership is made up of Tim & Lewis Smith though Lewis now lives and works in Liverpool. So the workload is firmly on Tim’s shoulders. Their bird is a yearling hen named ‘Pokemon Gold’. She is bred from the partners No1 pair the ‘Pokemon Pair’. This hen is young starlet as she has now scored on three occasions with the MNFC.

After the double salvo from Dave and John Hawkins who as well as finishing 1st and 2nd North section also do the same job in the Derbyshire & South Yorkshire region of the RPRA Queens Diamond Jubilee race a memorable dual performance.

4th North section is a grand fancier and this is Mally Robinson who as well as owning a lovely self built set up has some good birds as highlighted by his 5 year old hen which has now won 4 diplomas for finishing in the top 100 Open places. The sort of bird that all fanciers would be happy to own. She was bred from birds off Ken Lifsy of Knottingley when when Mally restarted in the sport a few years ago. She was raced from his old address in Epworth before being resettled in Sandtoft and as can be seen the moved did her no harm!

3rd  North section and just pipping Mally is Bill Hague who as many know has some quality stock, the latest performer being a 3year old Blue cock and a grandson of Gaby Vandenabeele’s ‘Limoges’ 1st National from 13,000+ pigeons and on his dams side he is a grandson of Gaby’s ‘James Bond’ his 1st National Bourges winner. What a living legend Gaby and his fabulous birds have been and as can be seen Bill has from the ‘Dentergem Ace’s’ very best. Bill’s bird was doing 1676. Just point 1 of a yard in front of Mally’s hen.

Moving to the South West we see Shaun Bowden and his son Daniel who saw a yearling chequer hen home flown on the roundabout system and kept boxed during the week I was told by Shaun obviously a little ‘solitary’ did this young lady no harm. She is a from a good breeding Busschaert cock which has already sired a winner at Fed level x with a Janssen hen from Ray Bratt. It was a good day all round for the partners as they also clocked a 4 year old slatey hen  doing 1664 which will be 2nd in the West Midland Region Nominated race. The Bowdens were full of praise for the fantastic condition their birds were in on their return from the race testimony to both the Geraldy transporters and our convoying team. So ‘take a bow’ lads.

Shaun & Daniel Bowden

This is an opportune moment to talk about the West Midland regions QDJ race winner which is Bernard Bemowski of Grendon who timed a yearling blue widowerhood cock on 1700 to finish 5th SC section. The bird is of the old Vandevelde breed going back to when Bernard used to fly with his dad and grandfather as F. Albrighton and sons. This cock has been consistent all season and his brother was provisionally 16th section in the NFC a couple of days prior to the Queens Diamond Jubilee race. I am told that his dam was a ‘good un’ with 4 section diplomas in the NFC. Like all of the other regional winners who competed with the MNFC Bernard will receive a lovely trophy off the club to mark his win. We hope that they will all be in attendance at this years Gala Presentation at Doncaster racecourse on the 1st December for what we believe will be the best MNFC presentation ever as the venue is quite simply awesome.

Back now to the South West section and in 2nd place is Paul, Brian & Wendy Hyatt following on from their 2nd Open placing in the previous MNFC race. Obviously these guys are ‘hot to trot’ at the moment as this result abundantly proves. Their first timer a 2 year old blue w/f cock is a M & D Evans  Vandenabeele, the sire being a son of ‘Benson’ and the mother a daughter of ‘Red Eye’ and he has won both as a young bird and a yearling when he crossed the channel on six occasions. I’m sure he knows his way home then. I for one expect to hear more from this friendly family from Tewkesbury in the near future as Brian the senior partner showed me a lovely hen that he said would feature at the top of the result from Bordeaux this year!

3rd SW section is J. Madgin and his son Lee who clocked a yearling cock bred by their friends Richard Owen and Ken Hoggarth of Holyhead and it is bred down from pigeons from Peter Fox’s Syndicate Lofts and everyone knows about the quality of the birds housed at that establishment. In 4th section it was a quick return to  Jonathan Hamphlett as we were at his and his dad Harold’s  lovely homes only a couple of days previously along with Jim Jenner filming for the ‘Queens Diamond Jubilee’ film which I believe Jim is giving  the title of the ‘Queen’s Wings’. It will be a cracking piece of  work I’m sure and is hopefully going to be reviewed at the ‘Old Comrades’ show at Doncaster in tandem with the club’s presentation. I can’t wait to see Jim’s latest pigeon movie as not only is it highlighting the race but more importantly we feel the very ‘future of our sport’. Anyway back to the report. Jonathan’s bird is a 3 year old Robert Venus ‘Magestic’ lines x Kellens red cock. This bird is no stranger to the leaderboard as he has scored previously at both Cholet and Saintes with the NFC.

Now on to the West section winner and the loft that ‘you ignore at your peril’ which is Dave Gamble’s. Dave timed in a 2 year old Peter Van de Merwe x his old ‘Benson’ line. Which was a fabulous Van den Bosche based cock which was a super breeder for Dave and filled his loft with quality winning birds. Proof of the latest section topper is the fact that her nest mate won 1st section with the MNFC from Falaise as a young bird. Well done Dave and keep smiling mate.

Dave Gamble, 1st West section

In 2nd West section slot is the Birkenhead loft of Jones & Thomas another of those very successful scouser loft. This 3 year old blue chequer hen in 2011 won 3rd Western region Award. Sadly Robbie’s partner Carl passed away last month and he would have been very proud of this lastest performance by one of their good pigeons. It’s at times life this that life is put in true perspective.

One of my mates in the form of Alan Atkinson wins 3rd section with a little hen from his Gevaert cock ‘72’ and his good ‘blue pied hen’. She is a previous winner for Alan as a baby she was lost from a race but returned in October which proves that it pays not to condemn a youngster that makes a mistake as they often learn from it. 4th section in the West is the partnership of Bauress & Morray of Liverpool. The pigeon is a 2 year old hen bred from a pair of direct Verheyen & son birds purchased from their stock loft. The cock being a son of ‘De Kopologies of 98’ which won 12 x 1st prizes in Belgium. So once again it’s all about quality stock.

Finally I would like to give a mention to the remaining Regions which had birds in the MNFC race first of all the South West Region where we saw guest flyers Crowley & Green claim the first placing. These people need no introductions as they are often present in the Classic race results and usually near the top of them! Well done and I hope that you enjoyed flying with the Midlands National Flying Club. Their placing and velocity of 1695 was excellent considering their location. The remaining regions which we have ‘adopted’ are the Western and Southern Regions as we felt that though this wasn’t their official Jubilee race that due to so many of their members being MNFC members also that we would include them and although I could be wrong I believe the likely winners are first of all the Western Region the Macclesfield loft of Rick Geary and son who timed a Blue Pied cock for a velocity of 1651. Nice one Rick. The Southern region is won by Michel & Rene Houpe of Whaddon who had a great race with several birds in the top placings of their region. Their first bird being a 2 year old blue cock which will win the partners a handsome trophy.