A TRIBUTE TO MAJOR HONEY OF MITCHAM. 

On Boxing Day I receive a text from my old friend, Billy Gardiner, wishing me Happy New Year and giving me the bad news that the Mitcham racing pigeon ‘legend’ Major Honey had passed away the day before. In my time in the sport and as far back as I can remember the Major has been winning at top level in the ‘hot bed’ of pigeon racing in the Mitcham area. He was a wonderful pigeon racer and lovely man!

Major Honey first had racing pigeons on leaving the armed forces in 1947 and this came about when his younger brother brought some birds in to the family garden, and they raced as Honey Brothers. The Major won his first race from Dorchester and has had a lot of success through the years with the Cattrysse pigeons. Going back a few years I can remember him winning many good races, the best probably being his big Nantes win in 1987. The annual Cancer Research Amalgamation race was the idea of Croydon fancier and then RPRA London Region secretary, Vic Farrant. When his wife died of Cancer she left £2,000 and instead of giving the money direct to Cancer Research, Vic decided to start a fund for an annual Cancer Research race. The Amalgamation was formed from three South Road Combines, the SMT Combine, London & South Coast and Middle Counties, with 8,614 birds being entered in the first Nantes race in 1985. The first event received TV coverage with Gil Duncan of Thanet in Kent, winning velocity 1688 ypm. The 1987 event from Nantes saw 5,420 birds entered and because of adverse weather in the English Channel the convoy was held over until the Monday. In spite of a light south west following wind returns were very patchy, with some members not clocking in. Winner was the popular Major Honey of Mitcham, with his yearling gay pied hen, ‘45’, bred by his good friend Danny Moulton from his Cattrysse bloodlines. At that time the Major had been in the sport over 35 year, but told me he had won a few good races, he really just enjoyed his pigeons. He was loft manager for the late, great Alf Pays of the ‘Bee Hive’ PH in Mitcham for seven years and Alf won the NFC Nantes National. The Major had won several good races in his time including 1^st Surrey Federation Avranches (Young Bird) in 1978. He clocked a bird on the day from the NFC Pau National in 1964 and was very upset when a cat killed the pigeon the following week.

Jamie Law, the Major’s grandson has always been close to his grandparents and they formed a pigeon partnership about ten years ago. When Jamie was a lad he spent most weekends with the Major and his late wife, Etty, and they spent most of that time with the pigeons, visiting the racing pigeon club HQ at the ‘Bull’ PH, or on the local lakes fishing. Jamie says they were the best grandparents ever! Jamie says at that time the top local fanciers were Terry Goodsell and Frank Carson, and they are still brilliant pigeon racers today. A few years ago after returning from a trip away, the Major was devastated to find a Fox had entered his loft and killed all his pigeons. This shocking experience really knocked him back and he was on the point of packing the sport up, when Jamie purchased a new loft and pigeons for him, to rekindle his interest. The Fox episode stoked up Jamie’s interest in pigeon racing and in 2011 formed a partnership with his grandfather and erected another loft in his own garden in Mitcham. One of their best performances was when the Three Borders Federation members sent 887 birds to Yelverton and the Mitcham Club dominated the result by recording 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 7^th, 9^th, 10^th, 13^th, 15^th, 16^th, 17^th in the Federation. Fantastic pigeon racing! Major Honey and his pigeon partner, grandson Jamie Law, seem to like the Yelverton race point, winning the Combine from there a couple of seasons earlier and on this occasion recording: 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 10^th, 13^th and 17^th Federation.

The Honey partnership had a third partner in the form of Lennie Graham, who had been a premier pigeon racer in the Surrey area for many years and he helps Jamie out with the training and loft management. They had their first proper racing season in 2012 and raced five old bird widowhood cocks with good success, but their young bird success must be described as fantastic. The Three Borders Federation ‘Individual Points’ Trophy was won in the 2012 season by Major Honey and his grandson, Jamie, in the Mitcham & Morden club. The Major was in his eighties at that time and the Honey & Grandson’s ‘Federation Championship’ performances in the 2012 season were: (OB) 15^th Federation Yeovil (2,055 birds), 18^th Federation Honiton (1,286 birds),18^th Federation Tours (532 birds), 6^th Federation Honiton, (YB) 5^th, 11^th, 12^th, 22^nd, 23^rd, 25^th Federation Blandford (1,001 birds), 4^th, 5^th, 9^th Federation Wincanton (1,228 birds), 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, 16^th, 17^th, 25^th Federation Yeovil (1,047 birds), 19^th, 20^th, 21^st, 22^nd, 23^rd Federation Blandford (1,286 birds), 2^nd, 4^th, 5^th, 13^th, 18^th Federation Taunton (1,272 birds), 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 17^th Federation Newton Abbot (1,145 birds), 1^st, 2^nd, 4^th, 9^th, 11^th, 12^th, 14^th Federation (851 birds), 1^st, 3^rd, 5^th, 11^th, 13^th, 18^th SMT Combine Yelverton. Young bird racing at its absolute best! Major Honey RIP.

 

Keith Mott (December 2021).