“ON THE ROAD” WITH KEITH MOTT.

Scotland home of the long distance champions. (Part 5.)  

The late, Dale Newcombe of Macmerry.

In January 2009 I was very sad to read the bad news in the BHW of the passing of one of the very best long distance fanciers north of the border. Of coarse I’m talking about the late great Dale Newcombe of Macmerry in East Lothian, who was from an outstanding pigeon family which had won the SNFC ‘Kings Cup’ from Rennes (543 miles) four times. Dale’s father is famous through out the pigeon racing world and was voted ‘British Fancier of the Year’ seven times. Eddie won countless open positions in the SNFC, including 1^st open Rennes ‘Kings Cup’ National (twice), 1^st open Cheltenham Young Bird National and 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd open Sartilly National. Eddie has now retired to Malta and is now racing with outstanding success out there.

Dale started up in pigeons in 1969 as a school boy and was only interested in the long distance National races. Dale’s Kardale Lofts were full of quality pigeons and he was twice winner of the S.N.F.C. ‘King’s Cup’ Rennes race in 1981 and 1993. In over 110 years of the SNFC Rennes ‘King’s Cup’ races, only three fancier have won the event twice, with Eddie and Dale being two of them. The third double ‘King’s Cup’ winning loft, being that of the late, great John Wylie. Since starting racing in the SNFC in 1971, Dale had won well over 280 diplomas, with many of them being placed in the first few in the open results. He had been ever present in the SNFC results winning: 14 times in the first six open, 22 times in the first ten open and a fantastic 86 positions in the first fifty open. He had won two Louella Pigeon World motor cars and total cash winnings in the SNFC being about £34,000. A wonderful record!

Dale raced 40 pairs on the natural system and they were paired up at the end of February with the long distance Nationals in mind. The racers started the season with a few 40 mile training tosses, then, they were raced through to Stafford (210 miles) to get the team fit. They were given about eight more tosses from 40 miles and then set down to hatch on the day of the first long distance National race. Dale had outstanding racers of both sexes, but said his hens were best, with both his ‘King’s Cup’ winners being females! He fed a basic mixture, but added maple peas and peanuts for the distance racing and fed them to the old and young birds. His very smart loft was very large and was built by his father in 1966. The brick building had four massive sections for the racers, two for the stock birds and the birds trapped through sputniks.

Some of the champion racers we handled on our visit to Kardale Lofts were, ‘Kardale Regatta’, a mealy pied hen, winner of 211^th, 126^th, 154^th and 6^th open SNFC Rennes (543 miles) and a Gold Award winner. This apple bodied hen was bred from the very best National winning lines and won over £4,000, with her best nest condition being due to hatch the day of liberation from Rennes. Dale told me this great hen was probably his best bird at that time. ‘Kardale Region’ a blue cock winner of 4^th, 58^th and 104^th open SNFC Sartilly (500 miles). ‘Kardale Max’, a red chequer cock, winner of 15^th open SNFC Sartilly in 1995 and 16^th open SNFC Nantes (603 miles). Then nine days later 93^rd open SNFC Sartilly in 1996. ‘Kardale Starmist’  a blur chequer cock winner of 6^th open Young Bird National (259 miles) in 1993, 17^th open SNFC Niort (672 miles) in 1996 and 8^th open SNFC Nantes (603 miles) in the 1997 season. A fantastic team of pigeons!

Dale kept 50 pairs of stock birds which were paired up on Boxing Day and these were kept on straw litter in the two very large stock sections. He never used nest bowls, the birds were very happy to nest in the corner of their box, with an endless supply of clean straw. When Dale brought in pigeons for stock he liked to obtain children of Scotch National winners, preferably ‘King’s Cup’ winners. He was not bothered by type and said eyesign was just a fad. He bred 120 young birds to race each season and if they were fit they all went to the young bird National to test them. The youngsters started their season with six training chucks from 40 miles and after their first race from 60 miles, and then went right through to Worcester (260 miles). The young birds didn’t have their own sections and they ran with the old birds in the natural racing partings. They were fed on the same corn as the old birds, with peanuts being added for the National race.

The late, Mat Jamieson of Annan.  

This week I have the very great pleasure of featuring one of Scotland's all time 'greats' of long distance National racing, the late, great Matt Jamieson of Annan. He started up in the sport in 1937 as a 15-year-old lad and he was brother to John Jamieson and uncle to Billy Jamieson of Annan. The name Jamieson has been at the top of long distance racing in Scotland for many years and must rate as one of the premier families of National racing in Scotland of all time. Matt's uncle raced pigeons in the 1920s, packing up in 1930 and the Jamieson Brothers re-stocked him with gift pigeons in 1946. Matt bred his uncle a blue hen in 1948 and he won the S.N.F.C. with her in 1950. Matt's own record in long distance national racing is fantastic with the following open positions: 1^st (three times), 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th (twice), 7^th, 8^th (three times), 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th (twice). A brilliant record!

Matt's three national winners were: Champion ‘Border Prince’, mealy cock, 1^st open Sartilly S.N.F.C, Champion ‘Border Princess’, red cheq hen, 1^st open Nantes (540 miles) S.N.F.C, Champion ‘Border Star’, mealy cock, 1^st open Nantes S.N.F.C. This mealy cock is the grandsire of the other two national winners ‘Prince’ and ‘Princess’.

The base of Matt's loft was the Logan, Osman and Barkers, which were obtained just after the Second World War and with the odd cross obtained through the years, were the pigeons he raced with outstanding success. Matt said on my loft visit, that one of the pillars of the present day family is the blue cheq white flight cock, 52 S 641, and he also had a wonderful racing record winning - 1954: 143^rd open Rennes S.N.F.C, 1955: 1^st sect, 6^th open Nantes S.N.F.C, 1956: flew Nantes smash race; 1957: 49^th open Nantes S.N.F.C, 1958: 47^th open Nantes S.N.F.C, 1959: 29th open Nantes S.N.F.C. The Jamieson set up never included a stock loft and Matt told me he paired his several stock birds to racers to give them a safe mate.

On my visit to Annan I had a nice chat with Matt's brother John, and he told me he was John Kirkpatrick's milkman and he purchased a youngster from him, which turned out to be a goldmine. John started up in pigeons in 1935 and on joining the Royal Marines in 1938 had a layoff, to re-start again in 1946. His first pigeons were the Putmans, but he could not get them from over the Channel, so he purchased the youngsters from John Kirkpatrick in 1949 and she was the mother of John's loft. He says he is a great believer in racing hens on the long distance and his record in the S.N.F.C. is brilliant, winning 1^st Section eight times; 1971: 1^st open Nantes (540 miles); 1972: 2^nd open Nantes; 1973: 6^th open Nantes. A brilliant fancier, who was only interested in long distance National racing.

Matt raced on the natural system and paired up the first weekend in March, breeding 30 youngsters for himself each season. His 24ft loft was sited in a horse field and it has three sections, with open door trapping. Matt said after a long winter off the racers have cobwebs in their heads and need a few training tosses to clear their brains and get back in the swing of racing again. His old birds were given several 40 miles training tosses and about four short races for their preparation for the first national races. He told me training is very hard with so many hawks and falcons in the local hills, and he had lost over 30 birds to hawks, including two of his national winners. He fed a heavy mixture of 35% peas, 35% maize, 15% .beans, 15% wheat, which he said was far too heavy for club racing, but suited him for national long distance racing. On looking in Mat’s wonderful old loft I noticed how contented the inmates looked in their nice enclosed nest boxes.

Matt showed me one of his best racers, a blue hen, granddaughter of Champion ‘Border Princess’, and she had won - 1994: 2^nd open Nantes S.N.F.C. (by 40 miles), 1995: 11^th open Niort (612 miles) S.N.F.C, 1996: 20^th open Niort S.N.F.C, winning the Best two bird Average with her brother for two years on the trot. Her brother, a handsome red cheq cock, had flown the English Channel just three times recording -1994: .62^nd open Nantes (only 68 clocked in race time in the S.N.F.C.), 1995: 19^th open Niort S.N.F.C. (612 miles). Brilliant pigeons!

Matt was very hard on his young birds and liked them to race the programme up to 200 miles. They were given six training tosses up to 45 miles, then, during the racing season they got a chuck mid-week. The youngsters were fed on the same mixture as the old birds and were raced natural to the perch. If they want to pair up he let them but maintains that he had never done any good with paired up young birds.

Gunn & Cherrie of Roslin. 

Although most of the lofts that I've visited in Scotland have raced on the natural, one that wasn't was Gunn & Cherrie of Roslin, as they race the roundabout system with outstanding success. Tom & David formed their partnership 20 years ago and although they like long distance national racing, they went round about ten seasons ago. Tom has been in the sport 45 years and first became interested when he visited a local fancier's loft as a five year old.

Gunn & Cherrie have won countless positions in their Federation and S.N.F.C, but said their best performance was winning 1^st open Rennes (540 miles) S.N.F.C. Tom said it was a great day to win the National, it was a hard race being in a heat wave and a light head wind. The 1997 season saw them record 5th, 6^th and 7^th open Sartilly S.N.F.C. and this was another hard day for the 496 mile race. The 5^th open Sartilly pigeon was a handsome blue cheq cock bred down from Preece Brothers’ of South Wales, ‘Iron Man’ bloodlines. This game cock had previously won as a young bird.

The race team is paired up early in February and their roundabout system is very basic, racing cocks and hens in the same races. They are fed widowhood mixture, being 'broken' down in the first part of the week, and are never trained after the first race. Birds rear one pair of youngsters before being split three weeks before the first race. They like to compete in all races at any distance, but maintain roundabout is an excellent system for long distance racing. The main old bird racing loft is 30ft long with three sections, one of which is a special trapping section with open doors and has grille floors for easy cleaning. The cocks stay in the nest box section and the hens live on 'V' perches. The family kept is based around the 1^st. open Rennes winner and a good cross is brought in from time to time. Strains mean nothing to them, all new introductions must be from the very best winning lines. The eight pairs of stock birds are housed in a small stock loft with a wire flight, and are fed mostly on beans. They are paired up at the same time as the race team in February, so their eggs can be floated under the racers.

Their 45 young birds are raced right through to 215 miles, with half the team being stopped after four races. The young hens and cocks are housed separately in the racing season, and are put together on marking day to wind them up. They are given lots of training tosses from 15 miles before the first race. On our visit to the Rosin loft we handled most of their premier racers, including the blue hen ‘Duchess’, and she had scored in several national races. She is a granddaughter of the 1^st open Rennes winner and bred down from top Welsh bloodlines.

Billy Jamieson of Annan. 

This week we are going to Scotland, the land of the long distance doos to visit the premier long distance loft of Billy Jamieson of Annan. Bill says he is only interested in SNFC Channel racing from 410 miles through to Niort 600 miles, and since starting upon his own at his present address in 1982 has been highly successful. The name Jamieson of Annan has been famous in Scottish long distance pigeon racing for many years as his father, John, and his uncle Matt were the brilliant Jamieson Brothers. Bill entered the sport in 1959 as partner to his father and flew as Jamieson & Son, with outstanding success, winning their SNFC section eight times and 1^st open Nantes SNFC (543 miles). When starting on his own in 1982 six pigeons came from the old loft and of these two became significant in his present day set-up, being mealy cock '9096' and the grizzle cock. '09299'. These two cocks were sire and grandsire to many outstanding national racers and their bloodlines were mostly Kirkpatrick/Sion and Proctor Smith. Bill introduced birds from Eric Fox of Bakewell in - 1985 and these proved to be an excellent cross, in particular a bad cheq hen bred in 1985. Another important pigeon brought in when forming his present loft of long distance pigeons was a red cheq cock bred by his uncle Matt, direct from his 1986 1st section Nantes SNFC winner. A blue cheq cock that Bill purchased at a local clearance sale bred winners for him up to when he was 13 years of age.

Some of the SNFC trophies won by Billy are: Cameron Trophy – 2^nd open Rennes in 1971, the Tom Buck Trophy in 1991 and again in 1994 for Best Average Rennes and Sartilly Nationals, South Section Average Trophy in 1995 and was Scotland's Own Fancier of the Year in 1991. On my visit to the Annan loft Billy made us very welcome and showed us some of his best racers, including a handsome red cheq cock that had been over the English Channel four times and had scored in the SNFC four times. This game pigeon raced best to ten day old eggs and had  won in 1993: 75^th open Rennes SNFC; 1994: 31^st open Rennes SNFC; 1995: 10^th open Niort (600 miles) SNFC; 1996: 18^th open Niort SNFC - a brilliant racer. Bill says his good friends Ray & Marion Seaton of Annan have bred some good pigeons for him including blue cheq hen '10181', winner of 9^th sect, 14^th open Rennes SNFC; 2^nd sect, 2^nd open Rennes SNFC. Blue hen '10155' winner of 96^th open Rennes, 84^th open Rennes SNFC, also bred a cock to win 10^th open Sartilly SNFC. Two wonderful blue pied hens bred by Tom Gilbertson of Carlisle have bred some excellent long distance racers for the Jamieson loft including: 18^th open Rennes SNFC; 67^th open Sartilly SNFC; 8th open SNFC and 161^st open Rennes SNFC.

Billy races on the natural system with Channel National racing in mind and keeps 28 pairs including stock birds. The yearlings are paired up in the middle of February and they race up to 300 miles, with the old bird racers being paired up a month later. The birds are fed on a first-class mixture of beans, peas and maize and Bill says he is very proud that he has won 47 open positions in the SNFC since starting on his own in 1983. His very smart loft is 24ft long, with clear plastic sheets inserted in the roof to let in extra light. Trapping is through drop holes off a land board which runs the full length of the loft. He keeps about 12 stock birds, but some of these are paired to the best racers, to give them a safe mate for racing. Billy keeps about 36 young birds each season and these are raced natural to the perch. They are given regular training tosses from 45 miles, but Bill maintains he is not a great lover of young bird racing. The youngsters are' never hammered as they are the future of this loft, racing depends on the weather and if racing is too hard, the young bird team will be stopped in mid-programme. Bill's father, John, knew the late great John Kirkpatrick and some excellent birds were bred down from the 'master's' bloodlines. He says when he was a kid he was raised in the pigeon loft, but this has stood him in good stead all his pigeon racing career. Bill is convinced that success is mainly brought about by friendship, when fanciers exchange birds. He likes his birds to be medium in size, with the breeding hens being a little bit bigger, although he has known plenty good long distance racers to be small. He maintains that feeding is an art and he is not bothered if his mixture is polished or not, as long as it is sound. He feeds the birds well and about two weeks before the first National race peanuts are added to the birds' feeding. Condition seed is not given as this is not favoured at the Jamieson loft, although a little linseed is given with the moulting mixture. The youngsters are weaned on maple peas, going over to the main mixture as they start to fly. The birds are flagged around the loft for exercise and are given a lot of training to get them fit for the National events. Most of the training is from Appleby (45 miles) and the old birds usually get three or four races from about 100 miles before the first National races. Billy only sends a small team to the SNFC races, with normally about four birds being sent to the longest race from Nantes or Niort. Although he doesn't send his yearlings past the 300 miles stage, he expects all his old bird racers to have a National position by the time they are three years old, or they are got rid of.

He says his birds have a quick natural recovery rate after a hard race and are not given any special treatment to aid their recovery, just allowed to rest. He is not into the eyesign method, although he never pairs together birds with the same eyes and when looking at the wing, he likes to see a good space between the last three flights. When selecting breeders Bill looks at the bird's throat and likes to see a nice pink throat, with an open slit in the roof of the mouth. Bill doesn't favour the closed in type loft and maintains good ventilation in the loft is vital to maintain good health in the birds and' one third of the front of his garden loft is open. Bill's loft has quality in great depth, with many premier prize-winning pigeons living in it. Some of the best were: grizzle hen '9214' winner of 3^rd open Sartilly SNFC; 206^th open Sartilly SNFC. Grizzle cock '9220' winner of 167^th open Sartilly SNFC; 27^th open Sartilly SNFC; 114^th open Sartilly SNFC; 27^th open Nantes SNFC and The Pied Hen, 168^th open Sartilly SNFC; 59^th open Sartilly SNFC; 9^th open Solway Federation Sartilly; 10^th open Rennes SNFC. Brilliant pigeons and a great fancier!

Eric & Nick Yule of Aberdeen.

The 2020 BHW Blackpool Show attacked a show entry of 2,000 birds and ‘Supreme Champion’ and ‘Best in Show’ over all was won by a handsome racing pigeon blue chequer cock named ‘Pole Dark’, which also won ‘Best Racer in Show’ and was owned by Eric and Nick Yule of Aberdeen in Scotland. Eric and Nick continue the Scottish dominance of the ‘Supreme Champion’ trophy at Blackpool, with McCord & Turpie winning it in 2019, and John & Alice Bell winning it in previous years.

Eric Yule has been racing and showing pigeons many years and his son, Nicky, has always taken an interest in his dad’s hobby and joined the present day partnership when he was 13 years old. Eric races 40 pairs on the roundabout system and keeps 20 pairs of stock birds. Nicky is the show man and picks out pigeons to exhibit and conditions then at his loft. Nick’s show loft is separate from the racers and it has four sections, all with deep litter on the floors. He told me that in his opinion, the loft design has no consequent as long as it is clean and dry, and there is no big secrets in winning, dedication brings you success with pigeons. The more you put in the more you get out! His first pigeons were Kirkpatrick crossed with the Ko Nipus pigeons, and in the early days the young Nicky was very influenced by the late Bob McDonald’s wonderful racing and showing performances. Nick is a tile fixer by trade and says his biggest thrill in his 31 years in the sport was winning ‘Supreme Champion’ and ‘Best in Show’ at the BHW Blackpool Show in 2020.

The Eric and Nick Yule partnership has an excellent racing and showing record over many years, with the highlights being: 1^st North Section SNFC Rennes (643 miles), three times 1^st North Section SNFC Sartilly (587 miles), 1^st North Section SNFC Frome (415 miles), 1^st North Section SNFC Littlehampton (451 miles), ‘Best in Show’ at the NEHU Show, ‘Best in Show’ at the RP Old Comrades Show, three times ‘Best Racing Pigeon’ at the BHW Blackpool Show, three times ‘Best Racing Pigeon’ at the RP Old Comrades Show and the most recent, ‘Supreme Champion’ and ‘Best in Show’ at the BHW Blackpool Show. A wonderful all round loft performance!

The base family of pigeons at the Aberdeen loft are Bob McDonald and Dickie Greame, with new stock being added every year. Nick told me when selecting a new pigeon to bring in, it has to look good and handle well. He has brought in ten to fifteen birds from Leir Market in Belgium for the last seven years and had winners every season. The racing team have not been paired for the last three years, with the cocks racing to nest boxes and the hen to the perch. They race from the first race through to the last and are fed on a good widowhood mixture, with a pot of Barley in front of them all the time. The birds are parted in early August, to ensure they have a good moult and then get them ready for the shows. During the moulting period they are fed on a ‘moult’ mixture and are given vitamins in the drinking water. Nicky says, he has no really thoughts on inbreeding, as almost all his birds are crossed. He breeds 20 late breds every year and these are trained in the winter mouths of that year.

I have had the great pleasure of  judging several times at the NEHU Show at both Peterlee and South Shields over the years, including ‘Best in Show’ a couple of times. On one occasion that I judged BIS in 2011, Eric and Nicky Yule won ‘Best Opposite Sex’ with their wonderful blue chequer cock ‘Andy Carroll’. This champion cock won many shows and was ‘Best in Show’ at the NEHU Show the year previous, in 2010. I could write all day long about the Yule’s wins at Open and National show, but two other outstand pigeons were: ‘Murphy’ winner of many firsts, including ‘Best in Show’ at the RP Old Comrades Show and ‘The Blackpool Cock’, also the winner of many firsts, including winning first two years on the trot at the BHW Blackpool Show.

I visited Eric's Aberdeen home in 1997 and was greatly impressed by the man and his wonderful team of multi-purpose pigeons, which have excelled at racing and showing. Over the years Eric has recorded many major positions in national long-distance races, with 1996 being his best season, winning 3rd North Section Sartilly (1) SNFC (587 miles); 1st North Sect Rennes SNFC (631 miles); 1st North Sect Sartilly (2) SNFC. At that time the loft had won Best Racer in Show at the BHW Blackpool Show twice and also twice at the RP Old Comrades Show. Eric had had outstanding success with his good Kirkpatrick red chequer cock which won ‘Best Racer in Show’ at both the major shows in one season. A fantastic performance! ‘The Red Cock’ had also been a good racer, winning many cards in races up to 300 miles. At that time Eric's, smart 20ft loft had four sections and the birds were trapped through drop holes. The main loft had a closed-in front to keep the inmates warm and dry and the nest boxes were also very secluded, with hardboard fronts. Eric began in the sport in 1963 with a pair in a rabbit hutch and was only really interested in long-distance racing. His 40 pairs of natural racers were paired up in early February and, after rearing a pair of squeakers, were parted again. They were trained and race the first four races apart, and then were re-paired for the rest of the season, it with the long-distance nationals in mind. The old birds got three 25-mile training tosses every week through the season. The birds were hopper fed a good mixture, with extra maize being added as the distance increased. The star bird on my visit to the Aberdeen loft was a blue chequer cock and he was a blend of several top long-distance families which run through the loft. This cock had won several cards racing, including 1st North Section, 85th open Rennes (SNFC) 631 miles, being sent feeding two big youngsters. A good type as well as good performance was preferred when selecting stock birds. Stock birds were paired up the same time as the racers so their first round of eggs could be floated in the racing loft. Since my visit to their loft in 1997, Eric and Nicky have won it all, including ‘Supreme Champion’ and ‘Best in Show’ at the BHW Blackpool Show in 2020.

That’s it for this week! This is the last of our Scottish specials and I hope you have enjoyed our look back some of my loft visits north of the border. If you need to contact me, my phone number is: 01372 463480 or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT (www.keithmott.com).