“ON THE ROAD” WITH KEITH MOTT.

Three Borders Federation (Yeovil 2 Race).

It was another early morning liberation for the Three Borders Federation young birds at Yeovil for the fourth young bird race, with Dom McCoy releasing the 593 birds at 07.00hrs in a strong south west wind, with sun shine on the baskets. The 2023 racing season is banging on and the Federation Saturday team have produced some great racing so far this year, with the Yeovil race being no exception, with members enjoying a good race with excellent returns. The Ashridge ‘master’, Terry Goodsell won the race, recording his fourth Federation winner of the season and chalked up 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, 7^th Federation. Terry’s loft has hit some great form again this season and has previous won the Federation from Wincanton, Honiton and Yeovil with the old birds. He has won the Federation 'Individual Points Trophy’ several times in recent season and at time he is ‘red hot’ favourite to win it again with 70 points in his bag. The Mitcham partnership of Holden & Pratt had a good race following up behind Terry on the Federation result and recoded 8^th, 9^th, 10^th, 11^th, 12^th, 24^th, 25^th Federation Yeovil. Brilliant pigeon racer!

The first ten in the Yeovil Federation result were: 1) Terry Goodsell 1748: 2) Terry Goodsell 1747: 3) Terry Goodsell 1747: 4) Terry Goodsell 1746: 5) Terry Goodsell 1746: 6) Terry Goodsell 1746: 7) Terry Goodsell 1742: 8) B. & K. Holden & Pratt 1741: 9) B. & K. Holden & Pratt 1741: 10) B. & K. Holden & Pratt 1741. This was race number sixteen of the season and at this point the Esher club are leading for the ‘Federation Points Trophy’ with 57 points, with the Ashridge club being R/U on 55 points.

Year in and year out a name that is consistently in the Federation and Combine results is that of Terry Goodsell of the strong Ashridge club. The club has only been formed for several short years, racing in the Three Borders Federation and Terry is one of the main ‘cogs’ running this very successful new pigeon racing club. I have known Terry since the mid 1970’s and he has rarely had bad season in all that time. Terry started keeping pigeons at the age of ten, at which time he used to help his friend to clean out his father’s pigeons and became interested. His uncle built his first loft which was 8ft x 6ft and his first birds were obtained from the late Alf Neal of Mitcham and some youngsters of the Sion strain from G. Lay. Terry told me, Alf Neal gave him a lot of help to get started and Bill Shepherd’s great performances always stood out in his mind as brilliant in those early days. He had been racing ten years, being a member of the Mitcham Common Club from the start. Terry had raced widowhood for five years, beginning with a basic system according to the book and along the way the finer points had been picked up through trial and error. The Goodsell lofts housed some of the Billy Shepherd of Mitcham pigeons and Terry told me that Billy had been a great help with advice since he started up.

Terry was a pioneer of widowhood racing with cocks in the Surrey area in the 1970’s and won everything in front of him. I have heard of some bad luck since I started up in our sport, but Terry Goodsell’s 1979 racing story of twice being beaten on decimals for 1^st open S.M.T. Combine must take the cake. In fact Terry had been 2^nd open Combine three times in three years as in 1977 he was 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th club, 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th Surrey Federation (3,060 birds), 2^nd, 3^rd, 5^th, 6^th, 7^th open SMT Combine (7,787 birds) Plymouth. The sad fact about Terry being 2^nd open SMT Combine twice in the 1979 season was that he was beaten twice by club mates and was thus pushed into 2^nd club, 2^nd Surrey Federation. He was premier prize winner in the very strong Mitcham Common Flying Club in 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1978 and had lifted the highly rated old bird points trophy three times. Terry won the Surrey Federation points trophy in 1977 when he was the Federation top prize winner and was third highest in the 1978 season, when he won the Inland Average Cup. He was highly rated by many premier Surrey fanciers and although he was mostly known as a sprint fancier, he chalked up 2^nd open SMT Combine Bergerac (455 miles) in 1979.

The Goodsell pigeons in the 1970’s were raced on the widowhood system and Terry said he liked to keep the widowhood cocks warm in the loft. The families raced then were Roosenbroeck and Janssen of Arendonk. When I visited the Goodsell lofts 1979 the birds looked really well, despite the moult which had just fallen on them. Terry was very keen on gardening and the lofts and garden were a real credit to him. His daughter, Vicky, was very keen on the pigeons and she trapped then on their return from training. She clocked a 3^rd Federation winner for Terry in the 1979 season. The Goodsell’s had two lofts, the old 16ft x 5ft widowhood racing loft and a new three section 24ft x 5ft loft which housed six pairs of stock birds, young birds and the widowhood hens. All trapping was through open doors and the loft fronts were closed in for warmth.

In those days, Terry was only really interested in the sprint races and paired his racers up the third week in February, with the West Croydon and Selhurst open races in mind. These opens took place before the Federation programme started and Terry sent eight birds to the Selhurst open (300 birds) in 1979 and recorded 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th,  8^th, 9th, 16^th, 22^nd  open and lifted £337. The Selhurst open winner was a yearling blue chequer cock named, ‘Capitol’, which had previously won three firsts. He handled medium long cast and was a Roosenbroeck / Janssen cross. The first pigeon in my hand on my 1979 visit was a seven year old blue chequer cock, ‘Mr. Nice Guy’, another cross, this time Roosenbroeck / Billy Shepherd. This long cast cock had won five times 1^st club, twice 1^st Federation and over £1,000, with his best performance being 3^rd open SMT Combine (7,787 birds) being beaten by a loft mate. ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ was the sire of blue chequer cock, ‘Terry’, the 2^nd open SMT Combine Bergerac winner in 1979. ‘Terry’ was a late bred in 1976 and was sent to Bergerac driving his hen to nest, as Terry let the widowhood cocks have their hens three weeks previous. This cock had a fantastic season in 1979 recording 2^nd Combine Bergerac and 4^th Combine Plymouth and had previously won 1^st club twice. ‘Wizard’ a yearling Roosenbroeck / Janssen blue chequer cock won 2^nd open SMT Combine Plymouth in 1979 and his sire, ‘Janssen’, won 1^st Surrey Federation Weymouth in 1979. Another ‘star’ of the Goodsell loft was the six year old Roosenbroeck blue cock, ‘Billy’, a brother to ‘Mr Nice Guy’ and ‘Capitol’. This handsome cock had won many major positions including 1^st club, 1^st Surrey Federation, 2^nd open SMT Combine (7,787 birds) Plymouth in 1977. The principal pigeon in the stock loft then was a four year old Janssen blue chequer hen named, ‘The Duchess’, and she was a tiny pigeon with a very light eye. This little hen had bred nine 1^st prize winners up to that time and was obtained direct from the Ponderosa.

The Mitcham partnership of Holden & Pratt are up in the Three Borders Federation results every year, but enjoyed a particularly good season in 2022. The Federation were at the Wadebridge liberation site in late May 2022 and in typical Cornish weather conditions, the convoy were liberated in blue sky and sunshine, at 11.00hrs in a West / South West wind. The mighty Ashridge club were back at the top of the Federation result sheet, in the form of their very successful Holden & Pratt partnership. Kevin Pratt and partners won the race with their outstanding Lambrecht mealy pied widowhood cock, the ‘Forgotten Cock’, which has won many other premier positions in 2022 including: 1^st Federation Wadebridge (491 birds), 8^th Federation Okehampton (459 birds) and 9^th Federation Honiton (545 birds).

Kevin Pratt started up in the pigeon racing sport when he joined the Mitcham Common FC at the age of nine and his firs birds were obtained from Terry Goodsell, Johnny Lay and Major Honey. With a new interest in the pretty long haired type of birds in left the sport for a while and restarted at the age of 23 when he got married, with some super stock birds from Terry Goodsell. Kevin now lived in Croydon and held his own racing in the mighty West Croydon club winning several good races from France, including Niort (400 miles). Later on he joined the Selhurst club where he won eleven races on the trot, inland and on the channel. At that time he owned two widowhood cocks that won 13 first each, one of which was a Staf Van Reet bred by Johnny May. Kevin had a busy work business repairing black taxi cabs and found it hard to find time for his pigeons for a while and in 2013 he invested in the M. & D. Evans / Gaby Vandenabeele pigeons, which won many premier races for Kevin and other fancier he gifted pigeon too. He gifted some to the late Bobby Carter, with one winning seven firsts and a sister to that cock breeding nine individual first prize winner in the stock loft. Another was named ‘The Guernsey Hen’, recorded 25^th open in the BICC and in the following season, Bobby’s sole entry recorded 61^st open BICC Guernsey. The seven times winning cock was named ‘Red Ring’ and he won ‘Pigeon of the Year’ in the South Coast Federation when the birdage was averaging 4,000 birds. Kevin also bought in Gaby Vandenabeele pigeons from Clive Lister which were also very successful.

Kevin then brought in some Lambrecht pigeons from Peter Clarke of Norfolk who he met at the Epsom Show in 2012. Kevin won five young bird races with these birds and they have been gifted to other fanciers, winning many firsts for them. The club secretary, Terry Goodsell, had a mealy cock that won five times 1^st club and three times 1^st Federation and he bred many winners for other fanciers. Kevin main stock pair that he calls ‘The Old Red Pair’ are the parents of Terry’s champion mealy cock and winning trait seems to be ‘mealy’ out of this champion breeding pair. Kevin’s mealy pied cock, the ‘Forgotten Cock’, the winner of 1^st club, 1^st Three Borders Federation Wadebridge, 1^st club, 9^th Three Borders Federation Honiton in the 2022 season was also a son of the ‘Old Red Pair’. Kevin called him the ‘Forgotten Cock’ because on marking night at the Ashridge club for the Wadebridge race, he was putting his basket back in the boot of his car after getting his birds marked and saw there was still a pigeon in the basket. It was the mealy pied cock and he took back in the club house and got him marked. A great story!

Jim Fisk of Guildford.

Jim Fisk had only been in the pigeon sport for eight years, but more or less from the outset he has won out of turn in Federation, Open and National races. He was a self-employed plumber and heating engineer and he once had a job at the home of the late Arthur Bridgewater of Godalming. Arthur got talking about the Bridgewater pigeons and told Jim that his son Paul had won the 1^st open National Flying Cub from Nantes. This got Jim interested and he borrowed books from the local library to get further information before taking the decision to take up pigeon racing. On the advice of the books to purchase good quality stock, he went to Les Davenport and obtained six pairs of the famous Davenport Cattrysse pigeons.

Chas and Stacha Blachuta of Guildford helped Jim out a lot in those early days and in the first season youngsters were obtained from local fanciers to race, so that he could breed from the Cattrysse. The Davenport Cattrysse were the main family kept, with only two crosses, which was a Reg Barker grandson of 'The Leader' and a pied hen which was purchased from John Keane of Godalming. 'The Keane Hen' had no pedigree, but had bred some first class racers including Jim's best racer, the blue hen 'Hot Gossip'. Jim said the Cattrysse were very consistent, but the crosses have given him his top performers. 'The Keane Hen' won 1^st club as a youngster and 3^rd club, 13^th Three Borders Federation in 1972, but had revealed her best at stock. 'Hot Gossip' a small 1975 bred blue hen was a champion racer in the truest sense winning: 1975: 4^th club Avranches (only 7 birds on the day), 1976: 1^st club Bergerac (only 4 birds on the day), 1977: 1^st sect E. (1,603 birds) (only 3 birds on the day in the section) 99^th open (9,243 birds), 1^st Surrey Championship Club Nantes (NFC), 5^th club Bergerac, 1978: 11^th sect E. (1,631 birds) 79^th open (8,659 birds) Nantes (NFC), 52^nd sect E. 224^th open Pau (NFC). 'Hot Gossip' had won over £1,630 at the time of writing. Her sire was a Davenport Cattrysse blue cock, the winner of three firsts on the road, and was a full brother to Jim's great racing cock 'Stoughton Star'. Jim said at the time 'Hot Gossip' gave him his greatest thrill by winning 1^st section E. in the Nantes National, his biggest disappointment was to find his best Cattrysse stock bird dead in the stock loft. This cock was only three years old and had bred three 1^st Federation winners and a pigeon that won 10^th open Young Bird National.

The highlights of Jim's racing career are: 1973: 10^th open Avranches (8,947 birds) NFC, 1^st club Bergerac, 1974: 4^th, 7^th Three Borders Federation Exeter, 1975: 1^st, 2^nd club, 3^rd, 4^th T.B. Federation Exeter, 1^st club, 12^th Surrey Federation Blandford, 4^th Hersham Open Weymouth, 6^th Hansur Open Guernsey, 1^st club, 5^th Three Borders Federation, 7^th SMT Combine Avranches, 1^st club, 1^st  Three Borders Federation Plymouth, 1^st Hansur Open Guernsey (Y.B.), 1^st club, 1^st Surrey Federation (3,415 birds) Blandford, 1976: 1^st West Farnborough Open Season, 1^st club, 7^th Federation Exeter, 1^st club Bergerac, 1^st club, 9^th Federation Exeter. 11^th sect E., 209^th open Pau (N.F.C.), 1977: 1^st sect E., 99^th open, 1^st Surrey Championship Club Nantes (N.F.C.), 1^st, 2^nd Hersham Open Weymouth, 1^st club, 1^st Three Borders Federation Seaton, 1^st club, 1^st Three Borders Federation Weymouth, 1^st club, 2^nd T. B. Federation Seaton, 1^st club, 8^th Federation, 27^th SMT Combine Laval, 1978: 1^st club, 1^st Surrey Federation (2,902 birds) Blandford, 11^th sect. E, 79^th open Nantes (N.F.C.), 224^th open Pau (N.F.C.), 18^th, 26^th open London & South Coast Combine Wadebridge, 3^rd club, 8^th Federation, 22^nd SMT Combine Angers. Jim had been top prize winner in the club several times and was premier prize winner in the very strong Godalming club in 1978.

Jim's son, Jeremy, was his partner with the pigeons and said his wife just counted the winnings. The partners had two lofts, which were sited in a wire fenced compound, which had two live wires around the top of it to keep out the cats. The three section 18ft loft was 4ft off the ground on brick piers and all trapping was through open doors. The stock birds, seven pairs in all were housed in the end section of the loft, the middle section housed the widowhood cocks and the third section was where the approximately 30 youngsters which were bred each year were kept. The other loft was 12ft with two sections and bob wire trapping, this housed the natural and yearling pigeons.

The first pigeon I handled on my visit to the Fisk lofts was a four year old Reg Barker / Cattrysse blue cock called 'Recap' which had won 1^st club, 6^th T.B. Federation Weymouth, 1^st club, 1^st Three Borders Federation Seaton, 1^st Hersham Open Weymouth on widowhood. This ace handled above medium-long cast and had a pearl eye. Jim was very interested in eyesign and said he thought it has something to it, but when people laugh at him, he didn’t push his views. He said at that time the birds were winning with good eyes, it's when they keep losing he would change his views on eyesign. Another good widowhood cock I looked at was a Cattrysse pencil blue cock named 'Riccochet' and he was a full brother to the great 'Stoughton Star'. This seven year old cock handled above medium ­long cast with a yellow racing eye and he won 1^st club Exeter, 1^st club, 1^st Three Borders Federation Plymouth. Jim didn't fly widowhood in 1978 as he said, ‘it wastes good hens and when you own hens like 'Hot Gossip' I can see his point’. Jim went to the stock section to get the great 'Stoughton Star', as although he had won 1^st Surrey Federation Blandford in 1978, he had been retired. This Cattrysse pencil blue had won many major positions on the road including, 10^th open Avranches (N.F.C.), 67^th sect E. Nantes (N.F.C.), 1^st club Weymouth, 1^st club Exeter, 6^th Hansur Open Guernsey, 2^nd Hersham Open Weymouth, 1^st club, 4^th Federation Weymouth, 1^st club, 3^rd Federation Exeter, 1^st club, 1^st Surrey Federation Blandford. He handled medium-long cast and his nest mate was the sire of 'Hot Gossip'. He was some pigeon!

The stock birds were paired up on 14^th February and the twenty pairs of racers on the first weekend in March. The main diet was a mixture of 50% beans and 50% maize, with maples being added in the racing season and a seed mixture was used for trapping. The old birds got five 20 mile tosses before the first race and the channel team got two tosses from the coast each week during racing if possible. The youngsters got regular tosses from 20 miles and some race through to 190 miles, with yearlings racing to Bergerac 450 miles. The local fanciers Jim rated were Mick Worsfold of Woking for his Bergerac performances and Eric Cannon of Wormley for his outstanding National successes. Jim said he selected producers mainly on eyesign, but likes some performance and pedigree to back it up. The stock loft housed some choice birds including, a chequer hen direct from Mons. Beuselinck in Belgium and a direct son of Les Davenport's champion 'Blue Ariel'.

Another Federation winner we inspected was a five year old blue cock named 'Roulette' and he was a half-brother to 'Hot Gossip' and 'Stoughton Star'. He had won 1^st club, 1^st Three Borders Federation Weymouth and he had a nice violet eyesign. One of the Fisk's best channel racing cocks was 'The Combine Cock' and he had recorded 1^st club, 5^th Three Borders Federation, 7^th SMT Combine Avranches, 4^th club Niort, 2^nd club, 12^th Three Borders Federation Avranches. The B.T.B. Combine changed its name in the close season of 1979 and it was then known as the Seven Counties Combine. An amazing 5,353 birds were entered in the Combine's first event of the 1980 season from Laval and were liberated at 8.00 in a light north east wind. The Combine winner was clocked at 13.23hrs by Jim Fisk and won the Three Borders Federation by a clear 7ypm. Jim and Jeremy's star bird was a four year old Cattrysse blue cock called 'Hazard' and he was raced on the widowhood system. From Laval this grand pigeon won the Guildford Club by 79ypm and had previously won: 1977: 1^st club Exeter; 3^rd club, 19^th Federation Weymouth; 1978: 1^st club Exeter, 3^rd club, 8^th Federation, 22^nd SMT Combine (3,520 birds) Angers. 'Hazard' was a brother to the partners' good blue cock 'Recap', winner of 1^st Three Borders Federation Weymouth, 1^st Hersham Open Weymouth, being bred from a Reg Barker Cattrysse cock and a Belgian rung Cattrysse hen. Jim told beginners to be patient and if their stock has it in them they will show it. I thought Jim was a man the novice could take heed to, as his lofts and pigeons were a credit to him. There you have it, Jim Fisk, one the greats of the Guildford area!

Mick and Pauline Worsfold of Bisley.

Mick and Pauline Worsfold enjoyed a good racing season recently as he dose ever year, with a recent high light being the L&SECC Guernsey old hens race, when he had three birds come more or less together to record 11^th, 12^th and 14^th open. First pigeon on the clock was Mick’s good blue hen, ‘Molli’, and she had previously won five firsts racing, including three in the very strong ‘Lion Brewery’ Mid-Week Club. Jamie Berry of Egham gifts the Worsfolds a few youngsters from time to time to try out on the channel and ‘Mollie’ was one of a batch bred by Jamie. All three hens were raced well in that season, but rested for a month before the old hens races and after a couple of mid-week warm up races were sent to Guernsey sitting ten day old eggs. 

Mick is mostly interested in channel racing, through to Palamos and is famous in the Surrey pigeon fraternity for his brilliant performances from France and Spain through the years. His birds are raced on the natural system and are fed a high protein mixture, with the longer Channel races in mind. Mick keeps about 20 pairs of racers, which are paired up any time after 14^th February and although he used to have a few stock birds, he doesn’t bother keeping any these days. He says he tries to compete with the 50 youngsters he breeds each year, but he races young birds only really for educational purposes and some do race up to 200 miles, with yearlings racing through to Bergerac (450 miles). Mick is a great believer in sending young birds across the channel to France. He likes to give the youngsters as many training tosses as possible before their first race and the old birds have two 35 mile tosses every week, during the racing season. The youngsters are raced to the perch and Mick is not a liker of the ‘dark’ system, and told me, he would never use it. Mick buys his corn in bulk when it is at its cheapest and fed beans, peas and maize, with wheat replacing the peas in the winter. Red Band is used for trapping and linseed for the moult. Mick doesn’t show his birds much in the winter mouths, but does a lot of judging, which he enjoys very much. His favourite condition for birds being sent to the long races is sitting ten day old eggs. Most of the training is off the south coast, with the longer channel racing in mind and all the birds, old and young, get as many tosses as Mick and his wife, Pauline, can give them. For many years now Mick’s wife, Pauline, has been his pigeon partner and is a major factor behind his continuing success, with her help with training and the general loft management.

Mick Worsfold had always raced in partnership with his father, George, until his death in the early 1980’s. This was a very unsettling time for Mick and his family, but he decided to carry on with the pigeons although he had to travel several miles to George’s garden, where the lofts were sited. The partners certainly lived up to their nicknames, ‘The Bergerac Aces’, winning countless major prizes in the Combine and National events, including twice 1^st open Combine Bergerac (450 miles). Their first Bergerac Combine win was in the SMT Combine in 1975, with 4,027 birds competing and the star bird was a 1973 bred blue chequer hen of the Kirkpatrick and Bricoux strain. This great hen previously won several top prizes, including 1^st club Exeter, but pigeon racing being what it is, with ups and downs, she was lost from Pau. The main family was Kirkpatrick with Bricoux crosses, and he bought in the old fancied pigeon now and again to try out. A firm favourite at the Worsfold loft was a mealy cock called, ‘John Courage’, and what a great pigeon he was! He flew the channel over 20 times. In his prime he flew in five Nationals and was never beaten by a loft mate in those five races. This wonderful old timer was also an outstanding breeder, siring many good racers including a yearling which won 2^nd club, 23^rd open SMT Combine Bergerac. ‘John Courage’, on his many channel crossings chalked up many major positions including: 1^st club, 3^rd Federation, 5^th open SMT Combine (7,003 birds) Avranches, 1^st club, 3^rd Federation, 5^th open SMT Combine (4,234 birds) Niort, 8^th section NFC Nantes and 1^st club Guernsey.

The 1976 season saw the Worsfold partnership win the combine from Bergerac for the second time, but another highlight of that year was when they won 1^st club, 1^st Surrey Federation, 5^th open SMT Combine (3,801 birds) Laval, with the blue chequer cock, ‘Vacation’. This Kirkpatrick / Bricoux was a brother to the 1975 Bergerac Combine winning hen. Behind every great racing team you normally find a good stock team and the Worsfold’s stock loft was no exception. At one time Mick turned down a very good offer for his Kirkpatrick red pied stock cock, ‘Sir Duke’, which was the sire of countless winners, including ‘John Courage’. The old Bricoux blue chequer cock, ‘Fall Guy’, was another great racer. When he was retired to stock, he bred ‘Vacation’ and the 1975 Bergerac combine winning hen. Mick said that George’s favourite pigeon was the grizzle Kirkpatrick stock cock, ‘Sidney’, bred by Sid Allcock, which had flown the channel 20 times in his racing career, but had excelled as a breeder. On the road he recorded: 1^st club, 12^th Federation (1,628 birds) Weymouth and 3^rd club (beaten by two loft mates), 8^th Federation, 40^th open SMT Combine (4,003 birds) Bergerac. At stock he bred many winners, including, ‘Rowdy’, the 1978 Bergerac BTB Combine winner. The Kirkpatrick grizzle cock, ‘Rowdy’, in his build up to winning the combine that year he had six channel races. This champion cock’s full racing performance was 1^st club, 1^st Three Borders Federation, 1^st open BTB Combine (1,852 birds) Bergerac, 1^st club, 7^th Federation Exeter, 4^th club Angers, 6^th club Niort and 27^th open London & South East Classic Club.

The late George Worsfold had kept pigeons for many years, but at one time he had a long spell in hospital and young Mick had the job of looking after the birds. Mick was about 15 years old at the time and had to sell the pigeons because of a shortage of cash. Two years later, when things sorted themselves out, George and Mick started up again as partners. The original birds were Bricoux / Sion, which Mick obtained from Amos Foster of Chertsey and in the late 1960’s the Kirkpatricks were brought in from J. Johnson of Larne, Northern Ireland. Mick says he looked up to Les Davenport and the late Eric Cannon of Wormley as his ideal fanciers and maintained, if he had been to be second to any fancier in the National result, it would be Eric Cannon. He is 100% channel minded and maintains that if he couldn’t fly the channel he would pack up pigeons, as inland racing doesn’t give him any thrill whatsoever.

Since George’s death, Mick has continued racing the Kirkpatricks with outstanding success, winning 1^st Federation inland and many times from France. In recent seasons he has won 1^st open British Barcelona Club (twice) and 1^st open London & South East Classic Club (twice). Mick said that his loft is more or less all Kirkpatrick now, with the Bricoux greatly reduced. His 1985 1^st open B.B.C. Rennes winner was the Kirkpatrick dark chequer hen, ‘Darkon’, which was a granddaughter of ‘John Courage’. The old mealy cock, Champion ‘John Courage’, was also the grandsire of the Kirkpatrick blue hen, ‘Wombat’, winner of 1^st open L&SECC Guernsey in 1987. The following season this fantastic hen won 1^st open L&SECC in the Poitiers Yearling Derby, which was a very hard race and her dam was a Kirkpatrick blue hen that chalked up 2^nd open SMT Combine Nantes in 1986 for Mick.

Our Mick is one of the great workers in the sport and holds a list of offices, which he works very hard at. His jobs including President and Chairman of the Berkshire Federation, President of the Sunningdale RPC and Secretary and President of the ‘Lion Brewery’ Mid-Week Club. He runs the ‘Lion Brewery’ like clockwork and the club has enjoyed some brilliant times in recent seasons under his good care and due to his hard work! He thinks the ETS is the way forward in our sport and he says it disappoints him to see the low birdage in some of the long distance races these days. He told me although his great champion ‘John Courage’ was a late bred, he has no real use for them and only breeds a few if he has had bad losses in the young bird season. Mick says the south of England has been the home of many brilliant pigeon flyers over the years including: Eric Cannon, Les Davenport and Bobby and Ken Besant, but the best of the modern day crop is his club mate, Mark Gilbert of Windsor.

Mick has been a good friend of mine for most of my time in the pigeon racing sport and he is a great guy. With Mick, a spade is a spade, and what you see is what you get. No flannel. There you have it, Mick Worsfold, a brilliant channel racer!

Eric & Jamie Tate of Chertsey.

The father and son partnership of Eric & Jamie Tate of Chertsey had only been in the sport since 1985, but had chalked up many major positions in the Federation, Combine and National. At club level they had won an amazing forty six times 1^st, forty eight times 2^nd, forty five times 3^rd and thirty seven times 4^th since 1985 racing in the very strong Sunningdale RPC (Three Borders Federation).

In 1984 Eric caught the pigeon bug when he purchased two pet birds for his daughter Kellie, and in turn he got interested. His first pigeons he had to race were purchased from the pigeon shop in Chertsey, then run by Roy Bishop, plus a late bred from local fancier Paul Johnson. The Johnson pigeon was still in the loft on my visit, racing very well and in fact it won the last old bird race inland in 1988. The main pigeons he had at the start were Secretins from Eric Higginbottom of Sandhurst and Marshall, Evans & Allan of Bristol. Eric said these pigeons won for him in 1985 as young birds and were still winning in 1988. Eric was introduced to Eric Higginbottom by his workmate Alfie Taylor of Frimley, who was a great help to Eric on starting up in pigeon racing. In 1985 the Tates raced two old birds, the Johnson late bred and an old broken in hen and started properly with a full team of young birds that year, when they lost their novice status. In the early days he got a lot of encouragement from the late local ‘ace’ Fred Elliott, who Eric regarded as the best fancier in the area. His first loft was a second hand wire fronted Natural loft and said his main mistake in those early days was over-feeding. Eric still regarded himself as a novice and said he still made plenty of mistakes at that time.

Some of the partner's best positions were: 1^st sect, 6^th open Guernsey (8,500 birds) N.F.C., 10^th sect, 17^th open Rennes (6,250 birds) N.F.C., 11^th open Rennes B.C.C., 7^th open Nantes B.B.C., 5^th open Combine (3,717 birds) Weymouth, 4^th open Combine (3,929 birds) Rennes, 1^st Hersham Open Weymouth, 8^th open Combine (3,943 birds) Plymouth and several times 1^st Federation. Eric said his biggest thrill was in 1988 when he sent one bird to the very hard B.B.C. young bird Rennes race to record 9^th sect G, 11^th open from 840 birds and lifting £164.

The Tates had several very neat lofts which were self-built and closed in with Sputnik traps. Eric said the main features are dryness and contentment for the inmates. Up to 1988 the partners kept ten pairs of stock birds, 16 pairs of racers and bred about 50 youngsters each year. The winter of 1988 saw 25 pairs of stock birds introduced, mostly Janssens from Louella Pigeon World and Alec Martin of Godalming. The stock birds were housed in a new loft with open wire flights and when I visited the Tate's home in mid-January they had 25 pairs of youngsters in the nest almost ready for weaning. All the old birds, stock and racers, were paired up at the end of December. Widowhood was the main system raced, although they did practice some Natural racing, having recorded some excellent performances with hens. Jamie said in 1989 they were trying the Roundabout system so as to get the best of hens and cocks.

Eric took over the Chertsey pigeon shop from the late Roy Bishop (Pigeon Racing Gazette) when he moved to Plymouth, which was then his main occupation, and he supplied the local fancy of all their needs. He said he was very lucky as the whole family were very interested in the pigeons, sometimes over enthusiastically. Many's a time while he had been out they gave the birds a bag of corn!

Probably the best racer in the loft then was the handsome Secretin blue chequer cock 'Bullet' and he had chalked up 1^st club, 1^st Three Borders Federation, 4^th open Combine Rennes; 1^st Hersham-Weymouth Open and three times 1^st club Weymouth. 'Bullet' was sire of many winners including one of the loft's best 1988 youngsters, 'Young Bullet', winner of 9^th sect, 11^th open Rennes B.B.C., 89^th open Guernsey N.F.C., 1^st Surrey Championship Club Guernsey; 8^th Hersham Weymouth Open; 3^rd Havant Guernsey Open flying Guernsey three times as a young bird. Another ‘ace’ young bird in 1988 was the Janssen blue chequer cock 'Rocky' winner of 1^st club, 12^th Three Borders Federation Blandford.

Eric said the Secretins were good right up to 450 miles and he had crossed them with the Vanden Bosch / Janssen and produced some good hens for hard days. The furthest the old birds were sent was 550 miles, with selected yearlings racing to 460 miles and young birds raced the programme to 230 miles. A good clean mixture was fed and generally Eric liked birds sitting ten day old eggs for the longer distance races. The partners worked the birds when it was needed; Jamie maintained that rest was just as important as hard work. Eric was secretary of the Chertsey midweek club and said he kept out of pigeon politics as there were too many people just looking for power, who never race pigeons themselves properly.

The loft, although racing widowhood, housed some outstanding hens, such as the four year old blue 'Blue Lady', winner of 1^st club, 1^st Three Borders Federation, 8^th open Combine Plymouth, and three times 1^st club Weymouth. Another star was the pied hen 'Eric's Choice' which had chalked up 1^st sect, 6^th open (8,512 birds) Guernsey N.F.C. 1^st club Weymouth; 4^th Hersham Weymouth Open. The partners didn’t consider themselves ‘ace’ showmen, but have shown three times in that winter winning three firsts. Jamie said, "We enter what we think looks good and only take them straight out of the loft". The Tates were not really into eyesign, although they had won some good open eyesign shows. They maintained the main factors behind success was creating a happy environment and a good education for the young birds. Eric said they had bred a few late breds and found that they made good two year old racers. They had never had a flyaway with the youngsters and once weaned got them out on the loft as soon as possible. Granules were used on the loft floors while breeding and they found this kept the loft really dry. The partners had a great crop of youngsters in 1988 and two more good one’s were the pied cock 'Slatey' which Eric said was their most consistent young bird winning a considerable amount of pool money and 'Blue Boy' winner of 1^st club, 6^th Federation Guernsey. Jamie said success in pigeon racing was down to good birds and dedication; you only get out what you put in. There you have it, Eric & Jamie Tate!

That’s it for this week! Well done to Terry Goodsell for his fourth Federation winner of the season! Great pigeon racing mate! If you win and want a write up in this space, contact me on telephone number: 01372 463480 or email me on: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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