Keith Mott writes about winning fanciers past and present...
TRUSSLER BROTHERS
OF WEST MOLESEY
Trussler Brothers of West Molesey were brilliant pigeon racers when I first met them forty years ago, and they are still brilliant today! Dick and Brian win the Federation most seasons and have won the S.M.T. Combine and 1st open London & South East Clasic Club from Bergerac in the 2005 season. In the years I've been racing pigeons I've always looked up to and admired the outstanding success of Dick and Brian Trussler, who have won out of turn at all levels from club to National for many years. Trussler Brothers are one of the all time greats in the Surrey area!
The brothers have enjoyed a brilliant young bird season in 2011, with the highlights being: 1st, 2nd, 9th, 24th Three Borders Federation Taunton (1,525 birds), 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 97th, 117th, 123rd open L&SECC Carentan (young bird), 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 12th L&SECC Carentan ‘Gold Ring’ (£1,070). Fantastic pigeon racing! Dick and Brian’s first two birds on the ETS from Taunton to record 1st and 2nd Federation were both Dave Hawkins / Gaby Vandenabeele ‘darkness’ youngsters raced to the perch, as was the first bird home from the L&SECC Carentan Young Bird Classic. The brothers breed about 60 youngsters to race every season and Dick told me they are trained and raced hard, because they won’t win prizes sitting on their perch. Most of the Trussler’s young birds have had three races from France in the 2011 season and have come through it well with some good prizes.
Dick and Brian have two smart 24ft lofts and race the traditional widowhood system, with 24 cocks. They tried the roundabout system for a couple of seasons, but didn’t like it and returned to their old widowhood system. They are members of several Classic and National clubs and says with the pressure on their cocks with so many races to compete in, they are thinking of increasing their team to 36 birds. They pair up the racers and ten pairs of stock birds at the end of December, and say they never underlay the breeders' eegs under the race birds. The cocks normally rear a youngster before going on the system, but Dick maintains that some years the cocks have not had any babies and have been raced ‘dry’ with outstanding success. The brothers are very selective with pigeons not pulling their weight by the end of their second year and the young birds are sorted out and culled before they start to race. When I asked Dick and Brian what families they race, they said ‘on the main we are always trying out new bloodlines, but at the momment we have Mark Gilbert, Janssens and some very good Gaby Vandenabeele pigeons from Dave Hawkins and M. & D. Evans. Brian says Mark Gilbert of Winkfield is a good friend of the brothers, visiting his loft many times in recent seasons and maintains he is the best pigeon fancier he has met in his years in the sport. Dick told me he thought the late, great Fred Elliott of Thorpe was the best small team fancier ever and Dereck Bellchambers of Brentford was the top man with young birds!
Dick and Brian have been in pigeon racing for 60 years and they tell me they have only been members of three Saturday clubs in that time in the sport. Brian says, like most pigeon fanciers they became interested in the birds as school boys and their first club was the old Molesey club, which raced in the Surrey Federation. The Trusslers started up and joined the Molesey & Dis. HS in 1951 and smashed their novice status in 1953. They were top prize winner in the Molesey Club ten years on the trot up to 1974 and at odd times before. Their first birds were all from local fanciers including the late great Molesey fancier, Pat Strong. The brothers won their first race from Bournemouth and Dick remembers the winner was a Gits pigeon from the late Joe Steadiford of Molesey.
I first visited the lads in early 1976 and the widowhood system was a new try out that season with about 12 cocks on this system and the rest of the team on their usual natural system. The main strain kept was Cattrysse from Mr. & Mrs. Newman of Ely but they brought in a few young birds each year to try out. The birds were mostlv blues and blue pieds, which handled small to medium with apple bodies. Dick said at the time they must have good strong backs and a good rich coloured eye. Some good birds were obtained from their good friend the late Arthur Coxon of Surbiton, the Bergerac ace, and the four Coxon birds that were in the loft at that time had all scored from the longest race. The Trusslers trapped through open doors in their very smart racing loft which was 22ft x 6ft, three compartments, two for old birds and one for young birds. They used deep litter, but they said they think it causes diseases when left down too long. The ideal deep litter being of a wood shaving mixture so the birds can't eat it. Ventilation in the loft was verv strictly controlled with plastic sheeting pinned on the front wire and they said that too much ventilation is a very bad thing. The loft roof was lifted 2ins for ventilation once, but was dropped again because the birds kept getting colds. The brothers said the birds need warmth in the loft. The loft was purchased in 1954 and the open door trapping was introduced in 1972 because of bad traps on the old system. They kept 25 pairs of old birds and bred 40 young birds, which were culled down to about 25 just before young bird racing. The birds were fed on a mixture of 50% Maize, 25% Beans, 25% Wheat and Barley being added in winter. The brothers' motto was train hard, race hard, quality and not quantity. The main stock pair were a blue pied cock and a blue hen known as "The Dutch Pair." This handsome looking pair were in fact Dutch pigeons and had bred countless winners including two Federation winners in one nest. The boys didn't know the strain of this pair but said they also bred show winners two-a-penny. This loft has housed many outstanding pigeons past and present, too many, in fact, to list them all.
When I asked the brothers if in their opinion the sport had progressed over the last twenty years they said, ‘in general yes, but some fanciers are still living in the past with their old fashioned attitude. The bringing in of ETS in the UK was brilliant, but there are still fanciers who don’t like it and would like to see it thrown out. Their attitude is unbeleivable! The format of pigeon racing in the UK has been the same for many years, but on the Continent they try new things and push the sport forward. With the Continental methods and influence some of the fanciers in the UK are very professional and can hold their own in any level of racing’.
Congratulations to Trussler Brothers on their brilliant young bird performances this season!
Katie’s first pike
Our four grandchildren sleep over at our home in Claygate most weekends and they all have their own interests. Sasha, the oldest, spends most of her time in the pigeon loft, Ryan playing games on his X Box, Katie likes fishing with her dad, Mark, and the youngest, Sophia; well she just spends most of her time getting on your nerves. Not really, she is the next pigeon fancier! Saturday 17th September turn out to be a very special day for our nine year old grand daughter, Katie, which kicked of at our local fishing tackle shop in Hinchley Wood.
The shop has only recently opened and on that Saturday John Wilson, the world’s number one angler and television personality was making an appearance to meet the local fishermen and mark the opening of the new shop. John Wilson was Mark’s boyhood hero, as we use to watch all his ‘Go Fishing’ TV programmes in the 1980’s, so he thought he would take Katie along to the new shop met the angling supremo. They had a chat John and then had their photo taken with him, and while in the shop, Mark, purchased two packs of dead bates with the intention of going Pike fishing in the afternoon. They invited me along, so the three of us made off to a Pike ‘hotspot’ at the drains on the River Wey at Old Woking for Katie’s first Pike fishing session. It was a nice warm sunny day and as I’ve said on many occasions, ‘you can’t beat sitting by a river in the country side on a summer’s day. If you catch a fish it is a bonus’. Mark’s first cast in to the river produced a 3lb ‘jack’ Pike, even before I had even put a bait on the hook! A while later Katie had a Pike take the Roach dead bait on her rod and she struck into it, starting a tug of war. It nearly pulled her over, but she hung on for dear life to that rod handle and played it to the bank, where her dad netted it. The fight produced her first ever Pike, a 7lb cracker! A great day for our Kate!
Esher & District RPC
The members of the Esher club held a meeting at the Westend Sports & Social Club recently and Mike Carlton offered to run some open racing pigeon shows this a autumn, which will be held on Friday evenings at Westend. Penning is from 19.15hrs until judging at 20.00hrs and entrance fee will cost £2 per birds. The program is: 11th November: OB Eyesign / YB Eyesign: 18th November: YH (Handled) / OH (TW): 25th November: YC (Handled) / OC (TW): 2nd December: OH (Handled) / YH (TW): 9th December: OC (Handled) / YC (TW): 16th December: ‘The Prettiest’. Top judges have been invites, so come on down to the Westend Club and have some good pigeon banter with the Esher lads this winter!
Well that’s our article for this week! I can be contacted on telephone number: 01372 463480.
TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.