Keith Mott’s ‘Champions of Yesteryear’ (Part 88)

 MR & MRS DOUG WALKER

OF EWELL

The late Doug Walker was a leading figure in the sprint Open and Federation in the Surrey area for a number of years and the 1979 season was no exception. The Walker missiles had won seventeen first prizes in the club and twice 1st Federation, plus a back up of twice 4th Federation. Doug raced all widowhood and the cocks were housed in a nice three section loft, with the front windows shuttered. The had no ventilation as Doug maintained widowhood cocks needed warmth and if the temperature got too hot small vents were opened in the roof. He liked the birds to have plenty of room and no more than eight cocks were housed in each section. He hated big pigeons and all the birds I handled on my visit to his loft were medium to small. Doug’s base family was Ben Hinkley of Bletchley and those were backed up with Busschaerts, Dordins and Sheppards. The first two pigeons I looked at on my visit to the Ewell loft were Busschaerts and brothers, both being outstanding sprinters. ‘Roam Away’ an apple bodied blue was the first in my hand and he had won 1st Selhurst Open Blandford, 1st club, 10th Surrey Federation Exeter, 1st club Weymouth, 1st club Dorchester, 1st club, 4th Croydon Federation Blandford, 2nd club, 2nd Croydon Federation Blandford (beaten by a loft mate) and three other seconds. His brother was the blue cock, ‘Hi Flight’, and he too won an open race, recording: 1st Epsom Downs Open Blandford, 1st club, 19th Croydon Federation, 1st club Exeter, 1st club Weymouth, 1st club Dorchester, 1st club, 12th Federation Blandford, plus twice 2nd club. Doug told me the two brothers didn’t perform too well as youngsters and he made the mistake of selling their parents on the strength of that.

When I visited the Walkers back in the 1970’s, Doug had been in the sport 25 years and his first loft was a 10ft x 6ft converted Canary room, as previous to racing pigeons he bred Canaries and British birds. His first pigeons were obtained from several Croydon fanciers and he kicked off racing in the Selhurst F.C. He said the best advice he ever had was from Percy Corps who told him he couldn’t race pigeons in the pub. On starting up Doug didn’t have much success through inexperience, but Ben Hinkley took him in hand and put him on the right road.

Doug paired his 15 pairs of stock birds in January and told me he thought the eye sign theory was rubbish. The widowhood birds were paired on 14th February and about 40 youngsters were bred each season. The young hens raced right through the programme and the young cocks got about three races then were stopped and saved for the widowhood as yearlings. The widowhood cocks were sent as far as 180 miles and never across the English Channel to France. Doug had a second racing loft which housed the young birds and widowhood hens, with all trapping through open doors. The widowhood cocks had six training tosses from 40 miles before the first Federation race and no more, and the young birds got plenty of training up to 50 miles during racing. He fed on a general mixture of Beans, Maize, Wheat and Barley, which he bought as cheap as he could. The birds were given Red Band or a similar condition seed. Doug showed the widowhood cocks their hens only on Friday nights and for a few minutes on their return from the race. The Walker’s fine team of stock birds were kept in a nice roomy 9ft x 6ft loft and many winners were bred in there.

Doug told me a nice little story about his good Sheppard blue cock, ‘Young Tom’, which was bred by the late Tommy Woodcock of Wimbledon. This pigeon came into Doug’s loft after being lost off Tom Woodcock’s loft and after Tom gave him the pigeon it won: 1st Woodside Open Guernsey 2 Bird, 1st club, 4th Surrey Federation Exeter, 1st club Exeter (twice) and 2nd club Dorchester. Just to rub it in, when ‘Young Tom’ won the Woodside Guernsey Open, Tom Woodcock was second to him.  

The first of Doug’s Federation winners which I inspected was the three year old Sheppard blue chequer cock, ‘Recruit’, which was bred by A. E. Heasman of West Ewell. Doug said he had won many good positions on the natural system, but on widowhood had excelled, winning 1st club, 1st Croydon Federation Blandford, 1st club, 10th Surrey Federation Exeter, 1st club Weymouth (twice), 2nd Selhurst Open Blandford and 2nd club Dorchester. This game cock handled small, long cast and Doug told me he came on form early in the season and then again at the end. The star of the Walkers loft at that time was the yearling Dordin blue cock, ‘Blue Baron’. He was bred by Duffell Brothers of West Ewell from Paul Smith / Dordin stock birds. This champion cock in his short racing career had won: 1st club, 1st Croydon Federation Exeter (twice), 1st club Dorchester (three times), 1st club Weymouth (twice) and 2nd club Dorchester. A great racing machine! Another of the Walker’s Federation winners was the Sheppard blue chequer hen, ‘Lady Fortune’, and she recorded: 1st club, 8th Surrey Federation, 16th SMT Combine Plymouth, 1st club Plymouth (twice), 1st club, 1st Surrey Federation Exeter and 1st club Exeter.

Doug Walker was a hard man to get on with and I had many ‘rucks’ with him down through the years, but he was a very good pigeon racer and a really great worker for the sport. He held many positions in the sport including secretary of the Croydon Federation, jointly with his wife. He was a vice president and race controller of the Croydon Federation, and maintained race convoyers and convoyers should be practicing pigeon fanciers. He said there were too many non-fanciers controlling the sport of pigeon racing. He advised novices to make a friend of a successful local fancier and be guided by them, and above all be patient and observant. At that time Doug rated Kenny and Bobby Besant of New Malden the top fanciers in the Surrey area and said they were devoted pigeon fanciers. He thought overcrowding was the prime reason for young bird fly aways and thought the moult was a natural process, and never worried about it. He used deep litter on the loft floor at one time, but stopped using it as he couldn’t stand the dust and he was sure the bird couldn’t either. Doug inbred his birds and liked to breed from his best racers as he believed they bred their like. He liked latebreds and said if a pigeon had it in it to be a champion, it will be a champion, no matter what end of the year it was born.

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT

12/2/08