“ON THE ROAD” WITH KEITH MOTT.

LOOKING BACK OVER THE YEARS (PART 26.)

Annette Boyd of Tolworth. 

The 1986 season saw Annette Boyd of Tolworth win 1^st open S.M.T. Combine Bodmin young bird race with 3,592 birds competing, and this in only Annette's third year in the sport. The Combine winner, was known as 'Double Ace', a very nice apple ­bodied hen of Dordin breeding, had already started to show its potential the week prior to the Combine race when she won 2^nd club from Weymouth. The dam, bred by Keith & Betty Mott of Claygate, was Annette's well known one-legged red chequer hen 'Lucky Lady'. This game little hen lost her leg as a young bird in 1985. She was found hanging from the snow guard on the roof of Annette's house, firmly caught by her ring and was rescued with the aid of a ladder. Her leg was so badly damaged that it eventually shriveled and dropped off. Annette, being the animal lover she was, would not part with the hen and housed her in a rabbit hutch hoping she would breed in 1986.

She was paired to a blue chequer cock, another Keith Mott Dordin cross, known as the 'Sherwood Cock'. The pair produced three youngsters in 1986: 'Double Ace' winner of 1^st club, 1^st Surrey Fed, 1^st open S.M.T. Combine Bodmin; 2^nd club Weymouth; 'Lucy' winner of 1^st club Blandford and 'Rupert' winner of 2^nd club Weymouth. 'Lucky Lady' was bred from Keith Mott's excellent Dordin pair 'Ronny' and 'The Hopwood Red Hen'. The 'Sherwood Cock' is also bred from 'The Hopwood Red Hen' when paired to Keith's seven times winner 'Warrior'.

This story really started a few years ago when Annette found a young feral pigeon in the road with a broken wing. She took it home and nursed it back to health. Once back to health the bird refused to leave and rather than see it on its own Annette purchased two more pigeons from a local pet shop. Annette had now caught the 'pigeon' bug. Annette's late father, Charlie Sherwood, was an outstanding fancier 50 years ago until he was forced to give up with chest problems. Charlie had taken a great interest in Annette's pigeons and it was he who provided eggs from his fancier friends for Annette to place under her feral pigeon and its mate. It wasn't long before she had a small team of young birds and Annette got her enjoyment by taking these to work with her and releasing them to fly home.

Her next ambition was to race them, so she decided to join the local club and contacted the then secretary of Surbiton F.C., Keith Mott. Keith encouraged her to train her birds and she competed in the last two Old Bird races of that season. Keith helped her train her young birds in 1984 and she won a couple of minor positions. In 1984 Annette was given some eggs and youngsters by Keith, these were from his Denys and Dordin stock. These, along with his advice were to help a lot, for 1985 saw Annette break her novice status winning two firsts and two seconds. However it was the 1986 season that was the stunning one for Annette. She won 20 positions in the club including six firsts, five seconds and 1^st, 14^th and 24^th Federation plus 1^st open S.M.T. Combine.

Annette hadn't got a loft as such; it could best be described as a 16ft long rabbit hutch, divided into four sections. The birds were trapped through bob-wires and a litter of straw was used on the floor. Design of the loft was such that the floor was at waist level which made for simple catching of the birds. The family's two pet dogs, Pinky and Perky, were housed in kennels built under the loft. There were three pairs of stock birds and these were housed in small separate hutches. Fifteen pairs of race birds were kept, these were paired up on 14^th February and fifteen youngsters were reared. The birds were all raced on the Natural system, as Annette didn't like the idea of racing widowhood.

Annette works for a local newspaper and prior to taking up pigeons was very keen on horse riding. The Boyd racing team consisted of the Keith Mott Denys and Dordin lines plus some Cattrysse obtained for her by her father. Annette said that the Dordins were racing the best for her. Like most Annette had had her disappointments, one in particular was during her second young bird season, when a youngster sat out for ten minutes and she clocked the second arrival and still won the race.

Both old and young birds were raced regularly provided they were fit and in a reasonable state of moult. There was no set training pattern only as and when required. Favorite nest condition for winning pigeons in the loft appeared to be sitting 10-day eggs, but of course happy and contented pigeons are a must for any success. Annette said that she got the impression that a lot of fanciers tried to treat pigeons as machines rather than thinking, feeling animals. It was for this reason that she thought Keith Mott was one of the best fanciers in the area. His birds were always healthy, happy and contented; hence they won out of turn. There was no doubt that the Keith Mott bloodlines had helped put Annette on the road to success, with a Combine winner in only her third year of racing.

The good ol’ days! Annette Boyd went as quickly as she came and packed up pigeons soon after winning the Combine. Her success was very short and sweet! When you think about it, it’s a fantastic achievement to win the Combine flying to a ‘rabbit hutch’. She wasn’t a wealth of knowledge about racing pigeons, but she loved her birds and they responded to that. A great lady!

The late Brian Jones of Molesey.

The 1985 season saw the late Brian Jones of Molesey win the Old Bird Average and Continental Average trophies in the Surrey Federation, which at that time must rate as one of the strongest organisations in the south of England. These performances illustrate that Brian was one of the most consistent fanciers in the Surrey area. The Jones' loft also won the longest old bird race in his club, the Esher & District RPC from Bergerac in 1985 with a handsome red chequer cock called 'Weston Berghe' which had chalked up 1^st club, 6^th Surrey Federation, 12^th S.M.T. Combine (3,336 birds) Bergerac and 1^st club, 13^th Surrey Federation Plymouth. 'Weston Berghe' was a son of one of Brian's all-time best racing cocks 'Weston Star' winner of many positions including 1^st club, 1^st Surrey Federation (1,529 birds) Exeter and 1^st club Exeter.

The origin of his team was Savage Barkers, Vandies and Dordins, with later introductions of the Busschaert and Cattrysse strains. Brian raced both widowhood and natural, although he only started widowhood in 1985, with outstanding results from the outset, but maintained he was still learning about the system. He favoured natural hens sitting about 14 days for the longer races. His main racing loft was a converted stable divided into three sections with open door trapping. He had also got a smaller two-section loft in his very smart set up, which houses a team of widowhood cocks and all his widowhood hens. Brian paired his six pairs of stock birds in February and his 20 pairs of racers in March and bred about 40 young birds each season. He said his whole family race from 80 miles to 450 miles with no exceptions. The birds were not fed on anything fancy, just a good sound mixture of beans, peas, maize and wheat, with Red Band as a titbit.

One of Brian's favourite pigeons was his good blue hen 'Weston Kim' and she had scored many times including 1^st club, 1^st Surrey Federation (4,342 birds) Weymouth; 2^nd club, 12^th Surrey Federation Sennen Cove and 2^nd club Blandford. One of his best distance hens was 'Weston JJ' a wonderful blue chequer hen and sister to 'Weston Star'. Although she had never won a race she has flown Bergerac six years on the trot scoring four times including 2^nd club, 6^th Surrey Federation, 7^th S.M.T. Combine, 9^th Amalgamation (3,500 birds).

Brian had been keen on pigeons since he was a small child and had raced to his Molesey address for nearly 20 years. Racing pigeons had always been a part of his life as his father was a fancier and raced in the Kingston club. Brian's first pigeons were obtained from a Mr Chapman from Lincolnshire and the late Charlie Anscombe of Thames Ditton and were housed in a converted greenhouse. The Vandies and Savage Barkers got off to a good start for Brian, winning his club and three Federation positions in his first year racing. He raced in the Hersham club in those early days and said Louis Newell of Molesey and Alex Fleming of Esher was a great help to him. Brian reckoned most of his early mistakes were due to feeding and training, but he thought he had rectified this over the years. Brian thought a good loft should be dry, secure and easy to manage, designed so that the birds are out of sight of predators. Good stock is the key to success, but you must work hard at this sport, as you only get out what you put into it. Brian told me his biggest thrill was when he won his first race and broke his novice status and his biggest disappointment was when a very special favourite just vanished from his garden, it was one of his founder birds. His advice to novices was work hard and have patience.

Brian did very well in the Mitcham Two-Bird Open race when he sent the nest pair 'Weston Adie' and 'Weston Kate' and won 1^st and 3rd. The handsome dark cock 'Adie' was on the clock first and he had plenty of previous form winning 2^nd club, 4^th Surrey Federation (2,701 birds) Weymouth. Brian was, although a widowhood flier, very much a 'hen man' and 'Kate' was another firm favourite with him. She again had never won a race but was one of his Channel aces recording 2^nd club, 14^th Surrey Federation Nantes; 2^nd club, 27^th Surrey Federation Nantes and 2^nd club Plymouth. A very unlucky pigeon.

He rated his two Bergerac wins his best performances to date when he recorded 12^th S.M.T. Combine in 1985. He said he thought the late Alex Fleming of Esther was the top local fancier at that time. Brian had obtained several good birds from the Fleming loft to win many races including 1^st Surrey Federation. He maintained the best bet for someone starting up is to go to a fancier of Alex Fleming's calibre and purchase six late breds and breed from them. He was a great believer in late breds for the stock loft and in eyesign, but said he was not expert on the subject, always looking for a nice rich eye. The old and young birds got plenty of training prior to the first race, then during the race season when he thought they need it. The Jones loft raced midweek in the London Columbarium and quite often this was used for training. Brian was one of the workers in our sport, he was chief clock setter in his club, the Esher & District R.P.C. Normally he never sent his yearlings further than 300 miles, with the older birds going to 450 miles. The youngsters were required to race up to 200 miles. For the longer races he liked candidates to be full-flighted, and sitting 14 days. The moult was considered the most important time for a pigeon and although his birds got no special mixture they were given linseed to assist through the moult. He believed in line breeding and said before a fancier becomes successful he must learn to be a good sportsman. He had tried deep litter, but much preferred a clean floor and when selecting producers he liked to pair winner to winner and match type and eyesign. Over the seasons Brian Jones put up some good performances in the Surrey Federation, but this likeable fancier moved to Southern Ireland to open up a guest house and gave up the pigeons.

Barry & Pat Mackett of Surbiton.

I was very sad to receive a phone call from Vivienne Mackett to tell me her father, Barry, had passed away in January 2011 at the age of 69. In the words of Vivienne, her dad was a man’s man and was a train driver for over 50 year, only retiring about five years earlier. Unbelievable as it might sound, she tells me he received an award certificate from British Rail for never taking a day off sick in his 50 years' service with them! Barry stopped racing his pigeons a few years ago, but kept a few pairs as pets right up to the end. The last time I saw Vivienne she was about six years old and now she is 40, married and is a nurse where she lives in Wales.

The phrase ‘overnight success’ was very fitting to the Barry Mackett, as he seemed to storm to the top of the local pigeon racing overnight in the mid-1970s. Barry had been racing pigeons for a number of years, winning his first race from Exmouth in 1971 with a plumb red cock obtained from the late Jack Taylor of Kingston. Not much success came Barry’s way as he was a train driver and had to work some funny hours, which didn’t agree with pigeon racing. His then wife, Pat, took an active part and got some routine into the set up, and they never looked back after that. They flew in the Surbiton Flying Club and in 1975 they were second highest prize winners, winning four firsts and five trophies. In 1976 they were highest prize winners with four firsts, eleven trophies, and in 1977 they had a fantastic season, and were premier prize winner again, with nine fists and fourteen trophies.

The partner's self-built loft was 24ft x 8ft with an 8ft wire flight in front and it had three sections, housing 70 old birds and 50 youngsters. The birds were raced on the natural system and were paired up on 16^th February every season. Barry was very ‘hot’ on feeding, being 1oz. per bird each day, of good mixture with lots of maize and no seed. He didn’t like condition seed at all, but gave the birds cod liver oil. The partners were great believers in plenty of training, which started two weeks before the first Federation race and were hit hard with lots of 20 mile tosses throughout the season. A lime dressing was used on the loft floors when cleaning out and trapping was through drop holes. The sexes were parted in November for the moulting period, as the partners didn’t like the birds parted too long.

Their main stock pigeon was a Kirkpatrick Grizzle hen and she was the dam of the Mackett loft, being responsible for many winners. I recall she was a medium, apple bodied pigeon with a fantastic eyesign! Johnny Mutter of Ham gave Barry a basket of birds to dispose of and she was in there amongst them. She took his fancy, so he asked John if he could keep her and she turned out to be the best pigeon the Macketts ever owned. On my visit to the Surbiton loft we looked at quite a few outstanding racers, including the partner’s 1977 Bergerac (450 miles) winner, a nice blue chequer hen named ‘Vivienne’, and she recorded 1976: 1^st club, 13^th Federation, 20^th SMT Combine (5,820 birds) Plymouth, 1977: 1^st club, 29^th Federation, 85^th SMT Combine (3,984 birds) Bergerac. In those days Bernie Chandler of the Surbiton club was a great help to Barry and Pat and he bred one of their best birds, ‘Bernie the Bolt’, which won 1^st club, 3^rd Federation, 5^th SMT Combine Niort. They put up some great performances, but one of Barry and Pat’s best loft performances was from Niort in 1977, recording 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th club, and doing well in the Federation and Combine. The Annual Cancer Research Amalgamation race was the idea of Croydon fancier and RPRA London Region secretary Vic Farrant and the organization was formed from three South Road Combines, the SMT, London & South Coast and Middle Counties. The 1987 event from Nantes saw 5,420 birds entered and Barry and Pat had a ‘banger’ home to record probably their best performance, 2nd open Amalgamation.

The Macketts didn’t go on the eyesign theory, but kept an open mind on the subject. At that time Barry rated Brian Baghten of Nottingham and John Pepper of Beckenham as his ideal fanciers and he told novices to forget paper pedigrees, as he considered good corn and training to be the key factors to success. Barry maintained there were too many short races and at that time was glad when the Surrey Federation started the young birds at Weymouth (110 miles) for their first race. Another outstanding pigeon racer, the late Arthur Maycock of Hersham, was also a good friend and help to Barry and Pat over the years. Both Barry and Pat were good worker for Surbiton club and Pat was the secretary for several seasons.

Jim & Shirley Carpenter of St. Austell.

The month of November 2010 saw Peter Taylor and myself make the 240 mile drive down to Bodmin in Cornwall to judge the South West Show Racer Societies annual ‘Duchy’ Open Show. Although Peter and I were a long way from home, it was good to see all the old familiar faces we see every year around the Show Racer scene, but one surprise at Luxulyan Village Hall was seeing Surrey exile, Jimmy Carpenter. He used to live in Chessington and raced his pigeons successfully in my local Esher club, and has now retired, and lives with his wife, Shirley, in St. Austell. He looks really well!

Looking back over all those years, I remember Jimmy was a hard working painter and decorator and his family were his life, but enjoyed some good success with his pigeons. The SMT Combine sent 3,364 birds to Nantes in 1982 and the clear winner were Jim and Shirley Carpenter, who were racing in the Surbiton Flying Club at that time. Their winner, which lifted ‘The Checkers Cup’ in the Combine, was their good two year old red chequer hen, ‘Guinevere’ and she was bred from Hansenne and Cattrysse gift birds from his friend Ted Goodger of Staines. At that time Jimmy told me he had spent over seven years building up his loft of pigeons which had excelled from 1980 onwards. His loft was based on pigeons obtained from his pigeon fancier father, Dick Brooker of Claygate, Ted Goodger of Staines and H. Ledbury of Wiltshire. The Goodger pigeons were Hansenne and Cattrysse, and the Ledbury pigeons were good honest birds blended by this great fancier over 50 years in the fancy. Jim recorded several outstanding positions from the longest old bird race, but in 1980 he recorded his best by winning 3^rd SMT Combine Bergerac, the Combine’s Blue Riband event. Jim and Shirley’s Bergerac winner was a five year old blue cock named ‘Miggi’, which was bred from pigeons obtained from Jim’s dad and H. Ledbury.

Jimmy had now been in the sport 50 years, racing in partnership with his father for the first 15 years and had enjoyed many years of racing success with his wife, Shirley, up to the present day. Jim thought that in the early days his main mistakes were over feeding and over training. He says, Shirley has played a big part in the pigeon management over the years, giving them the open loft and changing the water three times a day, and generally looking after the lofts. When I spoke to him in Cornwall that winter, he told me his pigeons were being attacked by Peregrine Falcons and Sparrow Hawks most days, but I remember his Chessington loft in the 1980’s was plagued with cats and for that reason the lofts were in a wire compound to give the birds peace and quiet. He had two self-built lofts, which were well ventilated and in the winter had Polythene screens placed over the windows to keep out the bad weather. The landing boards were all waist height and the birds were trapped through bob wires. All the birds were raced on the natural system as he liked to race cocks and hens over the English Channel, sitting eight to ten days on eggs. Jimmy liked to give his birds an open loft as often as possible and fed a good class mixture of grains, mixed by himself, as he liked the birds to have a good variety. The lofts were cleaned out every day in the summer, but in the winter months they used a straw litter which was cleaned out once a week.

The 1980 season was one of the best for the Carpenters and one of the star pigeons was the Ledbury blue chequer cock, ‘Merlin’, and he chalked up many good positions including 1^st club, 5^th Surrey Federation Exeter. At that time the loft won many major trophies, two of the best probably being the Continental Average and Old Bird Average in the Surbiton Flying Club. Jim was a small team fancier, keeping only twelve pairs of racers, three pairs of stock birds and bred himself 24 youngsters to race each season. Being a natural racing man, Jimmy, paired up the nearest weekend to 14^th February and told me all his management was one big effort to keep the birds contented and happy as this is what produced outstanding results. He raced his old birds through to 500 miles and yearlings to 300 miles, but if a yearling did not show some good form it would go all the way to 500 miles. In the 1980’s there was no ‘darkness’ system, but were all raced naturally, and if Jim’s were in good feather condition they would race the whole Federation programme. All the Carpenter pigeons were trained in a straight line, with the youngster being trained up to 30 miles before their first race. He didn’t lose many youngsters off the loft top as he ran and exercised them together with his old birds. He maintained the moulting period was a very important time of the pigeon year, with the birds being fed a really high protein mixture, plus linseed and the birds were never put in the show pen in the winter months. He used to breed late breds, but found them to be a waste of time, saying he probably handled them wrong with a lack of training. Jimmy told me that the main factor behind success with racing pigeons is patients, hard work and letting the basket be the judge! I would like to wish Jim and Shirley all the very best, living down there in Cornwall. It’s a wonderful place to be!

Well that’s it for this week! I hope my readers have enjoyed this look back at four Surrey area champions of yester year. We will be looking at some more very soon. To view some old video footage of some of these fanciers and their birds go on to my YouTube channel. I can be contacted with any pigeon matters 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)