The final race of the 2019 season for the National Flying Club took place from Coutances on the 7th of September when 395 members sent 3246 young birds and 195 members also raced 915 old hens. The birds were liberated at 7:00am in a light north west with a more westerly wind in the channel veering NNW further into the country, they cleared immediately and true to form the first birds to be verified were in the Portsmouth area.

I had been staying at Portsmouth myself to attend a family wedding and left to make the journey to Brighton at around 10:30 on the Saturday morning. I spotted a kit of around 50 pigeons coming straight off the sea, heading north and was thinking they might be National Flying Club pigeons when Linda pointed out another large batch of two or three hundred coming from the direction of the Isle of Wight, only to be followed by another several hundred pigeons, strung out in a line, also heading north.
The winning young bird flew to the loft of Malik and Khan, also known as “Team Ace”, situated right at the top of the A3 in Tolworth London and just two minutes later it was followed by a loft mate to take first and second open, with yet another a few minutes later to be ninth open provisional. They were delighted to win the National Flying Club and when I arrived I was met at the door by Imran Malik followed by his son Ibrahim who said “my Dad was going to take me fishing this morning, but he said we had won the big one, so I don’t mind not going” Whilst Imran was making a cup of tea his partners Atif and Fez Khan arrived, and we discussed the fact that they use the darkness system with their young birds which were sent sitting fourteen days with regular training.
They had previously won the BICC from Falaise this season with the old birds and at that time they told me they like to keep around forty young birds and will train them very hard as they are looking for every opportunity to test them. “They will go to every federation race available with two national races at the end of the season. They are raced on the darkness system so they are in good feather throughout and when moving them over to the race loft at the end of the season, they will be confident they will perform as yearlings having proven themselves. Sometimes small third round of about ten youngsters hatched in May, will be tried with plenty of work and some of their best prospects have come from these.”
They are good friends with Jan Hooyman and their first bird “National Ace” is bred from “Harry” lines on the sires side when paired with a daughter of “Tip Top Junior” and “Queen of Rekkem” which are Frans Zwols. Their second bird “Nearly Ace” is also half Jan Hooymans “Harry” line when paired to an inbred cock around “As Euro” of Augst Jansen. “Harry” is renowned in the pigeon world as is “As Euro”, “Tip Top Junior” and “Queen of Rekkem” so the partners have really invested their money wisely. Imran had treated his son Ibrahim to a special hair style and was sporting the Nike Swoop cut into the side of his head, which of course means “Just do it” which I thought was very apt as the loft can now add the big one to their list of achievements.
Just six miles over to the north west is the loft of Ken Wise in Isleworth and after leaving the young bird winners I made my way over as he had timed a two year old hen to win the Old Hens race and he had also timed a young bird which was third open so he too had a very good race. “To be fair” said Imran Malik “Ken really sets his hens up for the Nationals, and his young bird was also 8th Open BICC from Guernsey a couple of weeks ago so he should be proud”. Indeed, he is and he would like to thank his long standing friend Dick Evans for breeding him the young bird. Dick had bought a very special pigeon from Peter Veenstra and sent a daughter down for Ken to race which has certainly proven her quality, being twice in the top eight competing in major young bird races.
Ken has had pigeons from Myrtle Lofts for many years and all his own birds are bred around those with one very special bird being the grandfather of his loft. He had bought a young bird direct from “Shadow” in 2006 which do not travel too well during the delivery and when it arrived Ken thought he was going to lose him. But he turned himself around after a couple of days which earned him the name “Shadow of Death” and he went on to breed winners from the first nest at all levels right up to National and Open Races. His winning hen “De 376” is a double granddaughter of “Shadow of Death” with “Champion Shadow”, “De Bandiet”, “Comick Girl”, “Rolls Royce”, “Queen of Diamonds”, “Benetton”, "One so wonderful" and “Mistress” in her pedigree plus her dam won 1st SW Sect 1st Open London South East CC and won a RPRA Award in the London Region for best young bird.
He races his old hens on a roundabout system but as room is tight, he adapted the system to suit his requirements. A long aviary about a metre wide runs the full length of his loft with plastic sheeting attached to prevent the birds seeing each other when out for exercise. Just inside the section he has built two cupboards, one either side of the entrance to the nest box section, in which he places the hens when the cocks come in to prevent contact during the week although for this last race, they were paired and sent sitting eggs. He saw this system being used at Dave and John Hawkins loft and is an ideal solution in a small loft set up. In 2018 he was 1st sect, 2nd Open N.F.C. Old Hens from Coutances with an inbred “Champion Shadow” pigeon and 1st sect 2nd Open B.I.C.C. Old Hens from Guernsey with an inbred “Jester” & “Carrie” pigeon from his direct M & D. Evans bloodlines. Ken Wise and Team Ace would like to thank everyone involved in organising the race.


News and views to me Chris Sutton on 01530 242548 or 07792 356330 email .

1st Open Malik & Khan, Tolworth
1st Open Malik & Khan, Tolworth
1st Open Malik & Khan, Tolworth
1st Open Malik & Khan, Tolworth
1st Open Malik & Khan, Tolworth
1st Open Malik & Khan, Tolworth
1st Open Malik & Khan, Tolworth
1st Open Malik & Khan, Tolworth
1st Open Malik & Khan, Tolworth
1st Open Malik & Khan, Tolworth
1st Open Malik & Khan, Tolworth
1st Open Malik & Khan, Tolworth

1st Open K Wise, Isleworth
1st Open K Wise, Isleworth
1st Open K Wise, Isleworth
1st Open K Wise, Isleworth
1st Open K Wise, Isleworth
1st Open K Wise, Isleworth
1st Open K Wise, Isleworth
1st Open K Wise, Isleworth
1st Open K Wise, Isleworth
1st Open K Wise, Isleworth

 

The final race of the season for the National Flying Club was held from Coutances on the 7th September and the Convoyer reported that he arrived on site at 3:30pm on the day before, with the birds settled in place for the liberation. By early morning the rain had cleared as predicted by our weather advisers and at 6am, whilst the sun was rising, they prepared for a liberation. Winds were north westerly and as some members birds would have a ten hour flight, the liberation took place at 8am local time into a clear blue sky. Visibility in the channel was also clear and with sea temperatures in early September being warmer than the rest of the year, he had no doubts that the birds would cross in large batches. Dom said a huge thanks must go to all concerned in the liberations and the information he receives from various NFC members willing to be available in the early hours to assist him. My personal thanks go to those who help me to compile these reports by sending in the information by email for each section.


Section A


I was pleased to see that Darren May, who has collated the information for section A all season, was rewarded by winning first section in the young bird race. Racing as Mr & Mrs May & Son of “MAY PIGEONS” He said “he is a lovely checker cock whose sire is one of our top racing cocks “Bullseye” who won three 1st and two 3rd Federation and is a grandson of May Pigeons super sire ‘Spiderman’. His dam is a granddaughter of Danny Van Dyck’s ‘Kanon’, and is a half sister to one of our best racing cocks ‘652’ which won 1st federation four times, 1st Combine and RPRA Southern Region Sprint Award. This youngster is a darkness baby raced to the perch and had been raced in every inland race beforehand. His nest mate also won 2nd Southcoast Federation on the same day. Mr & Mrs Kevin Cooper from Liss was second with D Turner in Dorking third. Fourth was P Fyfield, from Bordon with an unpaired hen bred from a pair of 09 pigeons. The dam was from his Eric Tate originals from Ash and the sire was from good friend Mick Tuck, which was gifted to him in 2008. He got 3 out of 4 on the day which was especially pleasing with as it was his national A ring which he always put on a young bird from this pair. Fifth section was Mr & Mrs Brian Wall in Bedhampton.
Winning the old hens race was Tony Baughen for the second year running. As an OAP Tony has to be selective about what big races he competes in and the old hens national is the one that gets most of his focus each year. His winning pigeon is a blue Koopman natural hen that was sitting on a three day old youngster when she was basketed. The sire and dam of the 2016 hen were a gift from Tom Powers for the help that Tony gave when Tom was moving to a new house. As Tony only has a small set up all the pigeons have to race including the parents of the winner and as it happens her mother arrived back at the loft a few minutes later. Tony would like to congratulate all of the winners in this race. Second were Mr & Mrs May & Son of May Pigeons with a yearling hen which has raced the entire OB channel season this year and was raceing to a 3 day old baby. Her sire is a direct son of “Supersire Spiderman” when paired to a direct daughter of ‘Nieuwe Olympiade’ of Leo Heremans and her Dam is granddaughter of May Pigeons ‘Supersire Spiderman’ Third was D Roberts with Fred Hall and daughters fourth followed by D Turner in Fifth.


Section B


In section B, another member who has been a great help all season topped his section. Bill Edwards always sends me a very comprehensive report and this time he said “It gives me great pleasure to report that myself, Bill Edwards and partner Pat Harris had the first bird in Section B and 8th Open. We would like to congratulate the winners, Malik & Khan on a superb performance, and all the prize winners. We would like to thank Gary Moody who bred our section winner, a Blue Van den Bulck cock from two Grandchildren of Kittle. We were lucky enough to draw him as a Breeder Buyer in the local 100 club and he flew in the very hard Guernsey race returning a week later, his next race was the National. He was flown on darkness to the perch and we expected it to be a testing race with the liberation in our opinion being at least an hour too early for youngsters at this stage of the season but he came on a straight line from due South, off the water to be the first bird clocked in the country and for quite a while was leading the field. Taking second place is former Langstone Gold Cup winner Kalvin Legg. Kalvin clocked a Blue hen, bred down through birds from Kenny Wearn and contains the blood of Brian Denny and Mark Gilbert. She was raced on Darkness and sent sitting, having laid her first egg on Tuesday and Kalvin slipped another 2 pot eggs under her for extra motivation knowing that she would lay her second egg in the basket, which obviously worked. Third is top Pompey flyer Jason Ross and in fourth is another top Pompey flyer and no stranger to the top of the National and Classic results, Dave Waterhouse. Dave would like to congratulate all the winners in what turned out to be a very testing race. His bird is a blue Leo Herman’s cock sent sitting 5 day eggs and fed on Super Power Widowhood corn. Dave is moving to a new location and will be having an Auction sale at the Epsom show in October where there will be some available the same way bred as his timer. Winning fifth Section B is the hard working and most respected husband and wife partnership of Claire and Martin Norman from Southampton. They are secretaries of the CSCFC, the BBC and are also an integral part of the Southampton NFC marking team. Claire and Martin had a very good race, timing 4 of their 6 entries within 34 minutes and finished with 5 of their 6 entries home. The chequer white flight cock that was clocked first had already been 9th section CSCFC Guernsey and flown Fougeres with the BBC. He was bred by Roger Lowe and is a son of one of his top widowhood cocks that has 6 top positions in National and Classic races, the best being 2nd section 5th open CSCFC Messac and contains the bloodlines of “New Laureaat” “My Little Diamond” “Harry” and Raw de Sablon. Their youngsters have performed with distinction this year taking 1st, 2nd, 5th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th Section in National and Classic racing and in the BBC Fougeres YB National 5 positions in the top 84.
For the old hens race 1st section B, 8th open is Buddy Ship of Portsmouth. Buddy clocked a 2 year old Blue Kees Bosua daughter of “Ray” that had been 1st Open BBC twice. She was sent sitting eggs being re-paired having won the 100 club and 3rd BBC Fougeres earlier in the season while separated. Second is Elvin Booth from Gosport. Elvin would like to congratulate all the winners, both old hens and young birds. Elvin’s bird is one that was gifted to him by his uncle, Brian Woods of Shaftsbury when he started in the sport 2 years ago. She is a blue Vandenabeele that has been lightly raced this season with the old hen’s races being her target. He lost her mate mid-season and she spurned any attempt to pair until recently and was sent to the race sitting 3 days on eggs. Third is Cyril Hallet from Portsmouth who clocked a Blue white flight hen bred by Armstrong, Shergold, Johnson and Moon from Sunderland and was sent sitting 14 days on eggs, he would like to congratulate all the prize winners and to thank Georgie Willett for taking his birds to the Marking. Fourth were the Grand National winning partnership of Jimmy Wearn and Eric Neilson of Ramsdean and fifth is the Holbury lofts of Keith Davison. Keith clocked a 2yo Blue hen bred from Willy Jacob’s Jansen stock and has previously taken 3rd Portland and 7th Section Guernsey OH, CSCFC.


Section C


In section C Mel and Sue King once again took the top spot for the 39th time with a Caseart X Vandenabeele. Sire is a grandson of “Nasdaq” bred by them from stock loaned by Brian Goodwin. The dam is “Electra” herself winner of 2ndOpen C.S.C.F.C YB beaten by loftmate and is the dam of amongst others, 1st Section, 5th Open N.F.C Tarbes. G Dam 1st Section 1stOpen B.I.C.C Le Mans 2019 and is G daughter of “Shadow” 100% M & D Evans Vandenabeele. They also won fifth section with their second bird and would like to congratulate the winners Malik & Khan. Second and third places go to Danny Lanahan with a half brother to his CSCFC winner from Coutances earlier this year, it was his fifth race and he has been his first pigeon the last three races. Unfortunately, he doesn’t trap to well and is normally clocked behind loft mates and on this occasion it took three minutes to get through the bob wires. His second pigeon taking 3rd section was bred by a fancier in Lier market who also bred his section winner in the CSCFC YB race from Coutances last year. “It’s my second year with young birds and I think they have flown well. I don’t race on the dark or widowhood, just let them run together completely natural. Next year I will be trying the darkness system for the first time so am excited to see if it really is as good as everyone tells me. The 12th and final race for my youngsters will be the Thames national Messac next week. I will then be concentrating on getting the birds through the moult and into condition ready for the open shows held by John Gerard at the Upton Working Men’s Club in Poole. John is also taking bookings now for his trip to Belgium next year” Neville & Diana Spracklen was fourth and a huge thanks goes to them for all their help this season. Sixth is John Halstead of Gillingham with a chequer white flighted cock on the darkness system and sitting eggs. He was bred from a son of “Nyland Ashley” 2nd Open Barcelona 2008 mated with a daughter of “Nyland Maurice” 1st Open BBC Palamos and took 1st Club 12th Dorset Fed 993 birds 2 weeks earlier. It was Neville and Diana Spracklen who won the section in the old hens race and said they would like to congratulate the winners of both National races and the section winners. They clocked a granddaughter of “Southfield Supreme” from their super breeder “Golden Wonder” and this is the 6th section winner to come from him. The mother is a daughter of Roger Lowe’s “My Little Diamond” and they are looking forward to racing her next year as this was only her third race. Second and fourth was Mike Staddon from Crewkerne with John Halstead third and fifth. John takes 3rd Section C with a blue Vandenabeele yearling hen sitting a 6 day old baby. She was 11th Section 96th Open a fortnight earlier in the CSCFC Guernsey and had shown her ability during the old bird season winning 1st Club Yelverton and 5th Club Carentan. Fifth Section was a chequer yearling hen granddaughter of Ashley also sitting a small baby and having been 21st Section 120th Open from CSCFC Guernsey. Seventh Section was a 3 year old chequer hen which had been 2nd Section from BBC Fougeres the previous week and had actually won 1st Section NFC old hens in 2017.


Section D


R Goodier & Sons won section D who said “I am over the moon with winning section D NFC Coutances YB which was a hard race for us in Devon & Cornwall, the bird timed was a chequer cock raced on the darkness system. His Sire is my Breeder/Buyer winner from 2018 which was bred by Karl Page, Plymouth and the Dam was a daughter of our 1st Section D NFC Saintes winner. He has been a consistent bird for us this year and came back with plenty left in the tank. All youngsters are fed on Versle Laga corns to suit the up and coming race” Second was Alan Phillips with a blue hen is off his Alan Newton of Wales cock and a hen from Daniel Hocking, she was flying to the perch but was showing up to a cock and pairing up in the corner. She has also won club positions inland prior to Coutances. Third was Chris Williams with a dark chequer cock which was a gift from Andrew Mabin and Chris would like to thank him very much. He was especially pleased because this bird had not really shown any from on the inland programme and has been his last bird for the last two races. Fourth was Mr & Mrs J McClements with a chequer cock bred down from their 2018 1st Open Cholet winner and 2019 3rd Open winner from Messac, he was sent chasing a hen to nest. Fifth was A W Harwood from Sidmouth who had a great race clocking 7 out of his 10 entries. This youngster was a daughter of Alan's 3rd Section NFC Cholet this year who in turn where from eggs gifted to Alan by John Halstead, Gillingham for which he is very grateful.
Old Hens section D winner Tony Churchill was over the moon winning the section from Coutances with his fancied hen. Its great end to which has been a tough year health wise for Tony. The hen was bred by fellow club member Richard Goodier and is of his Vandenabeele x Jos Thone family and was sent showing up to a cock and has been consistent all year. Second was Simon Cordery who clocked a Roland Janssen hen which won the section from this race last year so close to making it a double. She was sent sitting 14 day eggs and is a great channel racer. Duncan Kittow was third and fourth with a bird bred from a 17th Open French YB Derby winner paired to gift hen via John and Lou McGee who ran the Derby for several years before returning to England. Fifth was Mike Henley with a Aarden Van Roy, a gift from Tony and Mary of Ponderosa Stud, which was sent sitting 14 days on eggs and paired to a young cock. Mike had given up watching for his single entry and had closed the loft, he was in the greenhouse when she landed and he caught her outside on the drinker. This hen was missing four and a half weeks from the bad NFC Fougeres race this year.


Section E


Section E saw the winners of the young bird race taking the first two positions with their Jan Hooyman pigeons and Ken Wise, winner of the Old Hens race being third. Alan & Gary Young were fourth and Steven Buckle from Northwood in fifth place. Second section Old Hens was John Donovan & son with a hen sent showing to a young cock. She is bit of a loose woman as he lost her original cock the weekend of the 1st BICC any age race from Guernsey and she had been sulking for 10 days and wasn’t interested in anything at all until another young cock showed an interest and her manner changed completely. She was 101st open from the BICC Any Age race and has had a number of channel races this season being amongst the earlier pigeons to the loft on several occasions. She has been sent unpaired to all her races until the young cocks started to mature. Her sire is a Widowhood cock bred down from the Bullen Families “Reggies Boy” the Dam is a granddaughter of Matt Rakes “Indy”. Third was Laz Gorman who would like to thank Kevin and Christopher Rooney of County Down, Northern Ireland for breeding him this Jef Luyten’s pigeon. Roger Lowe was Fourth with Terry Hadley fifth.


Section F


In section F Mr & Mrs S Guy from Tadley took top spot with J & P Parker clocking three close together to take second, third and fourth with NFC winners Steve & Dee Wiggins from Basingstoke taking fifth position with a young blue cock whose sire is “Wiggo’s Mr Blue” which is also the sire of their NFC Cholet winner. His dam is a direct Stefaan Lambrechts and they are looking forward to race 2020 with their new bloodlines. They would like to say well done to Malik & Khan on the great race they had and all of the section winners. Simon Hughes won the old hens and also fifth with hens he had prepared the especially for CSCFC race from Guernsey where he won 1st section 27th Open and for this race, they were sent on 3-5 day squabs. They were in super condition so did expect another good race from them but as time ticked by, his ETA of 4 ½ hours passed so he thought his chance had gone. The winning bird is bred down from his great stock hen “26” being a great granddaughter, the sire is a very good racer having some good performances in Classic and National racing, the dam is a De Klak hen from Ron Crook. B Sherman and S Wells second and fourth. Kieron Marcham was third.


Section G


Winning section G was S S Whittle in Bristol who would like to say well done to Malik and Khan on winning the race. Winning their section has put the icing on the cake as they have had 9 firsts, topped the Bristol federation and won the West of England combine this year. Their winning pigeon is bred from Syndicate Loft on the sires side and Van de Bulk via Mickey Collins for the dam. They would like to thank Peter Fox and Mickey Collins for the top class pigeons and Country Wide for their great selection of corn. Second was R & R Wilton from Street with C & J Howse from Devizes third. Fourth was Mr & Mrs D Peart in Gloucester and S Moseley won fifth position with a youngster bred from a blue Wildemeersh x Frans Zwols with the dam being off of the granddaughter and grandson of Brian Milkins' National winner "Ted". The old hens winner was W G Harris with Mr & Mrs Kerr second and third their fird bird was a yearling blue cheq hen sitting 18 day old young birds. She had earlier been 17th Open CSCFC Guernsey sitting the same young birds. The partners had sent six old hens to the race and had them all on the day. They have four birds in the top 10 of the Section and two of the four are grand-children of the partnership’s remarkable hen “Champion Izzy”. 2nd Section was bred from a son of “Izzy” who had scored in the CSCFC Bergerac races, paired to a Cooper hen bred by club-mate Alen Gibb. She is a half-sister to “Izzy” being from “Izzy’s” grand-father paired to “Izzy’s” mother. All of the Kerr’s entries had flown on roundabout for all of the West of England Combine and all of the NFC races except Tarbes. Fourth was Nigel Templer with a two year old widowhood hen which was trained and raced with the young birds after he lost her partner racing. Her sire is a direct son of my Gerrit Lahuis pair responsible for many prize winners, when he was paired to a hen called "The One and Only" as she is from a son of the “Olympaide 003”, when paired to a daughter of the "Blue Euro Hen" Nigel would like to congratulate the winners of both young bird and old birds in a sticky race, well done. Fourth was M Hathway with Mr & Mrs D Peart fifth.


Section H


In section H C Crick and Son from Stotfold won the first three positions with their first being bred by Nigel Templar of Bristol and purchased at the Epsom spring show in the RP Breeder/Buyer Auction. He has performed well winning two club races this year and being beaten by loft-mates in two other club races. Their second and third pigeons are both Coreman hens which have been consistent performers through the season. Dexter Thomas came fourth who said it was a good tough race although he did think the northly wind was going to be too tough for the young birds. But just a couple of minutes later “one popped out of the sky” which he thought was magic. She is half sister to his 2014 section winner “Lucky Star” which is from Peter van de Merwe bloodlines. Danny Pullman in Stony Stratford was fifth. The Old Hens race was won by Jack Ramm with a yearling bred by stock off of Chris Smith in Chesterfield and has already won twice this year. First from Vire being 7th Federation and then from Fougeres being 13th Federation. From Nort Sur Edere he was 2nd club 15th Federation. Second was R Eccles & Son with a yearling blue hen was having her first race flying to a perch in the young bird section of the loft. She was bred from a pigeon they bought at the bereavement sale of K.Hine, which is a J.Shepherd x M.Gilbert. The mother is a Herman Cuestar who is a granddaughter of Jackpot. Third was Andy Talmer with a hen that was originally purchased by M. Brighton of East Yorkshire as a youngster and is M. Westrope bloodlines. She ended up in my garden following a smash young bird race from Buckingham and finally entered my loft after three days. She was transferred over to me and had one race as a yearling. This season she had three races before this, her first time over the channel and was sent sitting 10 days. A special thanks to Saffron Walden marking station, especially Chris Patmore and John Searle your work is very much appreciated. Fourth place went to Danny Pullman who races a small team of pigeons. “I normally over winter just twelve pairs which is made up of five stock pairs and seven pairs of racers which I race natural. My friends of 25 years Robert and Mac Mckillwrick of Spilsby, only race Widowhood cocks and without doubt are the best widowhood flyers that I have had the privilege to race against, but I have found through experience that my hens can race just as well as my cocks if motivated right. These two hens are half sisters and my young hen that finished fifth section is the daughter of my first old hen timed. This current team of pigeons I have had for over twenty five years and are selected totally on performance birds, buying winners I can afford which are paired winner to winner. Just one other point is that I race in the Milton Keynes SRFC in the mid Northants fed and in my club I have two of the hardest fliers to beat. Their names are Barry Graham, Secretary who is also in the NFC and John Cave who is in the Midland National. I rarely beat them as me and John are the most westerly fanciers in our Federation. I hope this is not too much info but I would like to thank you again and hope that this isn't the last time I have the pleasure of doing well in the NFC as the last time I flew in the National was nearly twenty years ago due to work pressure and working away from home for Aston Martin as a senior team leader of special projects for twenty seven years. I retired from my part-time work a year ago to concentrate on my pigeons” Fifth were Rusted & Hayward from Baldock.


Section I


In section I Mr & Mrs R Stretton & Daughter from Rugeley took top spot with R J Perrott and Son second. Third was R M Taylor in Warley with Lourens Londt fourth with a blue hen he bred from his new stock via two top national flyers Geff Kirkland and Arthur Jones. Fifth was K L Elstone in Armitage near Rugeley. S Walton won the old hens race and also came third with Mr & Mrs J Passey second, fourth and sixth. M Wilson & Daughter from Nottingham came fifth with T & J Mather and S Haywood seventh. They timed a hen which was third section 14th open old hens BBC Fougeres the previous week. For this race she was on a five day old youngster and her wing position was only four primary’s left to moult. She was bred by Andrew McNaughton from Ireland.

Section J


The President of the National Flying Club Mr Ray Scriven topped section J and the same weekend he took second place in the Hurst Hill Breeder Buyer race from Carentan winning £2400. Second was Mr & Mrs Nigel Shaw with a young bird bred out of Paul Macaloneys stock. She has been very consistent all season and is wearing a NFC gold ring. Third place went to Oliver Knowles in Kidderminster with a crossed Van De Rhee which have bred them numerous winners over the years. This season they have won 7 out of the 8 young bird races in their club and four 1st federations plus the Federation Breeder Buyer. J & B Oakley were fourth with a hen bred directly from their number one stock pair of Wildermeersch which are responsible for over four generations of winners right up to section level in the national. This original pair were purchased as latebreds from the Woodfield Wizard Mr Derrick jones in 2010. She has shown good previous form being in the first kit to the loft the last few weeks taking club and fed positions. W Whitehouse from Dudley was fifth. B Harris & Son won the section in the old hens race with a blue hen which was bred from a Van De Merwe/Doesch cock paired to a Frans and Annie Van Pinxteren, De Klak/Van Loon/Gus Hofkens hen. This cross seems to work for tehm as a similar pairing bred their hen that won 2nd open 1st section J in last year’s Young Bird National. They were fortunate to be using ETS as helping to unload shopping they missed the hen arriving. They sent four old hens to the race getting them all back on the day but did not clock any of the seven young birds on the day. Thanks to all the markers at Alveley and the convoyers and race controllers who carry out a thankless job looking after the birds. Second was C Gough, who said “Congratulations to all winners on a testing day. My yearling chequer hen was bred by Andrew Gibbs of Stourport and as a youngster she flew three channel races in just over a month, completing a total of seven hundred miles. She was sent to the race feeding a twelve day old youngster, her first of the year and I had eight out of ten back in the day” Ray Scriven was third and fourth with his first being Cattrees family and been consistent all year. His second bird is from his Chris Preece family and sister to the first being only second apart as Ray found them both in the loft not timed as ETS pad did not work, so they had to be caught and placed over the pad in the young bird section. Fourth was Louis Yemm with Pete Barlow fifth.

Section K


Pete Howson won section K for the second time this season and proves "the apple never falls far from the tree" as his YB Section K winner is a daughter of his 1st Sigogne Section K winner when paired to his car winner! Pete had a good day with his returns as he got three on the day and three the next day, making a full house. Second and fourth was John Woods and this is the third race this season that John has appeared in the top 5 in Section K. This time his first pigeon is a Broeckz x Harthogs, his second is a Bosher x Rudy Desane. This is the second time this season that this particular bloodline has appeared near the top for John. Third and fifth section was L & S Gash who after having a good old bird session inland and across the water, they concentrated on the young birds which found their feet after a shaky start. Following a good show in the club and federation they decided to choose twenty to enter into the NFC where they managed to get 3rd section 23rd open and 5th section 31st open. Their first bird was out of their stock loft from a pigeon brought at Andy Newton’s entire clearance sale and a pigeon kindly gifted by Barry & Peter Winters. The second bird was out of the race birds and after all the positions we have had this year in the NFC, they are just missing that 1st place and the partnership of L&S Gash hope to do it in the near future. John McCall won first and second in the old hens after he had decided to choose four hens to continue racing with the young birds in preparation for this race. They were repaired to old cocks and was sent sitting 10-12 day old youngsters. His first timer is from direct Mark Bulled “Red Bull” lines and has won at this distance before. These have been fantastic pigeons from mark and John usually gets one or two each year to try. His second pigeon was sent as a kit of test pigeons from a guy on pigeon chat in 2017. This is the only one left but has flown well at channel every year. Steven light from Conisbrough was third with R & J Hardy fourth timing a three year old hen sent sitting 10-day old eggs, which has been previously flown on the roundabout system for the main old bird season. She was their first bird home from the Club Le Mans race, and she was bred off a cock which they had bought from Doug Shaw's sale for £2! Previous birds from this cock have topped the mid-Yorkshire Combine from Poitiers. In fifth place was Catch & Cartwright with a Vandenabeele hen which was sent to this race sitting 14 days and her preparation was as follows. Having been rested since the OB season finished, this hen had 2 x 15-mile training chucks and was then sent to Newbury before this National race.


Section L


Long term NFC Committee man Gerry Clements from Manchester topped section L with a blue hen whose sire won 5th section L 13th open NFC Ancensis, 3rd section L 52nd open NFC Coutances, 4th section L 96th open NFC Messac, 1st Lancs & York 4 bird club Messac, 2nd Eccles 2 bird Ancensis, 2nd Lanc & York 4 bird club Ancensis, 3rd Eccles 2 bird club Messac, 180th National Fougeres, 4th Lancs & York 4 bird Coutances, 5th Eccles 2 bird, 4th Lancs Social Circle Messac and his pedigree is packed with National performances of “Topstar” X & L Verstraete, De Graeve van Geert, Van den Driesshe. The dam is De Graeve van Geert x Chris Gordon. Second section L was Bruno Pollastretti with a youngster out of his family of Staff Van Reets crossed with distance pigeons Hagan/Brugman gifted from good friend John Wolfenden. Third were R & B Smith, flying 308 miles with a young bird bred by their great friend Gerry Clements with who they exchanged six young birds and still had all six when this hen went to this race, proving the outstanding class of birds Gerry keeps. This hen was raced on darkness then paired to be sent feeding a 10-day old youngster and she had her first race at the beginning of August. She was their equal first bird at Frome finishing 6th club. All our young birds were well trained and fed on a mixture of young bird mix widowhood racing mix with some fat mixture added. Her Sire was 11th section 295th open & 12th section 60th open, both performances as yearling before Hawked and put to stock. Grand Dam was 1st section 25th open NFC Falaise, 1st RPRA award over 250miles, sister to 1st section 79th open Carentan National 1st border Amal plus other performances and the dam of 6th open RPRA final one loft. Fourth was Henry Grey with a Van Loon Hen bred by George Church which was raced on Darkness System then paired natural. Henry would like to say thanks to George for the gift pigeon. Fifth was J B Newson & Son with a blue hen which has raced every week and was just pairing up before the National race. Its breeding is a Busschaert x Wildermeerch from original introductions via Derek Pedley from Fleetwood, which I have had for over 30 years. The sire won two 2nd and one x 3rd inland last year and then won the Lancashire Social Circle Fougeres race this year. The dam is a pigeon bought from Roger Sutton from Astbury near Congleton a number of years ago which has produced winning pigeons. The old hens race was won by Kevin Tagell who timed a two year old Van Reet Janssen x Willy Thas, originating from T.Hulme x Jan Aldut both from Sandbach. She flew as a YB 385th open, but then unraced used only used as widowhood hen until this year when she was kept with young birds and prepared for race with young bird team. Second was Alan Parker who has recently returned to the sport. His first bird was a yearling hen which has been over the channel five times and sent rearing youngsters. Her sire is a grandson of “Chippo” and her dam was a stray pigeon gifted by Tim Webster of Chorley from a grandson of “Euro Diamond” x Vandenabeele. Past NFC Old Hens winner Roger Sutton was third with Bruno Pollastretti fourth with a Hagen out of Serena lines again bred by John Wolfenden, friend and new partner next season. They have been very consistent over the channel and Bruno would like to thank John and George for all their help. Fifth was K & M Cliffe who timed a hen bred from a Brackenier pigeon. Grandsire of the Den Dax super breeder for Oscar and Koan Brackenier which is sire to Shrek 1 & 2, 2nd national, 5th international Dax also the sire of Little Dax winner of the 1st national Brieve. The grandsire, 1st grandson of the Super Ludo Duivin, mother of countless national and international winners. The grand dam is a daughter of the Ludo Biek super breeder of the Ludo Frans, 2nd national and 5th national and the Blue Ludo 1st national Narbonne and numerous other great national and international pigeons. One similar way bred was 15th Open Saintes National, 518 miles winning over £1300.00 for them approximately four years ago. The dam is pure Dave Impet of Blackpool. Super distance flier from ring numbers GB09J02624 sire of GB09J02642. The photograph shows Ken, my eighty-six-year-old father, holding the hen now named Pork Pie and my wife Nichola. Nichola has done most of the work around the home with the birds and deserves credit.


Section N


Dave McSween & Jim Sexton of Sunderland were 1st & 2nd Section N in the youngbird race with the only two birds timed in race time. They certainly set their stall out for this race, which is a must when flying 402 miles. Their family of birds are no strangers to success when tackling this distance with young birds. This year’s winner is from the section winner of the same race three years ago & their second bird is from last year’s section winner. Brian Wiemer & Son of Hartlepool were 1st 4th 5th & 7th Section N with their own family of “Van Wiemers”. Their winner is a 6yo Kirkpatrick White Grizzle Hen sent on her first young of the season. Allan & Carol Walker of Stockton were 2nd Section N with a yearling hen through John Logan of Hetton's Tammy Blair Aardens. which actually came as daylight faded. Third was Mc Sween & Sexton.Only two birds got home on the day of the liberation in section N.


Section P


Winning the Young birds in section P is V Belcher and son (Loft 2) from Plumstead, also 19th open with a Stephan Lambrechts bred from James Parker stock, which topped a great weekend for the two Belcher lofts with them coming close to winning one of the BICC races. Second was Gladwin, Jarvis and family from Leigh on sea, here’s what John had to say about their race “Firstly I would like to say well done to all the winners it was a tough days racing and all birds that made it deserve a perch. My first bird was a Formula 1 lofts Frans Zwols which scored in the first BICC YB race and was second federation the week before from Honition. The sire is a 2017 pigeon I bred for stock being direct from the “Prince of Rekkem” and “Dreamy”. This pair are responsible for four national winners in the last three seasons. Dam of my first bird was also bred for stock in 2017 and is direct from “Brother Frans” and a daughter of “Tip Top Junior” and the “Queen of Rekkem” Third section is David Coward Talbot from Chelmsford with a blue hen which has already been his first pigeon on a couple of occasions from club racing. Her Sire is bred by Steve Foster and is very inbred to Sagan of Patrick Boeckx. His sire Belg 507 son of Sagan x Belg 064 full sister to Sagan. His Dam is Belg 522 her sire is Mealy Sagan direct son of Sagan x sister of Kittel when paired to Belg 054 full sister to Sagan. Fantastic breeding of the Patrick Boeckx lines. The Dam is pure Maurice Hasendonckx down from Zomerjong x a daughter of Ziggy this pedigree full of high performance pigeons. Fourth section is Micky Watts from Southminster. Micky has a tradition of hitting these mid to end of season races hard, and with a lot of success. The pigeon Micky timed is one bred for him by club mate Jonathan Cowlin and is from his Zwols family. She had shown previous form in both club and fed this young bird season. David Coward Talbot had the next two positions with the Jutla brothers seventh timing a really well bred blue hen scoring for the first time but same way bred as some top pigeons. The sire is a son of Vandenabeele’s Rudi and the mother is a daughter of the New Kittel.

In the Old Hens race, the leading pigeon in section P was flown by Mr and Mrs Alan Truelove from Canterbury “the hen has had a quiet life as I have only raced hens in the NFC old hens race in the last two years. They are in with the youngbirds and the first trainer is when they start training also being on the darkness. She went training with the club to Blandford and has been coming well and was sent to the national sitting 3 day old youngsters. Her breeding is Phillipe Fredericks on the sires side, the line of Le Crack 40 and Super Sonique, the dams side is also Le Crack 40 as well as Calimero 2nd Ace Sprint Provincial. I started to get confidant about her when her nest mate Yul Bruner won 7 races in 7 weeks so maybe should be breeding more from the parents, but I only have a small set up with 15 cocks and 30 young birds so only sent the two old hens. Both returned in good condition as did the youngsters as it was a hard race so well done the team” Second was Mark Bulled “I timed a four year old Staf Van Reet bred by Mark Sands. She is a barren hen but had taken to some eggs so I gave her a small baby to hold her moult. This was her 9th channel race this year and she is always consistent, she was provisionally 25th BICC Fougeres the week before and was my only entry” Third are Trevor and Adrian Wilson who said “We are both very pleased with our third section win for our single entry yearling blue hen ‘Nice Surprise’ She is a very consistent little hen winning as a young bird, 1st Yeovil, 2nd Yeovil, 3rd Blandford, 6th section NFC Coutances, 26th open B.I.C.C Guernsey. This year 6th Honington, 14th section B.B.C Fougeres, 6th section NFC Massac, 7th section NFC Cholet. After young bird racing, she was repaired and bred a pair of babies, she went back into training 2 weeks ago in preparation for this race! Well done to all section winners, we think it was a day for the good birds to show” Fourth section is Micky Watts who had a mishap with a basket of hens for this race, but the flap came undone they escaped except for this one which went to Coutances, the other hens on return were rebasketed and sent to the BICC race. Mick timed one of this Vandenabeele hens scoring for the first time. Fifth is G & M Truelove from Canterbury, Jeff is the father of Alan, previously mentioned, and part of a greater Truelove family in and around Canterbury. Jeff timed a hen from the Red Barcelona lines of Jos Thone which came from 2 pairs from John Searle. Jeff is very much into enjoying the pigeons for a hobby and it was refreshing to talk to someone who enjoys the sport for what it is. Well done.


Section Q


My thanks to Perry Liddle who sent me his comprehensive reports for section Q all season “Leading the way with 1st Section Q, was Roy Mears of Bude RPC who timed his good mealy Bricoux hen to record 642ypm. Roy told me that this hen has been raced in the local Bude Club with the Devon South Road out to Chale and has been really reliable, being his nomination bird every week and in the clock on each occasion. She was purchased from the Natural Breeding Station and Roy explained that he has had a long association with the Bricoux strain going back to the 1960’s when he obtained a few pairs from Mr. Webster of Bodmin. Nowadays, likes to obtain a few Bricoux each year from the Natural Breeding Station, because they are such a beautiful type who really try to get home. Considering how consistent this hen has proved, she could be one to watch in the future. Hearty congratulations to Roy on behalf of the Cornish Fancy. Second and third are Lee Luscombe and Mr and Mrs Steve Wright, flying to Lee’s address in Roche who clocked their birds to record 594, 576 and 377ypm. Being bred by Steve and Lesley at the House of Aarden, as one would expect, these three youngsters are beautifully bred, literally soaked in the best modern-day Jan Aarden bloodlines. First in the clock was a blue w/f hen, a granddaughter of Padfield’s Blue Badge, Padfield’s Iron Lady, De Cas and a daughter of De Cas. Second was a chequer pied hen, the granddaughter of Padfield’s Gareth, Steve’s Favourite, a great breeding hen, grandmother of 3x National winners (who is a daughter of Padfield’s Invincible and marvellous stock hen Invincible Joop 84, who is also grandmother of 3x National winners), Black Rico and Black Rico’s Daughter. Finally, they clocked a blue chequer w/f, beautifully line-bred to the Barcelona Champion New Laureaat being from a son of Jelle Man when paired to his own daughter when paired to a daughter of Young Laureaat when paired to his own daughter. Considering the excellent young bird returns that the partnership have enjoyed flying with the NFC and the Devon South Road, they will certainly have a powerful team of yearlings for next year. Fourth was R. Williams and D. Paterson of Helston who timed their blue cheq w/f cock doing 393ypm. This youngster is bred from well tried bloodlines, being an eclectic blend of Gerrit Lahuis, Milkins Champion Stock pair, Kannibaal and Nigel Templar’s lines. This youngster was having his third race having previously flown Okehampton and Exeter with the Cornish Combine. Leading the way with 1st Section old hens was Harry Searle of Penzance RPC who timed his good yearling blue chequer hen to record 245ypm. Harry told me that this hen is bred down from a long line of Bricoux and Kirkpatrick based pigeons that have worked well over the years. The sire being the Unrung Cock, a Bricoux from Tony Collingwood and the dam being a Bricoux – Kirkpatrick cross obtained from Jack Trembath, that contained the line of Rob Roy as well as the best of the AR Hill Kirkpatrick’s, including a blue hen that flew Portsoy (535miles) on the day into Cornwall. After this good showing, Harry is hoping that he has a good one for the future, congratulations to Roy on behalf of the Cornish Fancy.


Section W


First section W was Derek Jones in Wrexham with S & B Cooke second. They timed a blue cock having his fifth race of the season of Herman Ceuster x Van Loon bloodlines. The sire was bred by Alan Maull from Olympiad 003 lines and the dam bred by S & B Goulding in Liverpool direct from the "Minger" who’s racing and breeding record is up there with the very best. They would like to say well done to the Convoyers as the birds returned in good condition again plus Malik & Khan on winning the race. Mark Sparey from Abertillery won the next seven section positions, so had a great race. The old hens was won by D Jones of Wrexham who also took second and third with Mark Sparey in fourth place. M & L Bowen from Rhyl came fifth with Paul Dolton from Abergele in sixth place. He said “I got into pigeon racing four years ago through a good friend of mine Peter Hughes of Trefnant whom I'm sure many will know as he's been in the sport for years. The garden shed was converted into a small racing loft and Peter provided me with the birds and has guided me all the way through. Right from the onset it was obvious that the garden shed wasn't really the long term option and with the promise of a new summerhouse for my wife I got my new racing loft. Needless to say a stock loft later my wife's summerhouse has turned into the pigeon head quarters with all my baskets and other paraphernalia needed. I have raced with some reasonable results at fed level but have made many mistakes along the way and I'm still constantly pestering Peter for guidance. I joined the National Flying Club in 2018 and started racing this year with them. The old hen was a 2016 bird that came from Peter her father was a Van Loon cock the mother being a Wades hen. She raced this year from Messac but didn't time in, so I decided to try her again in the Coutances Old Hens. Having introduced some different blood into my stock I am looking forward to having a full race programme in the Nationals next year and can only hope that I get in the results again. No doubt I will be back on the phone to Peter. Well done Paul and I hope your success with the NFC continues in the future, Chris.


Planning for the new season in 2020 is already underway with the NFC Committee with the first meeting on the 23rd October in Alverley. News and Views to me Chris Sutton on 01530 242548 or 07792 356330 email

 

3rd Sec E - K Wise, Isleworth
3rd Sec E - K Wise, Isleworth
5th Sec D - A W Harwood, Sidmouth
5th Sec D - A W Harwood, Sidmouth
1st Sec B - Bill Edwards & Pat Harr...
1st Sec B - Bill Edwards & Pat Harris, Gosport
2nd Sec L - Bruno Pollastretti, Hyd...
2nd Sec L - Bruno Pollastretti, Hyde
3rd Sec D - C Williams, Plymouth
3rd Sec D - C Williams, Plymouth
1st Sec N - McSween & Sexton, Sunde...
1st Sec N - McSween & Sexton, Sunderland
1st Sec H - C Crick & Son, Stotfold
1st Sec H - C Crick & Son, Stotfold
4th Sec B - Mr & Mrs D Waterhouse, ...
4th Sec B - Mr & Mrs D Waterhouse, Portsmouth
3rd Sec P - D Coward-Talbot, Chelms...
3rd Sec P - D Coward-Talbot, Chelmsford
4th Sec H - D Thomas, Wellingboroug...
4th Sec H - D Thomas, Wellingborough
1st Sec L - A G Clements, Mancheste...
1st Sec L - A G Clements, Manchester
2nd Sec B - K & S.Legg & Sons, Por...
2nd Sec B  - K & S.Legg & Sons, Portsmouth
2nd Sec B - K & S.Legg & Sons Ports...
2nd Sec B - K & S.Legg & Sons	Portsmouth
1st Sec E-Malik & Khan, Tolworth
1st Sec E-Malik & Khan, Tolworth
1st Sec C-M A & S C King, Blandford...
1st Sec C-M A & S C King, Blandford Forum
4th Sec D-Mr & Mrs J McClements, Pl...
4th Sec D-Mr & Mrs J McClements, Plymouth
1st Sec A-Mr & Mrs May & Son, Chich...
1st Sec A-Mr & Mrs May & Son, Chichester
4th Sec C-Neville & Diana Spracklen...
4th Sec C-Neville & Diana Spracklen, Dorchester
2nd Sec J-Mr & Mrs N Shaw, Crewe
2nd Sec J-Mr & Mrs N Shaw, Crewe
4th Sec A-P Fyfield, Bordon
4th Sec A-P Fyfield, Bordon
1st Sec J-R Scriven, Bridgnorth
1st Sec J-R Scriven, Bridgnorth
1st Sec D-R Goodier & Sons, Marsh G...
1st Sec D-R Goodier & Sons, Marsh Green
2nd Sec W-S & B.Cooke, Wrexham
2nd Sec W-S & B.Cooke,	Wrexham
1st Sec G-S S Whittle, Bristol
1st Sec G-S S Whittle, Bristol
5th Sec G-S Moseley, Bristol
5th Sec G-S Moseley, Bristol
3rd Sec K-L & S. Gash, Mansfield
3rd Sec K-L & S. Gash, Mansfield
3rd Sec E-K Wise, Isleworth
3rd Sec E-K Wise, Isleworth
3rd Sec L-R & B Smith, Warrington
3rd Sec L-R & B Smith, Warrington

5th Sec D - A Phillips, Tiverton
5th Sec D - A Phillips, Tiverton
1st Sec P - Mr & Mrs.A.Truelove, Ca...
1st Sec P - Mr & Mrs.A.Truelove, Canterbury
2nd Sec N - Mr & Mrs Walker, Stockt...
2nd Sec N - Mr & Mrs Walker, Stockton on Tees
3rd Sec H - Andy Talmer, Woburn
3rd Sec H - Andy Talmer, Woburn
1st Sec J - B Harris & Son, Kidderm...
1st Sec J - B Harris & Son, Kidderminster
1st Sec N - Brian Wiemer & Son, Har...
1st Sec N - Brian Wiemer & Son, Hartlepool
1st Sec B - M Shipp, Portsmouth
1st Sec B - M Shipp, Portsmouth
2nd Sec J - C Gough, Shrewsbury
2nd Sec J - C Gough, Shrewsbury
3rd Sec B - C Hallett, Portsmouth
3rd Sec B - C Hallett, Portsmouth
4th Sec H - Mr.Danny Pullman, Milto...
4th Sec H - Mr.Danny Pullman, Milton Keynes
2nd Sec B - Mr Elvin Booth, Gosport
2nd Sec B - Mr Elvin Booth, Gosport
3rd Sec C - Mr J P Halstead, Nr Gil...
3rd Sec C - Mr J P Halstead, Nr Gillingham
1st Sec K - John McCall, Leeds
1st Sec K - John McCall, Leeds
1st Sec E - K Wise, Isleworth
1st Sec E - K Wise, Isleworth
5th Sec L - K & M Cliffe, Congleton...
5th Sec L - K & M Cliffe, Congleton
1st Sec I - Kevin Tagell, Congleton
1st Sec I - Kevin Tagell, Congleton
3rd Sec F - Kieron Marcham, Hermita...
3rd Sec F - Kieron Marcham, Hermitage
13th Sec B - K Davison, Southampton
13th Sec B - K Davison, Southampton
1st Sec C - Neville & Diana Sprackl...
1st Sec C - Neville & Diana Spracklen, Dorchester
4th Sec G - N Templar, Bristol
4th Sec G - N Templar, Bristol
2nd Sec H - R Eccles And Son, Baldo...
2nd Sec H - R Eccles And Son, Baldock
2nd Sec G - Mr & Mrs R Kerr, Glouce...
2nd Sec G - Mr & Mrs R Kerr, Gloucester
1st Sec F - S Hughes, Swindon
1st Sec F - S Hughes, Swindon
7th Sec I - T & J Mather & S.Haywoo...
7th Sec I - T & J Mather & S.Haywood, Matlock
1st Sec A - A J Baughen, Liphook
1st Sec A - A J Baughen, Liphook
3rd Sec P - Trevor & Adrian Wilson,...
3rd Sec P - Trevor & Adrian Wilson, Manuden
3rd Sec L - R & B Smith Warrington
3rd Sec L - R & B Smith	Warrington