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National Forum With Keith Mott

National Forum 31 The George Buckton Falaise Young Bird National.

The National Flying Club ended the 2003 season with a brilliant young bird national for Falaise in northern France, when members entered 6,175 birds and enjoyed excellent returns. The day of the national started off dodgy with rain in northern France, but the sun soon broke through and the N.F.C. chief convoyer, Colin Bates, cut the stings and liberated the national at 08.35 hrs., in a light southwest wind. The wind was northwest in the English Channel, turning to west in mainland England and favoured members on the east side, especially section E, as the final result showed. This national proved to be a great delight for me personally, as my good friends, Ced and Clive Allwright of Ashford, won the young bird race and recorded their second N.F.C. winner.

The father and son partnership sent 15 youngsters to the national, recording their first bird, a ‘darkness’ blue chequer cock, at 11.28 hrs., flying 164 miles and topped up a brilliant day by recording the best five young birds and best old hen, by 30 minutes, in their local clock station. Ced and Clive’s old bird looks like finishing up 7^th open in the old hens national result, being clocked approx. 18 minutes after the young bird national winner. The partners won the young bird national for the first time, from Pontorson (6,469 birds) in 1998, with their champion Haelterman blue pied hen, ‘Starlett’, and both the parents where bred by Frank and Anne Tasker, from his fantastic ‘Filmstar’ blood lines. Frank Tasker’s famous ‘Filmstar’ was the champion racer and breeding cock, winning many premier prizes, including 26 times 1^st, 12 times 1^st open Federation and is responsible for breeding countless winners. The latest national winner is a Haelterman / Allwright distance family cross with the dam of ‘Starlett’, being the grand dam of the Falaise national winner. The Allwright’s latest champion had three short club races, from Littlehampton and Fareham, on his build up to the Falaise national and was sent playing around with a young hen. Ced and Clive use the Frank Tasker ‘darkness’ system and their small 6ft.x4ft. ‘darkness’ loft is a converted garden shed, which has now produced two N.F.C. young bird national winners. The partners breed 70 young birds every session and half are put on the ‘darkness’ system and half are left natural. Ced says he would not put his whole team of young birds on the ‘darkness’, because he is not happy with their performances as yearlings. The youngsters are trained very hard from the west and north, and race through to 230 miles in their first session. They are fed on Junior Plus and are allowed to pair up if they want to. The ‘darkness’ young birds are put on the system when they are weaned and are housed in a 6ft.x4ft. garden shed, with a Sputnik trap. The natural youngsters are housed in a 12ft. loft and all the lofts are painting out in light blue, which is very restful for the inmates.

Ced and Clive keep ten pairs of stock birds and these are paired up in January, because they like a few early youngsters. The main families kept are the Frank and Anne Tasker ‘Filmstar’ family, Jim Biss, Eric and Pat Cannon and their own long distance family, which they have blended over the years.  The stock loft has a nice big wire flight so that the inmates can get out into the weather. When bringing in new stock they go for good winning lines, and say the only type they like is ‘the winning type’.

The day after the Falaise national my good friend, Tony Dann, and I made the 65 mile drive down to Ashford in Kent, to see the Ced and Clive’s latest champion and offer our congratulations in person. I must say, that the Allwright’s are some of the nicest people I’ve had the pleasure to meet in my 35 years in the sport of pigeon racing and their latest national win has given my wife, Betty, and I much delight. I must take this opportunity to thank my ol’ mucker, Tony Dann, for his help with the photography on this article. On our visit, Ced,  showed us many of his top performers, including his good dark chequer cock, which has secured the British Barcelona Club ‘Spanish Diploma’ in the 2003 season, when he completed his three times in the open result from Palamos (647 miles). This game cock is off the Allwright’s own long distance family and on his build up to Palamos each year, is only raced lightly, with two inland and one channel race, before the main event and in the 2002 season was the only bird timed in the Kent 500 Mile Specialist Club. His dam is one of the lofts best channel racers, winning many firsts on the long distance, from France and on handling this wonderful dark cock, Tony and I, both agreed he was the perfect pigeon in the hand, being medium and long cast, with silky feathering. The Allwright loft has won many times 1^st Federation through the years and the 2002 season saw them win 13 firsts in the local club. The partners good Eric Cannon blue white flight hen, recorded 1^st S.E. section, 12^th open London & South East Classic Club Pau in the 2002 season, and was the only bird clocked in Kent. This game hen was bred from a direct son of champion ‘Culmer Marion’, Eric Cannon’s N.F.C. Sartilly young bird national winner. We also handled the partners latest national winner and on inspecting him, I noticed that he had just cast his third flight and was beginning to drop his body feathers, with the progression of his moult. The latest young bird champion was medium and apple bodied in the hand and I thought, lthough he was a cross, was very much like the Haelterman type.

Ced has been in the sport for 60 years, starting during the war years with aid of a friend who was a local National Pigeon Service rep. His father was an outstanding fancier in London and specialised in long distance racing and won many premier positions in the London N.R. Combine. In turn his father was great fancier, making Clive the fourth generation of pigeon fanciers in the Allwright family. Ced has racing diplomas dating back to 1912. For many years Ced flew on the north road in partnership with his wife, Vera, and says that she was a great worker with the pigeons, and clock in many winners on the long distance, when he was at work. Clive became interested in his fathers pigeons at the age of four and has been a partner for over 30 years. Ced says his son, Clive, is a great worker in the partnership and Vera is still very interested in the pigeons today. They race their 25 pairs on the natural system, with Channel racing in mind, but like to compete in the shorter races. They have raced the odd pigeon on the widowhood system, but say, they enjoy seeing their bird in the garden. They stagger their pairing up, starting in the first section in January and work through the loft, finishing the job in mid-March. The main racing loft is 30ft. long, five sections and all trapping is in to Sputniks. The whole loft set up is in a big wire compound to keep out cats. The old birds are hopper fed on winter mixture and in one of their best seasons, fed maple peas only, but say, all corn must be of premier quality. Old bird training is from the west and north, wherever Clive is working, but like to take them 30 or 40 miles if they can. The Allwright’s are a wonderful family and deserve all the great success they have enjoyed with their pigeons. Congratulations to Ced and Clive on their latest national win!

Falaise young bird national section winners were: 

Congratulation to you all!

The Falaise old hens national attracted 1,512 birds and was won by Crathorne & Parrott of Benfleet. Because of lack of time and the pressure of getting this article in to print for this week’s fancy press, I will be doing a full report on the N.F.C. old hens national next week. That’s it for this week’s ‘National Forum’. Anyone with any N.F.C. news please me on Telephone: 01372 463480 or Email: keithmott@btopenworld.com