The Late Brian Goodwin of Isleworth by Keith Mott

[sapper756]

The late Brian Goodwin of Isleworth.

I am so sad to receive a message from Brian’s partner, Suzanne Spratley to inform me that my dear friend and premier pigeon racer, Brian Goodwin, has passed away on the evening of 28th April. Brian has been suffering some bad health for a long time and his latest stay in hospital was quite long, and we have been very worried about him. Love you mate, we are going to miss you very much! Brian Goodwin and I have been very good friends for 50 years and we first met up in 1973, when we were two young lads racing in old Molesey club and you could not hope to meet a nicer lad. We had some great times together over the years! We judged together at many National shows, made countless loft visits in Europe together and in 2008 he convoyed three London & South East Classic races with me, including the longest race from Tarbes. He was great to talk pigeons with, having a life time at winning at the very top level of the sport. Like me he never switched off and loved the two codes of the pigeons sport, racing and showing. He won it all over the years, including four times 1st Combine and ‘Best in Show’ at the annual West Middlesex Federation show. Brian was the most generous person you could hope to meet and would never see any one in trouble, and would give them anything he could to help. Brian was a lovely guy and certainly one of the ‘all time’ greats at pigeon racing in the London area. Our sincere condolences from Keith and Betty.

Brian first became interested in pigeons at the age of ten, after following his big brother, David, to his friend's house in Isleworth, where they kept pigeons in the back of an old television. Young Brian started catching pigeons under iron railway bridges, with a torch, at night and built up his first flock. Some years later, after upgrading his team, he started racing in the very strong Isleworth Club and won from Exmouth (150 miles) with 196 birds competing. The late Johnny Sampson of Isleworth gave him a lot of good advice and help in those early days. He maintains he owes all his success to Johnny, as he told him how to feed, train and race his birds. Johnny gave him a pair of eggs which produced his winner, with the nest pair recording 1st and 2nd club Exmouth.

In spite of recent health problem, Brian Goodwin, tried to kick them into touch and enjoy his pigeon racing hobby in 2008. He installed the ETS system, but could only race four young bird races and scoring in all four, including one of his best performances. As in previous seasons, with his health problems, Brian racing activities were short, but very sharp recording: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 25th, 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th Federation from the longest young bird race from Yelverton, setting a new Berkshire Federation record and 1st club, 4th Federation Lulworth. Brian’s 2008 Federation winner was his good Maurice and Gregory Casaert pencil blue cock, ‘ETS’, and he was raced to the perch. Right behind ‘ETS’ on the trap to take 2nd Federation was the handsome blue chequer pied cock, ‘Claire’s Boy’, and he is a son of one of Brian’s favourite Federation winners, ‘My Claire’, and she was bred by Willy Thas. The Lulworth winner was the Litherland / Casaert blue pied cock, ‘Peanut Boy’, and he recorded 4th open in the very strong Berkshire Federation.

As I have previous stated, I’ve have known Brian Goodwin since the early 1970’s and you couldn't ask to meet a more ‘down to earth’ guy. This Middlesex pigeon racer won 1st open SMT Combine Bergerac (450 miles) and recorded his fourth 1st open Combine winner in, at that time, 35 years in the sport. He had won the SMT Combine an incredible four times, from Penzance, Melle and the longest old bird Bergerac race (twice). Brian's latest winner was a little blue Belgian hen raced on the roundabout system having had several good Channel races before winning the very strong SMT Combine from Bergerac. Every now and again he had a trip to Belgium and brought back a few fancied young birds. The blue hen was one of these imports, being purchased at a little loft in Belgium, and he didn't even know the breeder's name.

Brian used to race widowhood but said it was a waste of good hens, so he changed and raced the roundabout system. Brian raced only the south route and liked to win every Saturday from the shortest to the longest race. He raced Emiel Deweerdt of Kortemark, Belgium, pigeons, which he introduced in 1978, and pigeons from Herman Beverdam of Enter, Holland. He tried six youngsters every year from small lofts in Belgium and Holland, which he started to do in the early 1990s. He maintained the Emiel Deweerdts pigeons had been fantastic for him through the years, from any distance, easy or hard, and you could count on them when others don't clock in.

The Brian Goodwin loft had won the Federation countless times through the years, with the highlights being - 1982:1st open SMT Combine Melle (smash) 363 miles; 1983: 1st open SMT Combine Penzance 260 miles; 1989: 4th open SMT Combine Alencon on (young bird smash) 280 miles; 1991: 1st open SMT Combine Bergerac 454 miles (won the Combine by 43 minutes); 1996: 1st open SMT Combine Bergerac 456 miles. His biggest thrill in pigeon racing was when he won the Combine from Penzance in 1983 with his Deweerdt blue chequer cock called ‘The Crippled Cock’. He won the Combine after having half its foot bitten off by a dog and won three times 1st Federation in his great racing career. At that time the Middlesex loft still housed three of their four SMT Combine winners. Brian bred many winners for other fanciers and in the 2007 season the Charlie and John Cudmore partnership of the Bedfont club won the Federation twice, once with an old bird which also topped the UBI Combine and the other was a youngster. Through the years Brian had been well known for racing the Emiel Deweerdt pigeons with brilliant success, but at that time Brian had been over to Belgium and brought back several new strains, which had also performed very well. In the 2006 season, Spelthorne club members, Don Herbert and Peter Mercer, won 1st and 2nd open UBI Combine Wadebridge and both these two young birds were bred from Brian’s Willy Thas stock birds. The Goodwin loft had several Schoors – De Waele of Maidegem in Belgium stock birds which had bred some good winners since he imported them. Brian bred a blue pied cock from these birds for A. Hand & son of Feltham and they named it ‘Bert’ after he won 1st club, 1st Berkshire Federation, 4th open UBI Combine Saintes. Brian Goodwin, my friend and lovely man. RIP.

Keith Mott (29/04/2022)