Up North Combine Loft Visit (part 5) by Keith Mott

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UP NORTH COMBINE LOFT VISITS (PART 5)

Colin Allison of Redcar.

Fanciers who exhibit at the Peterlee NEHU Show a few years ago will know the hard-working Show Manager, Colin Allison of Redcar, who was not only one of the sport's workers but was an ace racer, winning 1st open Up North Combine Maidstone Young Bird National (14,047 birds) in 1997.

Colin started up in pigeons as a six year old with strays and, after several seasons in the boy’s club, starting racing in 1965. He says one of his best seasons was in 1977 when he won 23 firsts racing in two clubs He had always raced his pigeons on the natural system, turning onto the roundabout system in1996 and winning a record four times 1st Federations in four races on the trot that season. The 1997 season saw him win the greatest prize, 1st open UNC Maidstone, with his wonderful blue pied hen, ‘Miss Destiny’, and she didn’t have the best build up to her Combine win. This Van Reet darkness youngster got lost for three weeks from her first race of 60 miles and returned home in good condition. She went straight back to Peterborough (150 miles) to record 27th Federation before going to the Maidstone National to win 1st open with 14,047 birds taking part. Her sire won the Federation in 1996 and her dam had recorded 2nd and 3rd. A wonderful winning family! Colin went on to the roundabout system as he never fancied widowhood as his hens have always been outstanding. One of his best was the blue chequer Busschaert, ‘Third Choice’, which had won many outstanding prizes from Lillers, including 1st club, 1st Federation, 14th open UNC (25,000 birds). This roundabout racer had also won 24th open UNC Folkestone (20,000 birds) and two televisions.

His main racing loft had four sections, corridor trapping and was a rather smart pantile loft that was set in his very neat garden. The nest boxes in the old bird section were set out facing one another on the two sides of the parting and he paired up the racing team at the end of January. All the old birds’ reared one pair of youngsters before going onto the roundabout system, where he said his birds were outstanding up to about 320 miles. He fed a good Versele-Laga mixture and sometimes broke down until Wednesday during the racing season. The hens and cocks were trained separately twice a week up to the mid-racing season.

The Allison loft housed several families, including Van Loon. One of the premier Van Loon racers was the blue hen '550' which had recorded 1st Federation Harlow and 1st Federation Epping. Colin told me on my visit that she liked 200 miles on a fairly fast day. Her sire had bred his best three hens. He kept a young bird team of about 50 birds each season and started the darkness system in 1997 so he could compete in the young bird events. They were put on darkness when weaned, got eight hours' light per day up to late June and were raced to the perch. The youngsters were trained down the east coast to Scarborough (35 miles), starting at ten miles in the Cleveland Hills, After they had gone down the coast, they went down the A19 (which Colin called the inland route), then into the first race. The whole young bird team raced up to 150 miles, then some were stopped. Although Colin won 1st UNC on darkness, he was not happy with their performances at the yearling stage. He said he was mostly interested in old bird racing and at that time told me he may stop using the darkness system.

Verrill & Armstrong of Staithes.

Verrill & Armstrong had their loft on the side of the valley overlooking the sleepy little fishing village of Staithes, a stone's throw from the five times Up North Combine winning loft of Bill Porritt. Matt said that the day they won the mighty Up North Combine from Maidstone Young Bird National in 1998, the wind was westerly and just right for their loft location on the east coast. He had been in the sport since 1960 and formed his highly successful partnership with Tom in 1978, winning many major positions in their favourite young bird races, including 1st open Up North Combine Harlow National in 1989; 5th open Up North Combine Folkestone National in 1982 and their latest Up North Combine win from Maidstone, with 17,076 young birds competing in 1998. The partners' Maidstone combine winner was a medium blue chequer white flight hen, bred from the best Mr & Mrs Whitehead of Co. Durham, Busschaert bloodlines. She was hatched on March 8th and put on the darkness system, after which she was raced to the perch playing around with an odd cock bird. She hurt her wing in the Peterborough race in 1998 and could not fly for three or four days. When she began to exercise well around the loft, she was entered in the young bird Maidstone National, to win 1st open Up North Combine, a wonderful performance!

The dam of the combine winner was a nice Busschaert light blue chequer which had won 10th open Up North Combine from 252 miles. Verrill & Armstrong liked young bird racing best and bred 25 youngsters each season for their sport. They went onto the darkness system in 1998 with outstanding success; the young bird team was put on the system on weaning and taken off at the old bird Bourges race. They were trained hard down the coast to Whitby and fed well on a good widowhood mixture, never being kept short of feeding. They were raced to the perch, being allowed to pair up if they wish and Tom said a big disappointment in the 1998 season was the nest mate of the Combine winner, being killed on some wires. All the young birds were raced through the programme to the longest race. The partners' loft was 30ft long, made up of three sections, two for old birds and one for the young birds, with all trapping done through the open doors. The five pairs of stock birds were all Busschaerts, originating from Mr & Mrs Whitehead and the old birds were raced on the natural system.

Trevor Rowland of Sunderland.

At the time of my loft visit, Trevor Rowland had started up in the sport 16 years previously and told me he has always done well out of Lillers, which was a 342 mile fly to his allotment lofts. In 1992 he won the ‘LNRC Cup of Friendship Trophy’ for the best two bird performance in Up North Combine Lillers race, recording 6th and 13th open. In 1996 season, Trevor hit the jackpot by winning 1st open UNC Lillers (16,248 birds) with a Busschaert blue widowhood cock. This game pigeon was only lightly raced as he got injured as a young bird, then recorded a good Combine position in the Folkestone National two weeks before winning 1st open UNC Lillers. The loft had won the Federation many times through the years, but Trevor rated his Combine win as his best performance.

The main family raced was Busschaert, one team on Natural for the long distance races and 40 cocks on Widowhood for sprint and middle-distance events. None of the racers were broken down in the race season as Trevor said the climate in the North East was wrong for this practice. For the short or long distance races he paired up on Boxing Day and had to pair the whole loft up that week because that's the only time he got off work. The birds were trained hard before the season started and they were never forced to exercise around the loft. Trevor never saved young cocks for the Widowhood system, the one time he did, he lost them on dodgy races the following year, because they hadn't any race experience. When bringing in a new stock bird, he had to have a good gut feeling and really fancy it, and they had to be from good winning lines. Trevor tod me the champion of the loft was his good Busschaert blue pied cock and he won twice 1st Federation, twice 2nd Federation and 6th open UNC Lillers. This 'Ace' was raced on Widowhood and was breeding winners in the stock partings. Full article to appear in the BHW soon. (December 2022)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[REDCHEQHEN]

Colin was at the Redcar Central Flying Club's presentation evening in November and looked very well, it's always nice to see him although he no longer keeps pigeons.