Joe Murphy Article 13th April 2023

[sapper756]

The Joe Murphy Column

Received a card ‘Just to Say Thank You’ from my dear old friend Henry & Etta Mair & Family from
Irvine in Ayrshire. Who wrote; It was good to read that it all worked out well with your ‘Charity’
pigeon for Blackpool. Excellent!!! Well Done. Joe your column, is a must for Anybody with pigeons
in Scotland and Beyond. Keep up the Great Work, and your help from Margaret & Family. Love and
best wishes Henry & Etta xx.
Hendry also sent a question for my column.
* How ‘close’ did Shillinglaw & Whylie pigeon ‘Blue Blitz’ come to winning 2 Gold Cups.
* He was 1 st open Rennes in 1964 (6000 pigeons)
* He was 2 nd open Rennes in 1965 (6000 pigeons) With Gardiner Brothers were 1 st in the race
velocity 1074.
* What was Blue Blitz velocity in 2 nd place???? How close was it ????
* What is the history of the Gold Cup ????? Who presented it??????
* Is G Willox of Peterhead the most northerly fancier to win it ??????
My Reply
* Regarding the 1964 Rennes race; From the Rennes race 2790 members sent 5537 birds to the race
the convoy were liberated at 05-35 am into a north east wind. Shillinglaw & Wylie of Newcastleton
were flying 491 miles 1074 yards. They timed in their chequer hen at SU62S 6500 at 7-23-16 pm for
a velocity of 1044. 2 nd open was W Gardiner of Lockerbie flying 490 miles 1040 yards timed in his
chequer hen SU60S 2208 at 8-02-29pm for a velocity of 995.
The FOLLOWING YEAR 1965; The convoy of 6030 birds sent by 2820 members were liberated at
6-15am at Rennes on 27 th June into a light north west wind. Winning 1 st open was W Gardiner of
Lockerbie who timed in a mealy hen‘Sky Queen’ SURP61S1801 at 7-38-54 recording a velocity of
1074.0
Shillinglaw & Wylie of Newcastleton, flying 491-1074 timed in ‘Blue Blitz’ SU62S6500 at 7-40-39
recording a velocity of 1073.9
So, Henry the answer to your question was -- POINT ONE TWO OF A YARD.
* What is the history of the Gold Cup ????? Who presented it ??????
My Answer; In 1913 John McAlpine, took over the managers appointment as Doctor Anderson loft.
Later on, his son Willie followed in the same role. Willie celebrated his 87 th birthday during the
SNFC Centenary year and probably remembered more than any other fancier about the early
Nationals. Also, about Doctor Anderson and his prowess as a racer, breeder and SNFC leader. In
1914 Rennes race could have been jeopardised, as it happened Rennes went ahead in that summer
despite the looming hostilities. However, that was to be the last Rennes National for some time. The
Gold Cup so proudly acquired just a year earlier, was put into safe storage. The sum of £20, about
half the club reserves, was placed in Government War Loans. In 1917 both Mr Dickson and Dr
Anderson asked ‘To be relieved of their duties for some time’. It was perhaps rewarding that Dr
Anderson was the winner of the Gold Cup in 1920; with another coincidence being that Dr
Andersons near neighbours Watson Brothers won the Gold Cup.
Regarding G Willox of Peterhead; Yes, he is the most northerly fancier to win the Gold Cup from
Alencon in 2008 flying a distance of 631 miles, recoding a velocity of 1107. The following year

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2009; Dave Pirie of Aberdeen won Andrezel flying 626 miles with a velocity of 1364. As a matter of
pursuit Dennis Dall of Ladybank is the furthest flying SNFC record holder as he won Niort flying
697 miles in 1990; Fife had some exceptional distance fanciers in their midst at this time as John
Duthie of Methil winning Niort in 1989 and Jock Traill of Thornton won Niort in 1996 and Nantes in
1997. All the above truly outstanding fanciers. In my research on my book on the Dewar Trophy
winners; I came across an article in Jim Renwick’s ‘Scotland’s Own Book’, which Billy Wortley
wrote. I thought some of this information is applicable to Henry Mair’s letter; so, enjoy my old
friend as well as other readers of my column.

……………………………………………

Jack Wylie is one of the few fanciers who became a Legend in their own lifetime, but Jack was
indeed one of these people. There were a few very good fanciers who flew their pigeons in the
village in that era; the most prominent was W J Little who raced Champion named ‘Border Hero’
see photo. This pigeon was a blue chequer white flight cock bred in 1951 and in 1953 won 7 th section
15 th open SNFC Rennes from an entry of 4727 birds. He was entered from Rennes in 1954 and won
1 st section 2 nd open from an entry of 5070 birds. He was back to Rennes in 1955 to win 2 nd section 14 th
open from an entry of 6201 birds. Many fanciers who obtained his blood won out of turn with his
offspring. In 1950 Jack Wylie became more interested in the pigeon and he would go on a Saturday
to watch the pigeon’s arrival at the loft of Harkness & Fergusson. At this time Mrs Jean Shillinglaw
used to visit the loft of T Robson to watch his birds return. As a matter of interest Mrs Shillinglaw
was an expert in breeding and showing Border Terrier Dogs. Both Mrs Shillinglaw and her husband
were each interested in the racing pigeons, and in 1962 Mrs Shillinglaw approached Jack to enquire
if he was interested in starting a partnership with her. Jack agreed but as he only had a small back
garden in the rear of his house, a new loft would have to be erected in the garden of Mr & Mrs
Shillinglaw. In actual fact both the Wylie & Shillinglaw families were near neighbours both residing
the same street North Liddle Street in Newcastleton. There were only 10 houses in the street which
runs in parallel to the River Liddle. They had no problem obtaining pigeons as the club members 6
youngster to them. Two from Harkness & Ferguson, one from J Wallace and 3 from T Robson and
they purchased several Logans at a sale in Balerno. Another interesting item is that 5 of the 6 original
youngsters from their club mates; all scored from the channel, and one was to prove to be one of the
greatest pigeons ever to compete into Scotland. One of the Harkness & Ferguson pigeons gifted to
them was a blue hen SU62 6500. W J Little (mention above) who owned ‘Border Hero’ said to them
that the blue hen 6500 was ‘something special’. Jack worked on the railway and was a member of the
Fur & Feather Club, which entitled him to subsidise training. Jack would then train weekly from
Shap or Appleby and W J Little would sit at the loft and watch the pigeons come home. W J in 1964
told Jack Wylie that the blue hen 6500 was performing well and he predicted that she would do well
from the channel. Prior to going to the national she had 4 races, from Leyland; Newton of Willows;
Cannock and Cheltenham. She was then entered for the SNFC Rennes Gold Cup race and the convoy
were liberated at 05-35am and she was timed at 19-24 to win Scotland’s Premier race, recording a
velocity of 1044ypm, and clearly won the national. A large North of England convoy was also
liberated with the SNFC pigeons that day and the leading pigeon from his convoy was doing less
than 1000ypm. Hence the reason she was name ‘Blue Blitz’. There was another concern regarding
the National race; on the day following, J B Halliday of Brydekirk came to congratulate Jack on
being the probable winner of the race, but he told Jack that he was led to believe his clock had still
not arrived at the clock station for checking. In those days the birds and clocks were sent by train to
the Clock Checking Station. J B’s kindly involvement prompted Jack to go to the local station in

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Newcastleton and speak to the Station Master, who contacted Waverley Station in Edinburgh to find
out if the clock had been received, and passed onto Glasgow. A further check with the Glasgow
authorities confirmed the clock had been received and been passed for checking. (Could you imagine
that happening now; We would be going out of our mind- who is to say that Jack Wylie wasn’t doing
the same thing. The other good thing in today’s pigeon racing sport is we now have the ETS, which
just shows how we have progressed over the years). In 1965 Jack Wylie gave 6500 x 3 club races in
which she gained 2 federation positions and she was entered into the SNFC Gold Cup race from
Rennes. The convoy was liberated at 06-15am and she was timed at 19-41pm. The outcome of the
race was very close with 2 good pigeons being timed into Lockerbie. When the result came out
SURP61S1801 ‘Sky Queen’ raced by Billy Gardiner timed 7-38-54 for the 490 miles 1040 yards,
recording a velocity of 1074.0. Shillinglaw & Wylie of Newcastleton, flying 491-1074 they timed in
‘Blue Blitz’ SU62S6500 at 7-40-39 recording a velocity of 1073.94. The 3 rd open position was won
by J McKay of Lockerbie who timed at 7-41-58 to record a velocity of 1070. So ‘Blue Blitz’ was
beaten for a double SNFC Gold Cup win BY THE FLAP OF A WING.
Billy Gardiner’s ‘Sky Queen’ had previously won 13 th section 25 th open SNFC Rennes 1963 with
5500 birds competing. Her daughter ‘Sky Baby’ won 1 st section 1 st open SNFC Young Bird national
from Worcester in 1965 so Billy won 2 nationals in the same season.
{I digress from the above a little but found these facts very interesting while doing this research.
Billy Gardiner’s blue chequer hen 2208 won 16 th section 27 th open Rennes in 1965, the year
previous 1964 she had won 2 nd section 2 nd open SNFC Rennes; and in 1961 this hen won 1 st club
(only bird on the day of the toss) 8 th federation from Dol. Her sister was a blue pied hen named
‘Sky Princess’ who won 5 th section 13 th open SNFC Nantes in 1964 and in 1965 she won 1 st section
2 nd open SNFC Nantes, 8 th open Ushers/Vaux International}
Back to another winner for Shillinglaw & Wylie was ‘Blue Booster’ winner of 1 st section 1 st open
Solway Federation; they also won 1 st Solway federation averages in 1972. His dam was bred by Tom
Pooley from Cockermouth while his sire was from ‘Blue Blitz’. In 1978 the partners won their 2 nd
outright national winning 1 st section 1 st open SNFC Falaise with ‘Blue Boy’ which was a blue
chequer cock. Mrs Shillinglaw died in 1979 and Jack moved the loft to its original location adjacent
to the loft of his great friends Harkness & Ferguson. Jack recorded his 3 rd National win which was to
prove quite special. After a 2-day holdover the convoy of 9983 birds were liberated at Rennes at 05-
45 am on Sunday 27 th of June into a south west wind. The loft of Shillinglaw & Wylie timed at 5-
06pm. This turned out to be as dramatic as the 1965 race, as it was a close race. Both Jack’s bird and
Mr Pringle of Selkirk were recording the same velocity of 1269. Both lofts were remeasured and
after several days it was announced that Shillinglaw & Wylie had won the race recording a velocity
of 1269-38 and Mr Pringle velocity was 1269-35. Jack knew exactly how Mr Pringle must have felt
and he had some sympathy for him, however he did appreciate; that the first telephone call he
received to congratulate him was from Mr Pringle. Ever since the Rennes race was established any
winner of the event wishes to do the double and in 1982 the loft of Shillinglaw & Wylie became the
first loft to achieve this fete. The late president of the club Percy Cameron of Lockerbie presented
Jack with a suitably inscribed Gold Watch on behalf of the SNFC in recognition of this fete. Once
again, a matter of interest for fanciers. Jack Wylie favoured his cannel candidates sitting eggs or a
small youngster but to illustrate the power of observation, appreciate that ‘Blue Blitz’ his 1 st open
Rennes winner was sent sitting 6-day old youngsters, while ‘Liddle Supreme’ the pigeon which

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eventually achieved the elusive 2 nd Rennes national win, was set down on chipping eggs which was
his favourite next condition.

…………………………………………

I hope Henry and readers of my column have enjoyed this little blast back into the history books.
It is all about observation and watching and taking note of each and every one of your pigeons, be
it on the nest or even if it is widowhood. The best pair of eyes in the LOFT ARE YOURS. Joe
Murphy.

Race Results

Any club who wish to have their results in my weekly column are more than welcome to join,
however I require these before Wednesday as I send my article away to the papers on the Thursday.
It is up to you and if you have a photo of your club winner or their bird and wish to add this to the
column, you will obtain my email and address at the bottom of my column. May I wish all fanciers
who read my column ALL THE BEST FOR THE 2023 SEASON.
Space Weather Forecast
27-day Space Weather Outlook Table Issued 3 rd April 2023
UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest
Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index
2023 Apr 03 125 8 3
2023 Apr 04 120 10 3
2023 Apr 05 120 12 4
2023 Apr 06 115 8 3
2023 Apr 07 115 5 2
2023 Apr 08 110 5 2
2023 Apr 09 110 5 2
2023 Apr 10 110 15 4
2023 Apr 11 115 12 4
2023 Apr 12 120 8 3
2023 Apr 13 125 5 2
2023 Apr 14 130 8 3
2023 Apr 15 135 8 3
2023 Apr 16 135 12 4
2023 Apr 17 135 10 3
2023 Apr 18 140 15 4
2023 Apr 19 140 5 2
2023 Apr 20 140 20 5
2023 Apr 21 135 15 4
2023 Apr 22 135 10 3
2023 Apr 23 135 5 2
2023 Apr 24 130 5 2
2023 Apr 25 125 5 2
2023 Apr 26 120 15 4
2023 Apr 27 115 18 5
2023 Apr 28 115 15 4
2023 Apr 29 115 15 4

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Joe’s Joke

No one believes seniors; everyone thinks they are senile. An elderly couple was celebrating their
sixtieth anniversary. The couple had married as childhood sweethearts and had moved back to their
old neighbourhood after they retired. Holding hands, they walked back to their old school. It was not
locked, so they entered, and found the old desk they’d shared, where Andy had carved “I love you,
Sally.” On their way back home, a bag of money fell out of an armoured car, practically landing at
their feet. Sally quickly picked it up and, not sure what to do with it, they took it home. There, she
counted the money - fifty thousand pounds!
Andy said, “We’ve got to give it back.” Sally said, “Finders keepers.” She put the money back in the
bag and hid it in their attic. The next day, two police officers were canvassing the neighbourhood
looking for the money, and knocked on their door. “Pardon me, did either of you find a bag that fell
out of an armoured car yesterday?”
Sally said, “No”. Andy said, “She’s lying; she hid it up in the attic’. Sally said, “Don’t believe him,
he’s getting senile” The agents turned to Andy and began to question him. One said: “Tell us the
story from the beginning.” Andy said, “Well, when Sally and I were walking home from school
yesterday ....” The first police officer turned to his partner and said, “We’re out of here!”

Please continue to keep the news flowing; to Joe Murphy Mystical Rose Cottage 2 Flutorum Avenue
Thornton by Kirkcaldy KY1 4BD or phone 01592 770331 or Email to joejmurphy1@gmail.com
REMEMBER THE J IN THE MIDDLE or log onto www.elimarpigeons.com www.fancierchat.co.uk
www.pigeon-chat.co.uk who wish my weekly contribution portfolio on pigeon topics from Scotland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[markhark]

Very good article. The Harkness and Ferguson you mentioned was my father and uncle. Dicky and George who also won Rennes in 1978. George Ferguson passed away 1983 and my oldest brother joined dad to become Harkness and Harkness their biggest success was winning the young bird national circa 1998.