Rooster J Cogburn Column

[Rooster J. Cogburn]

JOHN ELLIS

OF WELLBANK

Part 1

by Lewis McCalley

John Ellis

As long as I’ve known there was such a thing as long distance pigeon racing, a name I’ve held at its very peak is that of John Ellis from Wellbank. I’ve heard him described by fanciers and friends in the sport as;†the pigeon fancier extraordinaireâ€, “a geniusâ€, “a legend in his own lifetime†etc. Whereas the subject of this loft report would certainly play down such terms, I feel for certain that they are justified.

 

With his consistency in Scottish National racing over the past few decades there has never needed to be a particular reason in any given season to highlight the achievements of this ace fancier, but I’ve decided now is as good a time as any. After a lot of the unrest within the Scottish pigeon fraternity these last few years, it gave me a lot of pleasure to see John Ellis’ name back on the SNFC results pages a little over half a century since it first appeared. The 2013 SNFC Gold Cup race flown from Alencon saw John take 9th and 20th Open.

 

 

Something that has stood out as a bit special to me is a picture of a strawberry mealy hen taken in the mid-60s. The bird, ‘Wellbank Pride’, won 1st east Section 8th Open SNFC Gold Cup Rennes 1965. Here we are some 48 years on and these Wellbank pigeons of John Ellis are still keeping his name at the top.

 

Wellbank Pride

John was born in 1929 in the Angus village of Tealing, which lies approximately 6 miles North of Dundee in the east of Scotland. Tealing could be described as a fairly scattered community and with this in mind John recalls having to walk 2 miles to get to and from school as a youngster. It was when still a lad John Ellis was first introduced to pigeons; he’d be 10 or 11 years old at the time. His father, Andrew, worked in the building trade alongside a Mr Scavetti of Broughty Ferry, who happened to be a pigeon fancier. For one reason or another he parted with a few pigeons which ended up in the hands Andrew Ellis. These birds were kept in a hen house with an attached aviary and it wasn’t long before they took the attention of John who remembers there were a number of nice blue bars amongst them. John was constantly pestering his father to let them out to fly, and they eventually did. This resulted in the whole lot disappearing never to be seen again, with the tears of a young John Ellis that day marking the end of his first brief encounter with the doos.

 

The loft of John Ellis is the furthest North of any to have won the Robert Telfer Award for the best average in all SNFC races. It is home to the youngest ever SNFC Gold Award winner as well recording; old birds from the NFC Pau race (915miles), Palamos (1044miles) and young birds from Rennes (583miles) with the British Barcelona club. Like John’s achievements within pigeon racing, his introduction to it could not be described as ordinary. It all started when Andrew was working on a site one day in the late 1950s, they were demolishing an old building when John noticed a pair of feral pigeons, or ‘scuts’ as they are known in that part of the word, with a youngster in the nest. He was able to catch the hen of the pair, which John recalls was a white pigeon, and the squeaker which turned out to be a blue hen. These two birds found residence in the Ellis hen house and so it began.

 

Before going any further it should be noted that as well as being a well-known pigeon fancier, John Ellis is a talented and widely appreciated musician who has spent much of his life leading a first class Scottish Dance Band. This has seen him play alongside some of traditional Scottish dance music’s finest sons, the likes of Sir Jimmy Shand and Bobby McLeod. John’s musical ability has taken him to venues all over the world. This interest started with John Ellis in his early teens. He began playing the fiddle at the age of fourteen, a year later he was in a band and he made his radio broadcast debut as an eighteen year old. A great talent that has given John great pleasure over the years and it doesn’t just stop with the fiddle. John is also an accomplished saxophonist, having learned to play in the early 1950s. It was whilst on national service down in London he took an interest in the saxophone, for two years he had lessons in Soho under the tuition of Harry Hayes, who also happened to teach the famous jazz musician and London nightclub owner club owner Ronnie Scott. In the years afterwards John would occasionally get the saxophone out with his own band.

 

John demonstrating his other passion

Besides touring with the band, John worked hard as a landscape gardener. After serving his apprenticeship in the grounds of Ballumbie House he ran a successful landscaping and jobbing garden business right up until three or four years ago. It’s often these days that he’ll bump into an old customer whilst out and about and be told how his arrangements and plants are missed since his retirement. John’s pollytunnels are still in use and although he’s not into anything on a big scale anymore, I can vouch that he can still grow a nice tomato when he feels like it. As green as John’s fingers are I’d have to say Henry Borthwick edges him on the leek and onion front, I’ve bore witness to these things on the Ellis kitchen table and believe me I’ve never seen the likes of it.

 

Back to the doos now and after stumbling into pigeons by accident John’s interest gradually heightened. In 1958 the decision was made to buy a couple of pairs from the local pet shop, not with a view to racing them as such but these birds were to act as feeders for the gifts he was to receive. Although John’s father wasn’t a pigeon fancier his uncle Davie kept around 12 pairs of birds at his home in Duntrune and raced in the Dundee & District Club. It was through his uncle Davie that John Ellis found acquaintance with the top Dundee fancier, Matt Telfer. Matt duly gifted eggs to be hatched and reared in Wellbank, but just as importantly in those early days he took John to visit a number of the prominent racing men north of the River Tay. The pair enjoyed visits at the Forfar lofts of Frank Black and Dave Liddle, Ed Harrow of Broughty Ferry and Jock Brown of Carnoustie, whose pigeons like the men listed, made an impact and played their part in the foundations of John Ellis’ loft.

 

It was to be a cock bird ‘4985’ bred in 1959 from one of the original Telfer eggs, when paired to a red hen received as a gift from Frank Black that John considered to be the father of the loft at that time. The Matt Telfer eggs were direct out of pigeons he had acquired for the great Robert Strachan containing the lines of Dave Shearer of Strathaven, South Lanarkshire. Robert Strachan was a superb fancier and through time, after racing in Invergowrie and in Lanarkshire as partner to the legendary Willie Wilson, he settled in Wellbank. Only racing two gardens down from the Ellis’ loft it was natural the pair would get in tow, it was a great friendship that John enjoyed right up until Robert’s death. Robert’s memory is certainly living on and in pigeon racing terms this is in no small part down to his exceptional performances. In the mid 1950s Robert Strachan flew one of the SNFC’s great Rennes birds, his blue white flight hen ‘Tayside Princess’ was 4th Open Rennes in 1955 and 3rd Open the following season, flying 580 miles on the day of liberation on both occasions. Robert flew many top birds in his time, and one that I’m led to believe gave him a great deal of pleasure was his red cock ‘Starlight Special’, named so on account of him being timed at nine minutes to midnight from Rennes. It’s interesting to note the great number of pigeons John Ellis has timed late at night over the years. Is this a trait carried within the bloodlines or is it down to management?

 

As stated above Bob Strachan flew in partnership with Willie Wilson at one time and the pair remained friends after this arrangement was dissolved. John Ellis was a guest at one of the Lanarkshire Social Circle evenings and sat in the company of Willie and Robert. John learnt something that night that put him in good stead right up to the present day. When discussing how Willie Wilson sent his hens to the cross channel events, he advised John to get them sitting overdue for a few days days and then slip them a small youngster two or three days prior basketing, John has told me if you’ve a good hen and you can get her away to the race like this you’ll rarely miss. As for the cock birds, come basketing John favours a big youngster in the nest with the hen having not long laid. This is a way of preparing birds that has truly stood the test of time in the Ellis loft as both his 9th Open SNFC Alencon 2013 and 6th Open SNRPC Troyes 2013 cocks were sent to these races on this tried and trusted nest condition.

 

John with his parents

It’s the Strachan/Shearer line within the Wellbank loft that John has put his faith in time and time again. He is always confident of a time in at the distance when he has birds away off this lineage. Davie Shearer was a wonderful fancier from one of the great Scottish pigeon racing towns, Strathaven. This old market town in South Lanarkshire was at one time home to many of the country’s top long distance lofts. The 1930s saw Strathaven win the SNFC Gold Cup Rennes race on back to back occasions; Frame and Cochrane with their grizzle cock ‘Caledonia’ and the Casey Brothers with their dark chequer cock ‘Hurry On’. Another of the top Strathaven lofts was that of the Bryson Brothers, they were in fact near neighbours of the Shearers and found a lot of success with their pigeons. Their finest hour came when they were to take 1st and 2nd West Section with the SNFC from Nantes. Dave Shearer was a fanatical long distance man, I’ve old results here from as far back as 1930s which show him and his brothers well up amongst the SNFC leaders from Rennes and Nantes. One of their finest performances came from over 700miles when liberated in conjunction with English organisations at Rochefort on the French West Coast the Shearers were 2nd into Scotland narrowly beaten by the McQuarry Brothers from Dollar. The base bloodline of the Shearer loft is said to be Lulham Jurion as well as birds from H J King of ‘Twilight’ fame. ‘Twilight’ is hailed by many as the greatest NFC Pau winner there has ever been, winning the King’s Cup, The Gold Cup and £612 which at that time, 1959, was an English record breaking sum. The name ‘Twilight’ was coined two years previous to her Pau success in a race from Bordeaux (530 miles), it was a dull night and by 2130 there was little daylight, this special bird hit the loft at 2155 to take 4th open NFC and £407 for her owner. Again with this blood in the makeup of the Ellis foundation pigeons it comes as no surprise the fiddler from Wellbank can get them late at night north of the Tay when ‘nae other bugger has yin’.

 

Now on to the Frank Black Red hen, she was of Logan descent and direct from a hen that had been 1st Tayside Federation from Dinard in a smash race. Whereas ‘4985’ turned out to be a prolific breeder in Wellbank at the beginning ,his nestmate also played a significant role being the first pigeon to score for John in cross channel competition, winning 62nd East of Scotland Continental club.

 

In 1959, John’s maiden season, in addition to John’s own reared youngsters he was able to purchase the entire young bird team (20) from a Dundee fancier, D McLeod, who was leaving the sport at that time. These birds also happened to be of Robert Strachan origin and included a grandson of ‘Tayside Princess’ which left his mark at Wellbank. To further strengthen John was presented a hen by Jock Brown of Carnoustie that had been bred in the loft of top Cumbrian fancier, Ed Fell of Workington. This hen in the hands of Jock Brown bred a bird that topped the Tayside Federation from Dol (533miles) and was initially paired to the McLeod grandson of ‘Tayside Princess’ in her first season in Wellbank. Such was the impression this hen made on John, the decision was made to contact Ed Fell in the form of a letter with a view to purchasing a pair of youngsters. Ed Fell was well known for what was referred to as the ABC family- being based around the three pigeons; Ref A -red chequer cock ‘Bar None’, ReF B -red chequer hen ‘Second to None’ and Ref C -Dark Chequer Hen ‘Flying Wonder. These birds were made up from the old strains; Gaffers, Clayton Gits, Barkers and Delmottes with some Jurion blood and the Bricoux lines of Dr Anderson were introduced a bit later on. From Ed, John received a red cock and red hen. On their arrival John noticed a defect in the young hen which took the form of a ‘bent keel’. He duly contacted the Workington fancier to raise the issue, it was explained that the youngster was bred from the pigeon he called ‘Red Queen’ when she was 11 years old and John was reassured by Ed that the youngsters were from his best and if this hen failed to produce the type of bird John was after she would be replaced. As it transpired John had nothing to worry about and this ‘bent keel’ in no way hampered her breeding ability. When paired to ‘4985’ this hen, aptly named ‘The Bent Keeled Hen’, bred numerous winners and such was the prepotency of the pair, many of the present day performance pigeons can be traced back to them.

 

With the foundations in place in the form of ‘4985’, ‘The Bent Keeled Hen’ and birds from the fanciers mentioned it wasn’t long before John Ellis’ name started appearing on the results from the French race points. Looking back on his early days racing, I think it would be right to say John was never really a novice as such. After joining Dundee Club in 1959 and visiting many of the top lofts north of the Tay he adopted the attitude that if their pigeons could do it then there was no reason why his couldn’t. The SNFC was joined in 1962 and although they were some ‘hot’ pigeons up his way from Rennes that season, when he was to time his Jock Brown red cock at 2 o’clock in the afternoon of the second day he felt as if he’d won the national.

 

Back to ‘4985’ and the ‘The Bent Keeled Hen’. The first of their offspring to hit the heights of top SNFC honours was a hen bred in 1960; this hen was to be the only pigeon north of the Tay from Beauvais (533miles) taking 44th Open SNFC and 75th Vaux Usher for her efforts. Her most famous brother was the pigeon known as the ‘Paris Cock’. This hardy looking red cock was bred in 1961 and as a two year old was sent to the East of Scotland Continental Club’s Paris race. The race turned into a smash and by the final clock checking only thirty six pigeons had been timed. It was the evening of the second day’s flying and John had had enough. He told his father the race would still be open into the third day, but in his disappointed state he wasn’t going to bother. The third morning John was woken by his father who informed him there was a red cock home. John’s first words were “have ye timed him in†to which Andrew replied “no, ye told me ye werenae going to botherâ€. John leapt out of bed and slipped on the first clothes that came to hand before running out the door and down to the pigeon loft, where he was to find the ‘Paris Cock’ without a race rubber. As it turned out his father had timed the bird after all, but this is certainly one way to get a pigeon man out his bed in the morning. The cock took 30th Open in the race. The following year the ‘Paris Cock’ was groomed to go to Nantes and luck (both good and bad) were on his side from that race. It was a stiff one with the open winner being timed into Larkhall on the second morning. A cattleman one mile from John’s loft was up early to tend to the beasts and at 6 am came across the ‘Paris Cock’ torn to ribbons (presumably a hawk attack). If things had of turned out differently who knows what the outcome would have been? Many reckon it would have seen John Ellis winning a national in only his third season trying. The bird recovered from his injuries and in 1965 the year of ‘Wellbank Pride’ the ‘Paris Cock’ was the third pigeon to the Ellis loft from Rennes timed at 0806 on the second morning and narrowly missing the result. Rennes was his destination again the following season and although failing to make the result he returned in such good condition the decision was made to send him back to Nantes days later, the cock turned up to finish 11th Open and began a great run for the Wellbank team from this race point at 643 miles. In the four seasons afterwards the loft was to take 15th, 5th, 55th, 22nd and 43rd Open with SNFC.

 

The Paris Cock