History Part 3
While the 2nd Open was rung RP101074 and probably flew to the same dene as the brilliant 'Chester Express' of immortal memory, but this blue chequer hen ofMcDermotts was reputed to be bred from the very best Delmotte bloodlines which were flying so well in this area. At 3rd Open we move to Hebburn to the loft of Thompson & Handy sides, their little red chequer cock was rung RP12UN1342 making a velocity of 1209 ypm, he had previously won 1st Club, 5th Fed, 27th Combine Mons a month previous to this brilliant 3rd Open, and was well pooled in various clubs. I cannot give you his breeding, more's the pity, but a 3rd and 27th Combine within a month is some going in my book, and a son won 2nd Club, 8th Fed Mons as well in 1914.
I can add that before moving on to 1915, that two men of German extraction were arrested for having pigeons in their possession, which automatically rings bells in my head, but more of that later as these years from 1904 to 1914 have never been fully explored by anyone else to the best of my knowledge and I felt it was necessary to bring these long forgotten star fanciers out of the shadows. Their performances are and were no way inferior to those of today's fanciers, yet there is no record of their brilliant achievement in any Up North Combine literature, which I feel is totally wrong, as an incomplete record is in truth no record at all. Yet for all of the star fanciers it is men like Mr Smurthwaite, Mr Edward Gooderham, the brilliant and highly competent secretary of the Combine, John Goodwin the alert and ultra conscientious convoyer who took the Combine from fish and fruit box vans to deluxe railway carriages, then special pigeon trains with water bowlers laid on, I feel we should all pay tribute to in celebrating 100 years, for it is all on their backs and the colleagues that I have named earlier who did all of the initial spade work that today's Combine rests.
The Combine of 100 years ago started in 1904 to organise a classic race, which failed entirely due to no birds arriving home for four days. The 1905 race was also a one off and the returns put the lid on racing in 1906. But the real organisation was created in 1906 and a two race programme resulted, and from 1907 the organisation gained in skill and confidence. So to me the Combine we know today has roots which go back to that 1906 meeting as outlined earlier.
The geography and membership of the Combine during these early and formative years was quite different to today as the entire north east was catered for, by the need to combine for better rail facilities and costs, plus a reduction in travelling time as most lofts only housed quite small teams of pigeons compared to the numbers kept today. There was no West Durham Amalgamation, no Durham Combine and no New North Amalgamation. Everyone came under the umbrella of the Combine, and I think it would be a tremendous gesture by all of these organisations to come together for a foundation race in 2007, and making it in fact 'A Northern National' of gigantic proportions in honour of the founders who knew no barriers. They indirectly created all four in their wisdom, and on 6th March 1915 at the annual general meeting the Newcastle Fed delegate moved that due to the very unsatisfactory outlook for racing that the Combine to be declared void for the season 1915, this was seconded by Tyneside and carried. There was a war to be fought!
The massive blank space in the Up North Combine history can be directly attributed to the great war of 1914-1918, which was a bloodbath fought in trenches full of rats and water, with reels of barbed wire criss crossing no man's land. Going over the top meant almost sudden death in the face of the German machine gunners. The communications in that war were very primitive and the pigeon played a significant part, flying from the front line trenches to the rear echelons and brigade or company HQs with masses of short distance flights, which gave close and accurate control by the commanders. These pigeons were carried up to the front line through a noisy and violent battlefield. The fact to emerge is that they withstood everything thrown at them and performed their duty as valiantly as our soldiers. Ignoring the shells, bullets, shrapnel and smoke, delivering thousands upon thousands of messages and making a brilliant contribution to our final victory. There must have been many fanciers amongst the fallen, and many pigeons who are unrecorded in this awful war, that my father and probably yours or your grandfather fought, over Flanders fields, or the Somme.
So, as fanciers, remember our feathered as well as our human sacrifices, come the 1 lth of November.
Tuning back to the pre 1914 era of the Up North Combine, I have now compiled an eleven year roll of honour consisting of 23 fanciers who have never before been given their just acknowledgements, in any Combine literature. They just ceased to exist with the advent of the Great War and its massive impact upon our nation. Today I take the greatest pleasure and feel honoured, to parade this list of star fanciers before you.
1904 Mr Keithley, Wearside 1st St Lo a void race, timed on the 4th day; 1905 Mr Sheldon, Jarrow 1st Jersey; 1906 No Race; 1907 Laing Bros, Pelto 1st Bournemouth; 1907 Reay Bros, Murton 1stRennes; 1908 Mr Prince, Redcar 1st Bournemouth; 1908 Mr Johnston, Belmont 1st Rennes; 1909 Mr Crossley, Redcar 1st Rennes; 1909 Mr Moffatt, Tynemouth 1st Bournemouth; 1910 Mr Ridley, Annfield Plain 1st Rennes; 1911 Mr Swinbourne, West Park 1st Hastings; 1911 Broxam Bros, Murton 1st Dover; 1911 Mr Brown, Wrekenton lstMons; 1911 Mr Annan, Masons Arms lstArlon; 1912Mr Waggott, Wearside 1st Hastings; 1912 Mr Davis, Hirst 1st Hastings; 1912 Mr Forster, Medomsley lstMons; 1912 Mr Ward, Swalwell lstChimay; 1913 Mr Cox, Hartlepool lstMons; 1913 Mr Armstrong, Spennymoor 1st Chimay; 1913 Mr Wilson, Teeside 1st Troyes; 1914 Mr Collier, Lifeboat 1st Mons; 1914 Mr Piggin, Jarrow 1st Chimay; 1914 Mr Snowdon, Spennymoor 1st Troyes.
It now seems obvious to me that racing either slept for several years or reverted back to the old Federations during the 1914-18 War. Certainly Combine racing from the continent did not take place, as the front line area was close and even part of our race programme. I know that a great battle took place at Mons, and the Angel on top of our cenotaph here in Sunderland is a representation of the angel who appeared in the heavens before our troops prior to this great onslaught.
Many of these early races were difficult both for the pigeon and the fancier, due to poor or bad transport, inadequate weather forecasting, difficult long distance communications, bad Channel crossings and several other factors. However the resilience of our founding fathers and fanciers has to be admired, even from this time and distance. I have read the race report for each and every one of these Classics. Gone down the lists as is my wont, and seen the names of certain fanciers appear regularly amongst the early timers year after year. Read the minutes of the brilliantly conducted meetings under various chairmen, but Mr Edward Gooderham was always the secretary right through this period.
The AGM for 1915 saw Mr Knaggs as president, the ever-present E W Gooderham secretary and treasurer, Metcalfe and Potts convoyers, with the committee drawn from each Fed. So the Combine quietly sailed through a barren period when war dominated everything. The next meeting I find was held on 7th of December 1918 at Messrs Hindhaughs of Newcastle, as the military were still in possession of the rooms at the Crows Nest. Mr William Howes was now the president, with most of the remaining officials staying in place.
This AGM was adjourned to allow the Federations to calculate memberships etc, which would then allow the secretary to contact the Government with regard to the future racing programmes which needed drawing up. To bring things down to earth, it was recorded at this meeting that a letter of sympathy be sent to Mr Rimer on learning of the loss of his second son while serving in His Majesty's Forces in France, and with that we can draw a line under the hidden history of a Combine, which had an horrendous start in life, but which was to go on to become a giant in the British racing scene for both magnitude and birdage.
From my interpretation of events after 1918 it would seem that the old methods, going back to pre UNC days, returned with a vengeance and the empty years from 1915 to 1921 were a consequence of war time, and post wartime shortages, especially on the railways and through manpower shortages, which were felt even down to club level. The Combine committee asked the Federations to produce lists of fanciers, and where necessary combine together for the re-formation of the Combine. It would seem that the Government of the day had much more than pigeon racing on its mind, plus the fact that the pre war south east route had been ripped to shreds, with the continental race points we used all having taken a very heavy pounding by both sides in this bloody conflict which was and still is declared the bloodiest war ever fought. Many fanciers of that era paid the full price, and I know or should I say have known some who were decorated for valour on the field of battle over the very ground their pigeons had covered in the pre war races from Belgium, and must pay tribute to them as they made our later racing possible.
Moving into the 1920s the UNC had regrouped, and in 1921 four classics were flown. These are recorded in our Combine handbooks for all to see, with two of them from the battle scarred towns of Mons and Troyes. Which was to be the pattern for four years before the Combine swung more southerly into central France, to Amiens, Melun and Nevers, which was to be the race programme until 1939 and the outbreak of the Second World War. The only alteration to this programme was several additional races from Le Puy, a massive 700 miler which produced some real jaw breaker races, and the greatest ever Combine winner (in my humble opinion) in the mottled blue cock which won the 1930 race. He was rung NEHU 26H 6471 and flew a distance of 740 miles 105 yards at a velocity of 863 ypm, timed on the second day. The next pigeon was timed two days later to record 383 ypm, and the great Wm Sheldon timed on the fifth day to record a velocity of 294 ypm. But the mottled blue cock owned by Lothian & Embleton of Newbiggin was the star of stars for me. He topped the Up North Combine against 433 hand picked entries by two clear days, and I don't know of anything or anyone who could match that dramatic and dynamic win. He must be recorded in this history of the UNC, as he is absolutely unique in my book. What a pigeon!
My next research is based upon the 1928 UNC handbook which I have here by my side as I type. The president was a well known and respected Sunderland man, Mr W G Johnson, who had given great service to the Combine. W T Rimer was one of the vice presidents, and Mr J Goodwin was chief convoyer. Hooray, what a servant this man was to the Combine. However a new name appeared in the handbook as secretary and he was the late, great, and legendary Fred Potts of 13 Bullion Lane, Chester Le Street, who was to go on and serve the Combine as faithfully as the equally great E W Gooderham had done. All I can say is how very fortunate the Combine was to find two such men as these, for they were simply magnificent.
The Combine trophies (group taken at the annual presentation of prizes 1930). Left to right Newcastle Chronicle Le Puy Cup, Hindhaugh Nevers Cup, Newcastle Chronicle Amiens Cup, Evening World Melun Gold Cup, Crow's Nest Le Puy Cup. Second left the great Fred Potts, second right the brilliant Wm Sheldon of Jarrow.
By the year 1931 Bill Johnson had stood down as president, and Mr F R Lord of Redcar had assumed the presidency. John Goodwin and Fred Potts were still in situ, and the Combine was made up of some 23 Federations, with the West Durham Fed by far the biggest with 28 clubs affiliated to it. The 1932 handbook saw one major change in the officials, no John Goodwin, and he doesn't appear again right up to the Second World War. So I can only assume the worst, but this man above all others epitomises the Up North Combine for me, he cared deeply about our pigeons, so deep that he raised hell until things were changed for the better. For me his struggle for these improvements actually brought the Combine into existence. If I were to single any one man out as the father of the UNC it would have to be the one and only John Goodwin. That opinion is based upon reading everything appertaining to the UNC in the 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910 and 1911 copies of The Racing Pigeon edited by none other than the Colonel Osman of 'Forlorn Hope' fame. The pattern of classic racing during these years up to 1939 was Arras, Melun, Nevers, great race points from my boyhood. But changes were afoot, and big changes at that, as the German war machine gathered momentum, Europe was once more torn asunder, and another clash of the titan armies of Europe gathered to face each other.
I knew this war, I remember this war, I followed this war on my bedroom wall maps, step by step, stage by stage, the failures of which there were many early on. When fanciers like Maurice Simpson of Shotton was severely wounded on the beaches of Dunkirk, and suffered for the rest of his life, but went on to win Bourges 11 years on the trot, in a club 50 strong when peace returned to our island. However, before this dark period the men of the UNC had made their mark, producing some brilliant fanciers and equally brilliant pigeons. Such as 'Mons Hero' who won 1st UNC Mons in 1921 and 1st UNC Toyes in 1922 for Brass & Bruce of Easington Lane. The late Arthur Hastings of Monkseaton, Northumberland, won 24 Combine positions between 1928 and 1936, and all in the first 50 of the result, with a loft based upon the old UNC stuff, to which he added Logan's 1922 NFC winner's blood, Turner's 1923 winner, Marriott's 1924 and 1925 winners, and others.
Up North Combine convoyers 1929: Van, A L Scott, F Birmingham.
Standing, AW Robinson, W Poulton, J Hopps, P Marshall (L&NER).
Seated, W Metcalf, J Goodwin (chief), J Cole (asst chief).
The only photograph I can find of the great John Goodwin.
He won 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 4th, 4th, 7th, 8th in races with over 13,000 birds competing, and out to Le Puy some 730 miles, and in 1928 and 1929 he was the only loft in the entire Combine to claim six Open positions with wins from 219 miles out to 600 miles. A great, great fancier, with class pigeons and brilliant skills to handle them.
The very early stars were Jeary of Jarrow, and Paxton of the same town; plus of course the unique Wm Sheldon also of Jarrow; Mr Ellis of Hindhaugh's Corn Mills, who topped the Combine in 1926 from Nevers 600 miles; and the loft of W T Rimer who was one of the Rimer brothers, the great oil importers of Newcastle on Tyne, and Lea-Raynor places him on a par with both J W Logan and Dr Anderson, and his family of pigeons were no way inferior to either of these gentlemen. Slightly later in time came the top fancier Fred Guthrie of West Hartlepool, with a loft based upon the old Barker and Gits pigeons, with sons and daughters of the 'Old Kendal Blue' and the 'Ida Cock', who were the creme de la creme of Barkers. Fred ran up a series of brilliant performances right out to Barcelona a distance of 930 miles.
He purchased the brilliant Hansenne cock 'Mons Hero' the first ever double Combine winner who won Mons in 1921, and repeated himself again from Troyes in 1922, adding his genes to an already powerful base which had won Nevers 563 miles seven times between 1929 and 1938 with six 2nds and a 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th to go with them. On top of that lot he topped the Federation from Nevers, Troyes, Chimay, Melun and Amiens, and some of these race points were won several times, right up until the outbreak of the Second World Warin 1939.
The records then went from 1939 through to 1947 when racing eventually resumed after the war, just as they had for the First World War, with the Combine returning to the old south east route through the low countries, with races from Brussels and Luxembourg as part of the programme. Things sailed along until the first major change occurred. The fanciers in the west of the Combine decided that they would be better off forming their own organisation, and so the West Durham Amalgamation was formed and came into being in 1950, when W Tremble of Throckley won the Amiens race. It now seems ironic to me that the great Mr Smurthwaite resided in Durham City, and would have been swept out of the organisation he did so much to found. The Up North Combine would have lost one of its greatest supporters, but the WDA became a fact of life from 1950 to the present day. However let me say that the west side provided many great workers for the UNC in its formative years, and both have made good progress since the split, which would have pleased many old timers.
Lille liberation 1958, with French fanciers assisting. Gorton & sons of Blackhall won 1st Open from 13,267 birds, velocity 1316.2ypm.
Later of course we had the Durham Combine formed which I shall not comment upon nor that of The New North Amal. But the initial foundation has stood rock solid, and is still a giant of some considerable strength, thanks to the foresight of the founding fathers. My next major milestone in this brief history must surely be the Jubilee year of 1955, when the Combine celebrated its 50th Anniversary. The occasion was marked by a commemorative race from Cormeilles, when 10,525 pigeons were liberated at 6am into a west wind. Every Federation winner received a Jubilee celebration chiming clock to mark the occasion, with the race flown on 25th of June.
This was followed by a Jubilee dinner with over 220 members and guests present, when £875 in prize money was paid out and the 23 timepieces presented to the Cormeilles winners by Mr Richardson the secretary of West Durham Fed, who assisted in the formation of the Combine 50 years earlier. Then a special presentation was made to Mr Fred Potts, the secretary of the UNC, to mark his 35 years of service, for which he thanked the president and members. At this time the president of the UNC was also Lord Mayor of Newcastle, he being Alderman H Waller, and one of the vice president was Mr J W Towers of whom more later. Also present were representatives of many other UK organisations including British Rail as it was then, and members from Wales, London and several other places who all enjoyed a turkey dinner, before Stewart & Barkes of Castletown here in Sunderland were called forward to receive their trophies for 1st Open. Then Terry Callan and his dad collected the silver medal.
Mottle blue cock NEHU26H6471. Winner of the Le Puy race July 19, 1930, winner of Newcastle Chronicle Le Puy Cup and Crow's Nest Cup, 433
birds competing, distance 740 miles 105 yards, velocity 863. The property of Lothian & Embleton, Newbiggin HS, Wansbeck Federation. Won 1st
UNC by two clear days, he has to be the Combine's greatest winner ever.
Followed by Holmes & Hoggarth of Horden who were 3rd. The Two Bird Average was won by Battle & son of Hirst Universal.
From 1954 to the present day only one great classic race has remained constant on the race programme, and that is the longest race now flown which is Bourges. Apart from seamen's strikes it has really stood the test of time, with some hard races and some easy races, with all shades in between. The 1955 Bourges race was won by a really great long distance loft, and they were the Clarke Bros of Pegswood up near Morpeth, and who was called to present this trophy, Bill Towers, the then senior vice president of the Combine. Bill had hoped to become the president one day, but by 1959 had taken over as secretary from the truly great Fred Potts who had given the Combine some 39 years service, a truly magnificent effort by this very likeable and efficient man. Nevertheless in Bill Towers the Combine were again fortunate. Bill was no one's push over, he got things done, which was just as well as shortly after taking office British Rail appointed Doctor Beeching to modify the railways.
He didn't modify them, he butchered them, closing hundreds upon hundreds of what he called non viable, or loss making stations. His view was to hell with the effect upon the public or other rail users, profit was the sole criteria he used. Bill Towers and his committee were caught up in this messy business, and I remember discussing the pros and cons with Bill when I was the chairman of the old Sunderland Federation. But Bill was ahead of the field in his thinking and took the Combine into the world of road transport.
The old red train and the old blue train which had collected the Combine's pigeons for many many years bit the dust, and the legacy of the fouding fathers' great steps forward was gone forever. But it had served its purpose in no uncertain manner! Bill took the Combine forward and saw the foundation of a mighty road transport fleet, which his son Derek inherited in 1974 when he became the secretary, and he saw the purchase of the Sappers Corner site and the development of the road system until today, under old Bill's grand daughter, the HQ holds 18 road transporters. It has a full time secretary and a full time clerical assistant, plus two diesel filters.
The largest transporter can hold 208 baskets, while the smallest has a capacity of 80 baskets, and the maximum number of baskets picked up for any one race last year was 2,150. Which equates to some 53,750 individual pigeons in the UNC road transporters for the Melton Mowbray race. The greatly over used word of today is logistics, but no one understands it better than the secretaries of the mighty Up North Combine, and by my reckoning after attempting to cover 100 years of scattered documents, there have only been five of them. They were and are Edward Gooderham from the foundation through to 1920; then from 1920 until 1959 Fred Potts; he was followed by Bill Towers, then Derek, and today it is Pam Grange.
There have been many more presidents than secretaries, and I haven't recorded them all as I have not got a full set of Combine handbooks. But for me Mr Smurthwaite of Durham was the most significant. Then I liked the fact that the very first Combine winner stepped into the breach when he was needed, and he was of course the immortal William Sheldon of Jarrow. Then I remember Colonel Hopas of Cleadon who was a Belgian by birth, he became president and I think served with the secret service during the Second World War. There have been many more men who gave great service to the Combine including the penultimate man, one Dr Ralph Iley of North Tyneside who always had the interested of the Combine at heart. All deserve a place and some recognition in this history, but for the missing men is circumstances rather than intent which applies.
The Combine is a hard mistress, and to conquer her once is a truly tremendous task, but to do it twice is getting into the realms of fantasy. But fanciers have done this, and gone even further such as the late John Hall of Skinningrove who was the first man to win 1st Open four times, which was a fantastic achievement especially with just one home bred family. His great barless mealy cock was a great inland racer, and was bred down from Royal Lofts bloodlines, he was the grandsire of all four winners. I wrote his story in the Pigeon Racing News and Gazette way back December 1964, and his wins were from Luxembourg, Cormeilles, Lille and Welwyn YB National.
However at Bourges or Angouleme I think only three lofts have won more than once, F & J Gray of Newbiggin have won Bourges twice in 1988 and again in 1999; Heydon Bros of Dawdon won Nevers in 1939 and Bourges in 1956; while Kilner & Donkin won Bourges in 1961 and Angouleme in 1964, which is tremendous flying, and they all need to be acknowledged. There may be others but I am not sure who they are, but if there are my apologies as you too deserve your place amongst the stars of the past.
I recently wrote up the 'Village Lad' in both the Pictorial and HW studbook, after his brilliant double Combine win from Folkestone. What a super pigeon he turned out to be, I had the pleasure of billing him as the greatest 300 miler Britain has ever produced, and I firmly believe that to be the truth. I never in my wildest dreams ever though I would see one let alone handle one, and write his eyesign up. But I wasn't so lucky in my quest to trace a photo of'Mons Hero'who also hit gold twice way back in the seasons 1921 and 1922. These two cocks must surely be given a place of honour in any history of the Combine.
There have been many other great pigeons through my hands in my 40 year writing career, 'Blue Boy' has been paraded before the world from my pen, so I won't elaborate other than say there has never been a better pigeon. Then 'Chester Express' also with nine Combine turns was truly a star of stars. Then of course her ladyship "The Thousand Pound Hen' also went around the world from my pen. Harry Johnson's 'Seaside Special' was another great Bourges pigeon, six times with five times on the day, winning 9th, 18th, 71st, 80th and 107th Open, with never less than 4,207 birds in a race.
Agnes & Maurice Simpson's brilliant racer/producer 'The Lille Hen'.
Winner of 4th, 14th, 35th, 132nd UNC, and dam and grand-dam of winners
from 68 to 640 miles, and grand-dam of the winners of both 1st and 2nd
Open UNC Beauvais, a hen of immense quality.
Kilner & Donkin's 'Quiet Man' was another superb pigeon with a string of great Bourges turns, but ending his career with 6th UNC Angouleme 632 miles on a 800 ypm day, and his grandson being 1st Open in front of him, a lovely cock, in his eighth season of racing.
Mr & Mrs Simpson's 'Lille Hen' was another impressive pigeon with 4th from 8,445 birds, 14th from 14,105 birds, 35th from 13,385 birds, and 132nd from 11,779 birds, at 342 miles. Then bred winners from Selby 68 miles out to Pau 640 miles, plus being the grand dam of a 1st and 2nd Open UNC Beauvais, with she being bred from a brother to Simpsons 2nd UNC Bourges in 1961. Another great long distance pigeon from the 1950s was Gippert & Henry's superb black hen known as 'Shiner' and boy did she live up to her name. I think she had four brilliant Combine turns, but I only have records of three, but get a load of this. In 1955 she won 10th UNC Bourges from 6,339 pigeons doing 762.4 ypm; the following year she came again to win 3rd UNC Bourges 560 miles against 5,220 birds at a velocity of 1237 ypm; then in 1958 she was prepared for Angouleme some 635 miles to Seaham, homing on the day after 10 at night to win 5th Open UNC from 1,238 birds velocity 1130.2 ypm. I took John McClaren of NFC fame to this loft when he was up visiting Jeff Horn, and there was an unrung baby black cock in the nest about 26 days old. He ended up taking him back home and two or three years later a hen he had sired won 1st Open Pau NFC. Tell me about 'Shiner'!
I could go on and on about the brilliant pigeons I wrote about all those years ago, but could not find a photo of the very first UNC winner, but managed to find one of the pigeon that was second to him, all those many years ago, along with a beautiful picture of the very first president of the Combine, who deserves his place. The history of the UNC is on going and I chose my starting date as 1904, through the void St Lo race which was organised as a one off trial as I now see it. The repeat race of 1905 was probably a knee jerk to the 1904 disaster, and the total collapse of 1906 brought things to a head, which really created the Combine as we know it today.
If I were to chose a start date I would plump for 1904, if pushed I would settle for 1905, as that race was won by a fancier in a million, who is still unsurpassed in my opinion through his superb 800 mile records, against every known thing his world could throw at him. He took them on in open races and he took them on in the Nationals. The outstanding feature is that he succeeded against all of the odds, and later when the Combine needed him he stepped into the breach and did a brilliant job as president and chairman of the committee, and on that I rest my case for 1905.
To sum up this brief look back at the beginnings of the Up North Combine, and its subsequent progress through the years, there are several people who have rendered me sterling assistance, amongst whom is my very good friend Ken Harriman of Easington Colliery, himself a double UNC winner, and a true friend and willing helper.
Dave Simpson, the son of Agnes & Maurice Simpson of Shotton, who although not in the best of health really put himself about to help me. Then my pal Albert Woodroffe who brought back the old 1920s and '30s Combine handbooks, which tell their own story. But by far the greatest help I have received has come from Steve Dunn, the Editor of The Racing Pigeon, plus his assistant Lindsay Rice who put herself out on your behalf. Steve came up with the old compilations of The Racing Pigeon for the years 1904 through to 1909, and Lindsay sorted out the years from 1910 through to the 1st World War for me. Then all I had to do was to read and digest and transpose into some semblance of text, which I hope I have managed to achieve.
To sit and read these records and race results from the missing years of the Combine records has given me immense satisfaction, and to bring these early fanciers out of the shadows of time has simply delighted me, as I like nothing more than fairness in all things and they are as entitled to be in the records as anyone else who has ever flown in the UNC. Certain names have cropped up time and time again in the race results, others have shone like a star then vanished from the scene. But through it all the men of the north east have supported the early men of vision and brains, who put in the effort to found A GIANT.
The break up via the WDA and the two other small satellites was I suppose inevitable. But any celebrations, whatever form they take, should embrace the whole north east, and any that renege do ill to the memory of the great men who worked their socks off for everyone in the north.
To reiterate my thoughts, a race in 2007 in memory of all of the founders, who came from the far corners of Durham and Northumberland, plus others from parts of Yorkshire, from a suitable venue abroad comprising all four major racing organisations in the north east is the very least that should happen. MAKE IT HAPPEN.
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