THE RACING PIGEON 3 NOVEMBER 2023
32
The Joe Murphy Column
Rennes was from a Leishman hen and the Flockhart mealy cock. His 141st Rennes of 1961 was from the Kirkpatricks. More recent introductions, a rather big red hen from George McNeil of Port Seton, which is now making its mark on the family, she certainly has the eye of a breeder, a mealy cock from J Turner of Falkirk, a son of Leishman’s ‘Holm Lass’, winner of 37th, 56th and 24th Open Rennes. This, then is the background to the birds which brought Channel successes to Sid Newcombe, starting in 1953. The Loft This is approximately 40 feet in the traditional style, which is not flattered by the picture, it
What a weekend we had on 7th-8th October when we had a month of rainfall in two days, everything was a washout. I took a picture of the daily newspaper which showed caravans floating about, cars stranded, and people even going about in
the Midlothian Federation. It was in 1950 that Sid decided to set up his own loft, which he did by buying over the Stoneyburn lofts and birds of Guy Paton, which is the loft seen in the picture. You will note also, that it is within
through and wondered if I could use any information on Joe Newcombe, the grandfa- ther of her dear friend, Samantha, which Joe’s 1969 SNFC Avranches winner was named after, as her nickname ‘Tabby’. ‘Although the Newcombe name is well known
a few yards of the brick-built loft still carried on by brother Eddie. So, on a race day there must be fun and games! The Paton Birds I naturally enquired as to what happened to his Paton birds considering it was a Paton hen which had bred Jim Wylie’s Dol winner of 1961. Actually, Sid has expe- rienced considerable diffi- culty in breaking the birds, but two hens were sold to John McGillivray of Forth, one of which was the dam of ‘Dream Girl’, his 1st Open Nantes winner of 1956. He subsequently founded his family on birds obtained from Peter Leishman & Son of Douglas Water, whose birds have played a very big part, John Kirkpatrick, Annan, from whom he obtained birds from ‘Galabank Supreme’ and ‘Galabank Duke’. The bird which was 10th Open Rennes in 1956 was from a Kirkpatrick hen. An important
via Eddie and his legacy, the success of his brothers Joe and Sid may be less so. As such I was wondering if you might be interested in these articles for your column? Kindest regards Dawn’. Dawn also forwarded me some photos to go with the article which was written by
‘The Bairn’ in 1962. Sid Newcombe of Edinburgh
It is a rare occasion when we have to go to one of our cities
Headlines in Newspaper.
for the subject of a special report, pigeon racing being quite obviously a sport for the smaller communities. But when one thinks of our capital city in a pigeon racing connection the name which springs immediately to mind is that of Newcombe. Hitherto, we have all been familiar with the name of Newcombe Brothers, but in recent years it has become obvious that a certain Sid Newcombe has been putting up performances that have inclined to overshadow the parent loft. Except when a fancier wins one of our classic races, the selection of subjects for a special report is generally a gradual process, of watching a fancier reaching the top and staying there long enough to prove that both he and his birds are above the average and are contributing something in the advance- ment of pigeon racing. This was how my visit to Sid Newcombe came about, with only a gentle prodding from a prominent East of Scotland fancier who told me it was now time I visited the most successful loft in the east. So, it was really incidental that Sid Newcombe was 3rd Open in the 1961 SNFC Rennes race. In 1939 the original partnership was formed at their pig farm in the Slateford district of Edinburgh. While it is a lovely spot to be in, wide open and facing south, I would not consider it ideally situated for winning in
canoes and yet down south people were sunbathing. The Dunhill Cup Golf Tournament was rained off and we spent the day just catching up on some TV programmes which we had recorded. I usually put my birds in the aviary all day and clean out the loft, but did not have the heart to put them out, so they were allowed in the loft all day. However, I suffered because of this as the rain was blown in through the
Sid Newcombe with loft in background
introduction about this time, was a hen from Tom Alexander of Forth, which was from a full sister of Willie Hamilton’s ‘Lanimer Queen’, Sid’s good hen ‘1447’ was from a son of this Alexander hen. In 1951 three were purchased from Ted Bradshaw, a red cock, a mealy cock and hen. These birds also make a worthwhile contribution to the present family. Then there were two from George Flockhart which he had obtained as eggs before brother Eddie (it is funny I was talking to Wilf Flockhart just a few weeks ago, about the SNFC late bred sale, it’s a small world indeed. – Joe Murphy), as well as a mealy cock. How these were blended can be judged from the fact that the 3rd Open
Loft floor.
windows and the loft floor was soaking. This is where my friend Phil Gardner’s wonderful product San Dry comes in. After scraping up the droppings and water I then added San Dry and it soaked up the wetness. The next morning, I put the birds out and did the same thing again and you will see from my photo how much the loft floor had dried up. Needless to say we never ventured very far as did the rest of our family who only contacted us by phone. As things are quiet just now As things are quiet just now, readers may remember Dawn Abbot wrote to me regarding her late father, Hugh Higgins. Her dad left an archive of pigeon press back to the 1960s which she had recently been going
Mixture with old beans added.
being due a coat of paint which it is to receive soon. But inside it was not so orthodox. The floor was liberally covered in fresh straw, which gave the loft an air of freshness, and the birds certainly looked comfortable. The loft has been made cat-proof, being wired in like a concentration camp, which allows the birds to have the open hole without fear. Present Inmates Let me say, first of all, that side took me into the hens’ section and seemed most reluctant to leave it, which reminded me of my visit to
Sid’s other loft.
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