j .wanless
744 posts
Apr 25, 2009
9:51 AM
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hi all
opposite where i was born was what we called the pigeon park.probably the reason i got into pigeons.2 of my uncles had birds there which were a short distance racing pigeon .
we called them shorties the real name is milers.the reason beign they only race from 1 mile but they are like sprinters really fast.flying no more than a few feet from the ground rushing home to get back to thier hens.only cocks are raced as they are obssesed with thier hens.what made me write this post is i was reading an article on these birds a few weeks ago + i was amazed how little things had changed with these birds in 40 odd years since i 1st seen them.they are kept in individual cages about 2 ft x 2ft + are kept in supreme condition.each cage has a jam jar for thier drinking water + to this day thats how they still have them.they say glass has less chance of contanimation or bacteria.most of the lofts are in a small compound all of simmular style .and all generaly close to the local pub .in the area where i was born this sport was extremly popular.but now it has gone as i found out today.
after reading this article that a friend got me from another part of the country it got me intrested in seeing the old way of keeping pigeons.so i went to see the last fanciers in my area that i knew still had these milers.
i made arrangements to meet him at his loft as he was not there when i just turned up uninvited.he is called maurice bishop + he is 71 years old + he rides his bicycle about 2 miles each way to his allotment thats where his loft is at
by the way thats how they get thier birds to a race point in a basket on front of a bicycle + take them to a certain point 1 mile from the loft.maurice told me he had kept milers since the age of 8.but i was really saddened to find out he had let the last of his milers go 2 years
before as he was the last of the old generation in middlesbrough to keep them as all the rest had passed away.
so these birds are lost forever in my area.i spent a few hours talking to him today + took a photo of him in his loft he has a few long distance racers to keep him occupied
but its funny how i reconised him after 40 years he looked the same now as he did then + his lofts were the same .it was like living in a time warp.i intend to visit him again before too long + take him a bag of corn just to say thanks for some fantastic memories.
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sundance
1101 posts
Apr 25, 2009
9:56 AM
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Thats sad to hear, of any sport, hobby etc.. But still a good story. Glad you had a good time and a nice visit with some real history. I never heard of these 'Milers". It sounds interesting, but very true you would need several lofts in a general area.
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Butch @
Sundance Roller Lofts
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sundance
1102 posts
Apr 25, 2009
9:56 AM
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Butch @
Sundance Roller Lofts
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j .wanless
745 posts
Apr 25, 2009
10:19 AM
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hi butch
apparantly these milers are older than thier long distance relations.what i can understand is they were the poor mans hobby .thats why they were normally close to the local drinking hole.old maurice mentioned 6 or 7 of these allotments in my local area .though i only ever seen 2 of them including the 1 i saw today.unfortunatly he was the last .though he told me there is still 2 or 3 spread around the uk.
but to think only 2 or 3 .when at 1 time there would have been thousands of them.as it was a cheap + easy way of racing pigeons.
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sp 19
5 posts
Apr 25, 2009
7:22 PM
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sp 19 That is a great story and a great memory for you.I am fortunate to know a couple of roller men that are in thier 80's and they tell me great stories of the first rollers in canada toronto. And it is fasinating stuff.Nothing in the world can compare to experiance and truth in a veterans eyes.no b.s.
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JBow
64 posts
Apr 25, 2009
11:12 PM
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Mr. Wanless What a wonderfull story. Its sad that this tradition and flying is almost gone. I can relate to this from when I was a boy in calif. We did this but in a smaller scale just by flying birds from one place to another. Just a great post Mr Wanless thank you Jim Bowen
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RonUK
7 posts
Apr 26, 2009
3:06 AM
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Hi John
I remember the Milers pretty well from when i was a lad in Yorkshire. I used to go down to the local pub called the Royal Arms every Sunday morning where there were about 15 or so lofts no bigger than 6 feet square set out in a U shape behind the pub. All the birds were in individual nest boxes in pairs locked away with no light in the loft when closed.One guy used to stand on a box in the centre of the yard looking out for the birds returning from a toss a mile away. The birds used to dart home flying no more than 12 to 15 feet from the ground across the field to the loft. As you say they were taken for flight by bicycle what we used to call the old co-op bike with the basket on the front. Fond Memories. Thanks for sharing.
Ron
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j .wanless
746 posts
Apr 26, 2009
3:29 AM
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hi ron
the article i read was from the barnsley area .they still have them there .1 of only a few still racing them.if you type miler racing pigeons i found it on there yesterday as i gave the old man the 1 i had.but i found it really good reading.
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RonUK
8 posts
Apr 26, 2009
3:35 AM
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John
From Barnsley myself.I will have a read.
Ron
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Windjammer Loft
779 posts
Apr 26, 2009
4:10 AM
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j.wanless....Great story.....ahhhhh the memories of childhood,they certainly are long standing. Your story made me think back to when I was a young boy in Cleveland,Ohio. We didn't have anything like you did but,we did ride our bikes up and down the alleys behind the houses and would find many small pigeon lofts with elderly men flying thier yound racing pigeons. I too made many friends of these gentelmen and got my start into the hobby that way. Thanks once again John..
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Fly High and Roll On
Paul
Last Edited by on Apr 26, 2009 4:11 AM
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j .wanless
747 posts
Apr 26, 2009
10:08 AM
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hi ron
yes thats the same one glad you enjoyed reading it .are they the same lofts you visited.as i think theyre in barnsley.
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RonUK
11 posts
Apr 26, 2009
10:57 AM
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John
They actually still fly them in Monk Bretton in Barnsley. Guy i used to work with on Building Sites called Eric Plant still attends every Sunday morning and acts as the marker standing on a box in the centre of the yard waving an hen pigeon to entice them in.
Ron
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RonUK
12 posts
Apr 26, 2009
12:15 PM
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There you go John a few pictures of the set up.
Ron
Last Edited by on Apr 26, 2009 12:19 PM
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tob
156 posts
Apr 26, 2009
12:53 PM
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john thats a nice story and too take him a bag of corn i love listing to anythink like that.Theres a man by my dad who had shorts and when all the flyers changed to homers he kept his shorts.Dont know if hes still got them am gonna ask.but talking too my dad he said he will never get rid of them.I think the older pigeon flyers tell some cracking stories.**tob**
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j .wanless
748 posts
Apr 26, 2009
1:06 PM
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hi all
thanks ron would be nice to be able to keep our rollers in a place like that but they would not last 2 min.i have a friend in barnsley who flys my birds named graham. tob i too like to listen to the old timers you can learn lots from them.i have an old mate
morris hole he has won lots with rollers i take him to s/africa with me as he loves it there he will be 80
in aug.he is as fit as a fiddle he still rides the race horses as he helps the trainer with them.
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