Did you know we have a Pigeon Club in Ashby? I would hazard a guess that most people would answer no to that. In fact there has been a Pigeon Racing Club in Ashby for over 70 years! The club was set up in the 1950’s by several local people, some of whom were:

J & H Williamson from Coleorton.

J Smithard from Ashby as many of you will fondly remember as Smithard’s Bakery.

J Slater who owned the Cycle Shop in Ashby.

K Robinson a miner from Ashby.

P Wainwright, haulier from Ashby.

Mr Marsden the Fishmonger from Ashby.

J Jarvis a miner from Ashby.

The Headquarters originally was held at The Plough in Ashby, but moved a few years later to The Bowling Green and remained there ever since. Due to the locality of Ashby being in the centre of the country, the club can choose to fly their birds North or South. The club originally started off flying North, switched to South in the 90’s and then back to North for 2022. This is mainly due to the issues surrounding the French overseas racing, increased cost imposed by the French Authorities as well as the tight rules and regulations.

The club has always had around 14 members, and this is still the same today even though Pigeon Fanciers generally have declined over the years. The racing season is from April to September each year and they race 12 Old Bird races and 8 Young Bird races. At the moment the biggest threat to Pigeon racing as a whole is Bird Flu: DEFRA have stopped the flyers letting out their pigeons completely. They are confined to the lofts, so racing could be jeopardised for 2022 unless this is lifted early next year.

Should anyone be interested in joining the pigeon club in Ashby, the membership criteria is simple, a potential member has to be voted in by the members and they must use a manual clock. ETS clocks are not allowed in the club. Call 01530 415824 to discuss membership, new members are welcomed.

Ashby & District Flying Club is holding a Special North Road Race from Hexham on 10th September 2022 where the prize money will be £2000. Rings can be purchased now by calling 01530 415824. All details will be published in the British Homing World in 17th December issue. 

Fun Facts about Pigeon Racing

1 - Pedigree pigeons can fly further and at faster, more impressive speeds than racehorses.

2 - Speeds of up to 110mph have been recorded by the top racers – that's faster than a cheetah.

3 - Racing pigeons are sometimes called 'The athletes of the air’

4 - In both the First and Second World Wars the pigeon saved hundreds of thousands of human lives by carrying messages across enemy lines.

5 - In the Christian religion the pigeon is both a symbol of peace and of the Holy Spirit.

6 - One racing pigeon recently sold for a staggering $132,517.00! The 3-year old bird was a champion racer, beating 21,000 other pigeons in one long distance race. For this reason he was bought by a British company that breeds racing pigeons for ‘stud’.

7 - There are many theories about how pigeons manage to return ‘home’ when released 100s of miles from their loft but no one really knows how they do it.

8 - Pigeons are considered to be one of the most intelligent birds on the planet and able to undertake tasks previously thought to be the sole preserve of humans and primates.

9 - The pigeon has also been found to pass the ‘mirror test’ (being able to recognise its reflection in a mirror) and is one of only 6 species, and the only non-mammal, that has this ability.

10 - The pigeon can also recognise all 26 letters of the English language as well as being able to conceptualise.