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The Jack Curtis 'Big Fella' Chronicles'

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'The Big Fella' Jack Curtis

LOOKS BACK IN TIME UPON SOME VERY SPECIAL BRITISH PIGEON FANCIERS

The late ROBERT STODDART
OF CARRON,
FALKIRK, SCOTLAND.

(ONE OF THE MOST FANTASTIC PIGEON STORIES EVER TOLD - Spinksy)

A few months ago, when doing a loft report, I came across pigeons which descended from the loft of Stoddart of Falkirk. You may think that there was nothing special about that, but you would be wrong in your interpretation: for the pigeons that I found were a wee bit special to say the least. In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration if I said that they were 'Dream Pigeons' and two of them were, without doubt , CHAMPIONS, in the truest sense of the word! They were bred in very different parts of England, and each was capable of dominating their respective Classic Long Distance races and organisations.

I refer, of course, to Vic Robinson's superb hen 'Mademoiselle' 6946, bred during 1950 and winner of 45th, 2nd & 1st English National from Pau, a distance of 527 miles and Rutter Brothers 'magnificent Thousand Pound Hen', bred during 1952 and rung NEHU.52.X.23331. This hen scored six times in succession from Bourges (560 miles) against anything between entries of 5,000 up to 7,000 pigeons in each race and winning 4th, 9th, 9th, 16th, 71st and 171st Up North Combine. In 1954 the combine winner recorded 821 yards per minute and she was 4th, 1955 - 782 y.p.m and she was 71st; 1956 the velocity was 1245 y.p.m. and she was 9th, 1957 saw the winner doing 1209 y.p.m. but she slipped up being only 171st Open; 1958 - the winner made 1042 y.p.m. and she claimed 16th Open; her last race at this distance was during 1959 when the winner made 1366 y.p.m and she came up again for 16th Open. Add 7th Open Lille (343 miles), 13,267 birds; 143rd Open Lille 10,975 birds, 2nd Club, 7th Federation Peterborough (150 miles), 1st Club, Welwyn (200 miles), 4th Club and 4th Federation Ashford (268 miles), and one begins to see why I started to wonder about the common factor, i.e. Robert Stoddart of Falkirk.

Now the two hens specified, were outstanding and one must agree upon that, but they also/ both had had many outstanding relatives in their home lofts; and I mean 'outstanding' in every sense of the word. Both Vic Robinson and Rutter Brothers had a loft full of 'cracks' (Ace) pigeons. This set my subconscious going, as is my wont; out came the old records, off went a few telephone calls and letters, and my regular hours reading in bed was spent tracing and piecing together the life story of Rabbie.

My first reactions to this man are ones of sheer amazement. It is said that fact is stranger than fiction and in this case you the reader will find it so! My facts are based upon eyewitness reports of people who lived near him and his family, in the town of Falkirk, and also by men who have now long departed from this earthly scene. Before we think about pigeons, I must look at the man - for this man was extraordinary in my eyes.

The Prisoner of Falkirk

I have always believed in FATE and in my opinion our destiny is made at the moment of conception, the abilities or lack of them are set and we live our lives to a pre determined pattern dictated by that mass of grey matter beneath our scalp. Some people are given immense talent, others brilliant health and vigour, whilst the less fortunate can lack both of these virtues.. Robert (Rabbie) Stoddart wasn't blessed with health and suffered from a very rare skin disease, he was allergic to sunlight and from a very early age had to protect his body from its effect. After a great amount of experimenting, the Doctor had him bandaged from head to foot and confined to a darkened bedroom. This pigeon fancier spent virtually the whole of his adult life incarcerated in this manner, a total prisoner within his own home. I have sat and tried to imagine just what it must have been like for him, but cannot find words to describe how tortured this man must have been.'The Prisoner of Zenda' and the 'Man in the Iron Mask' were films that I saw as a boy and which could send chills up ones spine with no bother at all. However I am not talking about fiction, I am relating the story of a real live man whose whole life was centred upon the skies and open air through his great love of racing pigeons.

To withstand this sort of life, he must have had a will of steel. Being one of a family of seven brothers and one sister must have helped him. He also had one or two very good friends who visited him regularly and helped with the pigeons. Willie Patterson was his main ally with the loft, but Rabbie was the real 'genius' with the pigeons and you have my word on that. Having analysed his long run of success at the very highest level and looked at the capability of his pigeons in other people's hands, I have wondered how good he would have been if he could have lived a normal life like the majority of people.

Can you think how well you would race pigeons if you were never able to leave the house again and somebody else had to clean out the loft, change the water, feed train and exercise the birds, ring the babies, fill the nest pans, and do all of the many little tasks that a fancier's life consists of then - have every pigeon brought to your bedroom for inspection and to have the skill to know whether they were in the right condition to race or not, just by handling them in the dark? This he did for many years and his judgement was such that he won everything in front of him for well over 30 years.
If I had to vote for the most talented pigeon fancier who has ever lived - this would be my MAN!

I have read about and studied them all, one of my main interests is the history of the pigeon fancy - you name him and I will bet that I can tell you something about him and his pigeons, but on the basis of my investigations I swear that, I have never come across a better fancier than this man - Robert Stoddart In 1929 he was getting his good hen 'Little Lady' ready for Rennes; she was brought to him a few days prior to basketting for the race. Rabbie handled her and pronounced that the hen was too big and heavy, she was given a six- days- old youngster, trained hard and sent to Nevers the week after Rennes, winning this 700 miles event by a clear 50 yards per minute, setting the record for this 700 miles race into Scotland. To the student of pedigree it will be of interest to note that this Scottish 700 miles record setter, was a descendent of the earlier English 800 miles record holder - I refer to Sheldon of Jarrow's great hen 'Mealy Mirande', of the 1909 era, of whom more will be revealed later. During 1930 a daughter of 'Little Lady' was 3rd Open Scottish National Flying Club Rennes and was followed in by 4066, 'Thomasina' and 'Dauntless'. They won £230 -00d in that one race, which was 'big money' at that time, when the average working man was working 50 hours per week for between £1-00d and £2-00d per week wages.. The year following his good Red Cock, 'Steady Boy' came home to win 4th Open Rennes. F. W. Marriot, writing at that time said of the Stoddart pigeons that these were the type of pigeons from which the champions of the future would come. How prophetic this statement turned out to be when we look back with the benefit of hindsight. I give the details of that three years period just to emphasise my point on this man, 1st Central Combine Nevers (700 miles) 1929; 3rd Open Rennes 1930; 4th Open Rennes 1930; and none of the fancy aids and medicines such as are known today. No antibiotics, no worming treatments or specialised conditioners, it was all done the the hard way naturally and with only a small team of pigeons to work with, which proves to me that all of the 'trumpet blowing' about today's 'Aces' and Pigeons isn't as accurate as some would have us believe it to be!

To say that my research is a complete history of the man and his pigeons would be untrue and unworthy of me or my subject. However having studied and dug down deeper, the deeper I dug, then the more fascinated I became. I will not labour his personal misfortune any further but, would ask you to consider the facts as I have presented them to you. Then consider the calibre of the man/fancier in the light of real circumstances. I know that I am more usually known as a scribe for the Up North Combine area and north-east of England, first and foremost and in presenting this article I am stepping Over the Border, but being part Scottish through my maternal Great-grandfather who was Jack Redpath from Aberdeen, I feel I am entitled to some small licence when it come to a character of the quality of Robert Stoddart.

His first loft was in fact, the coal house in the yard of the house where he lived and his early successes were all to this tiny place. There was no young bird section, it was far too small for that kind of luxury, but this did not stop him from winning out of turn. Later the family moved to Park Crescent where there was a garden and a nice three compartment loft was erected. Of course by this time it was 1939 and the war put paid to Channel racing plans for the next six years. It is strange how coincidence can figure very prominently in life. From the coincidence of two great hen pigeons I am writing this article, from the same chance comes a link with Carron and the Duke of Wellington. The thing becomes even more involved, because I know that the Duke was a pigeon fancier and holds the best authenticated long distance record flight for a pigeon in the whole world. Although it has no relevance to this story, in a way, it gives the birthplace of Robert Stoddart its true place in the history of the British people and their struggles for survival and conquest. In today's world, Carron does not carry the same significance as it did in Wellington's time, but the quality of its munitions and the people who produced them: it played a significant part in our national well being. The same can be said of the strain of pigeons known as the 'Stoddart of Falkirk Strain' . However, they are still here in the Up north Combine, not identical to the Master's I grant you, but still very impressive indeed!

WHAT WERE THEY?

Now the first fact that I must establish is that Rabbie could spot quality pigeons one mile away; he had the inborn talent which some people call 'GENIUS' and the brains to settle for nothing less than the very best. He was slow and methodical, perhaps due to circumstances under which he lived, but he got there in no uncertain manner. His first pigeons were a Stanhope cock from Tom Scott of Camelon and a T. W. Thoroughgood hen from Radcliffe of Staleybridge in Cheshire. Herbert Stanhope was a Yorkshire man by birth but spent all of his adult life in Stroud, Gloucestershire. It was here that he developed his great family based upon the Servais strain that he imported from Belgium - the prime pigeon was his ever- famous 'Red Aberdeen' which was described by Colonel Osman as one of the greatest and most significant Stock Cocks in the history of the sport at that time. Thoroughgood, whom I shall refer to as T.W.T. was a man of considerable wealth, he was a brewery owner and is reputed to be the first man in England to use barley as a feed for racing pigeons. He also had the distinction of breeding Hudson's 'King of Rome' which won that race during 1913.

The hen Rabbie obtained was from T.W.T. 42 x 47 line: 42 was a Wegge and 47 a grand daughter of Git's Reference C., therefore, the first Stoddart's were Servais x Wegge/Gits. This pair produced his first Ace pigeon known as 'Alfonso' which left a long line of winners. To these he added a Mealy cock '2430' , which was a Barker/Marriot x Sheldon of Jarrow's 'Mealy Mirande' family, probably based upon the fact that the 'Mealy Mirande' was the dam of McMeekin's 1911 Scottish National Flying Club winner. In 1925 he purchased a Blue Logan cock and a Blue hen from Weeks of Crosshouse, which was from a Barker sire and a daughter of Matt White's 'Lady Lane' when she was paired to a grandson of 'Scotch King'. The hen he got from Sam Vine was '225' and she was from a son of Toft's mated San Sebastian pair 3702 x 3468, and a sister to Osman's 'Olympic'. At the same time he purchased a dark chequer cock '273.S.', direct from Osman who was out of the best pair in the loft at that time and these being '2455' and '2465'. - '2735' later became known as 'Old Squills' and the father of generations of Stoddart's --- these are the base pigeons.

Vic Robinson obtained the Stoddart's through an excited Scot, working in Southampton during the war. Vic was a hard task master and was loathe to put anything into his own inbred Osman family that wasn't absolutely tiptop. The Stoddart's were put through the mill to such an extent that they went week after week without hindrance, in fact he literally 'murdered' them with work, before he would put them in as a cross; '7351' was worked hard to Guernsey as a young bird, then turned to North Road racing as a yearling and flown right out to Thurso (533 miles). At the same time Vic Robinson was working upon '2450' which was direct from Rabbie's 'Dandy Boy' (sold for £100 at eleven years of age) and this pigeon was put in as a cross with the top stock hen to breed 'Lonesome'. This cock won four good Open positions in the Nationals and was put back to 'Our Jean' to breed '8406'.
Vic then mated '7531' to '8406' and this mating produced 'Mademoiselle' - the Robinson Champion was, therefore, a line-bred Stoddart with an Osman cross, the whole Robinson family being line-bred to 'Forlorn Hope' and the 'Weinberg Hen'. Rabbie never got the credit that I feel he deserved for this superb hen and many other 'cracks' that the cross produced in the Southampton loft. However most Victoria Cross' are awarded posthumously and Robert Stoddart is getting his medal now!

Variations on a theme

As with all line breeders, Robert Stoddart was always on the look out for something special to bring in to his family, Dan Gillespie's crack cock '101' attracted him and he got an inbred so from him in '6184'. On the old lines he bred 'Air Mail', '2952','2954' , '6329' and '7112' which were all great racing pigeons. Later came a dark chequered cock of Thoroughgood x Grooter breeding from H.T. Landon and when mated to 'Combine Lady' he bred 'Danny Boy' , 'The Dollar Cock' and '177'. His last cross was an inbred son of Anderson Bro's of Falkirk's 'Flora', 1st Open Scottish National Flying Club Rennes. The Stoddart's, like many other great families were developed from the base of very mixed origins. If we look at the permutations available to him, we can see that he could vary the lines within the loft to suit whatever purpose he had in mind.

The sheer brilliance of the man is magnified one thousand fold in my eyes when I remember the circumstances under which he lived and flew his pigeons. A coal house had to suffice for many years as a loft, money must have produced all sorts of problems in the early years because he couldn't go out and earn it like you or I . Then there was the total reliance upon other people for every little job that he wanted doing: whilst he the Master, could only sit like a living Egyptian Mummy, fastened in a living tomb. You can go to the Continent, you can go to Hell if you like, but as sure as God made little green apples, you won't find a better pigeon fancier than Robert Stoddart! I will put my reputation as a man and scribe on the line, pound for pound :- this man was a 'Super Heavyweight'!

THE EFFECTS OF HIS WORK ARE STILL BEING FELT EVEN TO THIS VERY DAY.

The blend of Stanhope crossed Thoroughgood with the additions of Barker, Marriot, Sheldon, laid the base, add to this the Logan x Barker, followed by Toft x Osman, then the very influential 'Dew Hen' of Logan / Toft / Grooters breeding. The Gillespie cock was no fluke either, for his Sire '101' not only flew 500 miles three times, but also bred a boat load of 500 miles and 600 miles winners with a lot of different hen pigeons. The bloodlines were J. L. Baker, who can only be described as a devastating pigeon fancier, crossed with the Bryant Grooters and it is true to say that the Baker's owed an awful lot to the Stanhope strain in their make up. So this cross if you can call it that, had a very close affinity with Rabbie's very first foundation pigeon. I dare say that if I had the time, I could almost work it out, but, I feel I have made my point clear to you. The other significant racing pigeon, Langdon's '413' was Thoroughgood x Grooters which again is hardly a cross at all, but he made his mark and left behind a powerful line of racing pigeons. There must have been some variation in type within the loft but, of one thing I am certain; there was never any variation in capability nor ability, because these factors were tied in by the Master.

Many of the later Stoddart's owe something to this hen through her grand daughter '7711', - 'Combine Lady'. Rutter Bro's. Great hen is a grand daughter of '7711' on the Dam's side and, as we have seen, the 'Dew Hen' was, half Grooters.' Four-one-nine', the sire of the 'Thousand Pound Hen' , is line bred to '1111' the Dam of Buckley's 'Champion Bull Dog Drummond', twice 500 miles, three times 670 miles and placed in every one of those races, including three great National positions. The Buckley's were all line bred Grooter's as we know and we find them on both sides of the crack hen of the Up North Combine. The magic cross this time, was Barker via a grand daughter of 'Strinesdale Queen' - but the Barker's were there in Rabbie's foundation also. Today many top lofts of racing pigeons in the mighty Up North Combine owe something of their reputation to the Stoddart's of Falkirk.

The late Billy Napper's 'Combine Cock' with 1st, 5th and 11th Open is one; many of Tom Kilner's great winners carry the line; George Woodward of Jarrow is another and I heard that the Knibblesworth pigeon that topped the Combine from Eastbourne was another: which only goes to prove what I have been saying for years is true ----- CLASS WILL TELL! Dale Newcombe was flying a few Napper's with success in the Scottish National. We could say that it's a case of 'taking coals from Newcastle' but then, the Up North Combine wins can also be related back to Sheldon's fabulous 'Mealy Mirande' and we have turned full circle.

In trying to piece together the story of Robert Stoddart, I find it difficult to believe that a man with such severe handicaps could play such an important role in the history of the pigeon racing sport, but to the best of my knowledge every word I have written is true. His mortal remains lay in almost forgotten isolation in a small cemetery in Scotland. I say almost forgotten because I know of at least one man who goes to pay his respects whenever he visits the place. BILL - the next time you visit, then please pay mine, for if there ever was such a thing as a 'Special Fancier' then: that man was the late ROBERT STODDART of FALKIRK!

Post Script

It is true to say that in the Up North Combine the prime fountain for Stoddart racing pigeons was the loft of Rutter Brothers of South Hetton. They had a direct son of 'Combine Lady' which sired the Dam of the 'One Thousand Pound Hen', he also sired the 'Orleans Cock', which won 12th Up North Combine Orleans during 1959 in a 900 yards per minute velocity race. This cock was out of a full sister to the 'One Thousand Pound Hen' - which means he was line bred to Stoddart's 'Combine Lady'. After the good win from Orleans, he was mated back to the 'One Thousand Pound Hen' and this mating produced the Rutter Brother's famous 'Broken Legs' The method of 'best to best' in this case, intensified the line-breeding to 'Combine Lady' further still and preserved the great Scottish line because, apart from being a superb racer, proved to be a marvellous reproducer of top class racing pigeon stock. Due to his legs hanging down in flight he was kept mainly for inland racing and he won 'out of turn'! He was however sent over the Channel once and won 16th Up North Combine Lille, 5,878 birds entered, the velocity was 1112 yards per minute after flying the entire 350 miles with his legs dangling beneath him for every inch of the way. The influence of 'Broken Legs' was still paramount in the Combine; he was on loan to Tom Kilner for a season and through this action came the the Great Grand Sire of Bradley and Robson's winner of 1st Up North Combine when over 23,000 pigeons competed in the race. For football fans it will be of interest to note that the pigeon was bred by Bill Arnott of Felling who, of course is father of ex Sunderland midfield Star - Kevin Arnott. The Bradley and Robson pigeon was a combination of Rutter Brothers x Tom Kilner's on the Sires side with Ian McKinnon and Braithwaite of Workington's Vandevelde's on the Dam's side. However, for the purpose of this text, the emphasis I wish to make is the link right back to Rabbie Stoddart and his splendid family of racing pigeons, through the Up North Combine Champions which Ralph and Charlie Rutter created. I know that Ralph would never let the old lines die. He corresponded with Robert Stoddart for a few years right up until Robert's death. When studying the breeding techniques of both men, I am tempted to ask myself - "How much does the successor owe to the master?" I suppose one should never labour the point too much and I think that I have paid my tribute to this truly great pigeon fancier. The circumstances of his life could never be described as normal, but surely the great moral to come out of this tribute is that : if one is determined to succeed in any walk of life - their is no obstacle which cannot be over come when having the guts, willpower and single mindedness to apply oneself! Surely these are the undeniable characteristics to come out of my survey of this man's astonishing life of imprisonment, mental torture and triumphant successes! Find this:  Images Audio/MP3 Video