THE KING'S RACING PIGEONS

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 212, 8 September 1936, Page 4

THE KING'S RACING PIGEONS

AH Are Flying This Year (Own Correspondent—by Air Mail) LONDON, July 12. When King Edward ordered new rings bearing hi 3 own initials for his fatner’a pigeons at Sandringham everyone know that., his- Majesty intended to take an interest in the sport which King George did so much to encourage. The King’s initials —“E.R.1.” (Edward, Hex, lmperator) presented a diliiculty at lirst to Major W. H. Osman, the 'pigeon expert, who supplies a million rings for young pigeons every year. Every pigeon, when it is eight days old, has to have a ring with nn icier, tilieatiou mark so that when a pigeon is round tho owner can be notified. As numbers are used in the identiii cation marks, Major Osman was ai’iam tliao the “1” might ho mistaken foi “i”, but be solved tho difficulty by deciding not to issue tho initial “E.lC.’' to anyone else. The King’s pigeons are flying this season, in all tho races of tho King’s Lynn Club, which is tho local pigeon club for Sandringham.

His Majesty’s pigeon came in secoml in the raco from Ber wick-on-Tweed on Juno 27, and tho royal pigeons competed for the King George V. Cup m tho raco from Banff at tho end oi June. Last year the raco was won by King George’s pigeons. Tho royal pigeons are specially trained for the long tests of endurance because the geographical position oi Sandringham does not give them a chance of success in the short races. Pigeon-racing is probably the only sport to whieu King George gave fivi cups to be competed lor annually. Be sides the two already mentioned, in gave a cup for the National raco iron Ban Sebastian, a distanco of over SCX nuies, one tor tho Irish National race, flown from Rennes, Erauce, also 500 miles; and another for tho Scottish National race, for which tho pigeons competed in a raco from itennes. King George was keenly interested in the performance of his pigeons, and ho used to sib on a certain seal at bandringnam to watch them coming homo. King Edward, too, likes to chat with Mr. J. Walter Jones, who is in charge of the pigeons. Mr. Jones was Ais schoolmaster at Sandringham, and ho also taught King Georgo at tho village school. Their interest iu pigeon racing is therefore easily understood, because Mr. Jones bad been a fancier in Sheffield before he went to Sandringham, and had trained and raced pigeons. King Georgo encouraged fanciers because he alawys sold his pigeons at fairly low prices, so that workingmen as well as wealthy could possess pedigree racing pigeons. British fanciers are always anxious to have pigeons with racing ancestry, and tho royal pigeons are all descendants of winners of GOO-miles races. They are to Infound now in all tho British Domi nions, and also in the United States Tho United States Army Pigeon Service was founded with British pigeons The King’s pigeons saw service witli tho Navy during the war. They carried messages to and from trawlersand drifters engaged in mine-sweep ing which had no other means of com munieation with the mainland. Then are now- 35 pairs of racing pigeons in the royal lofts, and 120 young birds