Pigeon racing book is no flight of fancy

Nov 6 2008 by Graham Fraser, Hamilton Advertiser

A LANARKSHIRE woman has written a book about the history of Scottish pigeon racing.

Linda Brooks (55), from Wishaw, is the secretary of the Scottish Homing Union.

The union have their national base in Hamilton’s Low Waters Road.

Linda has now compiled a book on the sport entitled Flights of Memory.

She says that the work is a study of the Scottish Homing Union from 1907 until 2007.

Last month, the WH Smith store in Hamilton’s Regent Shopping Centre agreed to stock the work in the local books section.

Linda said: “There is nothing else like this book in the market covering the history of Scottish pigeon racing.

“Until this work was published, there were no real record of people’s amateur careers in pigeon racing and the anecdotes of their experiences.

“It is absolutely fascinating to see how things were done over 100 years ago.”

Flights of Memory highlights independent clubs and racing organisations from across the whole of Scotland, including Lanarkshire.

The book also includes pictures and poetry about the pastime which is enjoyed by thousands of fanciers.

Flights of Memory has details of the 25 racing clubs currently in Lanarkshire, including Burnbank and Low Waters who have been members of the Lanarkshire Federation since 1932.

The book also lovingly recalls the golden era of Strathaven Homing Club.

In 1934, the town’s racing partnership of Frame and Cochrane won the Scottish National Flying Club’s Rennes Race.

The following year the Casey Brothers, also from Strathaven, were successful in the same race.

“Pigeon racing is a big part of many people’s lives,” commented Linda.

“In Scotland, there are 3000 members of the Scottish Homing Union. Across, the UK there are about 60,000 people who race.

“I can’t put my finger on what attracts people to it.

“If you do it from a young age, it just gets under your skin.

“The book contains stories of pigeon racing from across Scotland, from Orkney to the Scottish Borders.”

Flights of Memory took Linda Brooks 10 months to produce, from the initial concept to its publication.

In the past eight months, 2000 copies have been sold to pigeon racing enthusiasts.

Now, with the work hitting the shelves of a mainstream book shop, Linda and the rest of the Scottish Homing Union are hoping it will bring pigeon racing to a wider audience in Scotland.

MEMORIES: Linda Brooks is pictured left with her new book, Flights of Memory.

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