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History of Club and Trophies

NEVER MIND THE QUALITY OF THE BIRDS - FEEL THE QUALITY OF THE PEOPLE

MODERN GAME CLUB SPECIALS AT CLUB SHOW
Dan Clayton Trophy to best Modern, Hirst Rose Bowl to best Modern, John Sneddon Trophy to Best Opp Sex, Hirst Cup to Best Opp Sex, Wilson Cup to Best Male, Edwards cup to Best Female, Cookson Rosebowl to best Black Red, Duthic Cup to Best Opp Sex Black Red, Briggs cup to Best Pile, Gillson cup to Best Opp Sex Pile, Smith Cup to Best Duckwing, Melbourne shield to Best Opp Sex Duckwing, Bartle Cup to Best Birchen, W. Dettering Plaque to Best Birchen, Walter Smithy Shield to Best Opp Sex Birchen, Shaw Haigh Trophy to Best Brown Red, W. Dettering Plaque to best Brown Red, Johnson Cup to Best Opp Sex Brown Red, W. Dettering Wall Trophy to Best AOC Standardised, W. Dettering Cup to Best Opp Sex AOC Standardised, Steve Waring Cup to Best AC Non Standardised, W. Swindley cup to Best Large, J. Richardson Trophy to Best Opp Sex Large, Mills Cup to best Trio, Smith cup to Best Novice.

Every picture tells a story...... and this array of Trophies is no exception. It is the biggest and I think most valuable within the fancy.

I use this as my base to write about the history of Moderns and the Club and these trophies represent three different eras of Modern Game.

Being Secretary in 1991, I was delighted to find the early records of our club impeccable and the minute book from that time has provided a wealth of information and pleasure.

Our Secretary when the Club formed after the second world war in 1948 was George Clark.

The first AGM on 10th December 1949 was attended by 17 members:
H. G. Bartle, C. Brown, A. W. Briggs, A. Bathye, Wally Clarke, A. S. Carr, N. J. Davies, H. Gillson, C. A. Melbourne, J. R. Milner, P. Nickolson, Sid Newton, H. G. Rawlins, E. J. Smith, N. P. Smith, J. J. Wilson, G. Clarke,(Sec).

Another minute in the minute book was on October 28th 1959:
The secretary read a letter from Mr Morton regarding "the old Modern Game Bantam Club trophies". He said the Bradford Show was closing down and that the old Club Trophies would be handed over to our club trustees.

Now from the above I could deduce that our impressive Trophies represented three eras; The present, the founder members and the distant past from the Bradford Show.

I also noted one founder member was still alive and well, I had met him visiting the National without realising who he was and that was Mr Briggs, who donated the Briggs Cup for best Pile.

So this had to be the start of my investigation and I went and spent a delightful evening in the summer of 1991 in the company of our remaining founder member in Leicestershire.

Mr Briggs was then in his eighties and would you believe still breeding Pile Bantams. He did not show them himself but some he bred were given to younger fanciers are were in the Novice Class at our 1990 Club Show. (alas he died soon after)

Mr Briggs told me he was not into Moderns for long before the Club formed so he could not go back too far. Everything stopped in the war but before the war there were breed colour clubs such as the Pile Club which he knew of. He first got interested in Moderns by talking to a grand old man call Fred Pickering who was born in 1888 and came from Driffield.

Mr Briggs was a butcher at that time and used to travel regularly to Lanark to purchase cattle. He mentioned the Modern men of his time as Len Roberts a great showman who coached Brian Tuplin, coupled with many other names such as Cyril Melbourne, Cookson who was a jeweller from Chester and a great benefactor to the Club. Also Sid Newton as one of the best Showmen just after the war. Robert Hirst, Parker the Kendle Secretary and Harry Riley from York. As we still know strains, Mr Briggs remembers the Cyril Melbourne Duckwing strain going to Iva Eva and Arthur Mills in Cornwall. He remembered Harry Gilson and his father also knows Bill Moorcroft and his late father. Also E. J. Smith (Ted) who he saw on television in recent years talking to the Queen Mother at Sandringham where he had worked as a stonemason. Ted Smith was a grand chap and an excellent Duckwing man. Ernie Bartlett from Bradford was mentioned as another good man for the Club

As you can imagine one evening with Mr Briggs flew by and I had to depart unfortunately.

This is now appraisal time and I had ascertained the following cup benefactors from the 1950,s and some background.

ROBERT HIRST - HIRST ROSE BOWL
HARRY GILLSON - GILLSON BEST OPP SEX PILE
A. W. BRIGGS - BEST PILE
CYRIL MELBOURNE - MELBOURNE SHIELD BEST OPP SEX DUCKWING
B. BARTLE (Sec'y of Bingley/Bradford Bantam Show) BEST BIRCHEN
TED SMITH - SMITH CUP BEST DUCKWING
COOKSON - COOKSON ROSEBOWL BEST BLACK RED
L. JOHNSON FROM YORKSHIRE - JOHNSON CUP BEST OPP SEX BRWN RED
J. J. WILSON FROM CHESHIRE - WILSON CUP TO BEST MALE
A. W. M. EDWARDS FROM OXON - EDWARDS CUP BEST FEMALE
C. DUTHIE FROM YORKS - DUTHIE CUP BEST OPP SEX BLACK RED

But who and from when was: DAN CLAYTON, JOHN SNEDDON, WALTER SMITHY, SHAW HAIGH.

My next approach was to go and see my old friend Dave Scrivener who must have one of the best collections of old poultry books and poultry memorabilia in the Country. I asked Dave to find anything old relating to Modern Game and he came up with some very interesting publications and pictures.

From these I was able to ascertain the following: Dan Clayton lived at Box Tree Mill, Bradford. He was a well known exhibitor of Brown Red Bantams. His Trophy was donated in 1911 which was the year he retired from showing. Dan Clayton was renowned at the time for always winning the Kendal Show which was then the hot-bed of Moderns. This also attracted the Modern Game Club Show, The Modern Pile Game Bantam Club with the Birchen Club show being held at Bradford.

Entwistle said in about 1891 "Brown-Breasted Reds, which are still in few hands, though we hope there will be a change in this respect, two or three spirited fanciers having commenced in good earnest to try and improve the breed, and, if possible, wrest from Messrs. Dan Clayton & Stretch the position they now hold as chief winners in Brown-Reds."

H. Inman said in 1912 "Now that Mr. Dan Clayton has retired from exhibiting, the Brown-Red seems to be in more hands than formerly; still, there is room for improvement in this respect. With the interest that Mr. Clayton has always taken in the Kendal Show, there is no wonder that this is the meeting-ground for fanciers of this variety, and nowhere is there such an entry obtained. This year there were 46 Brown-Reds in four classes. Some really good specimens have been exhibited, but no outstanding progress has been made".

So Dan Clayton is pretty well logged. Now of the other benefactors of our old trophies in the same catalogues I found John Sneddon regularly winning Duckwing and Black-Red Classes and Shaw Haigh in the cards in the Brown-Red Classes. Walter Smithy I cannot find at the moment.

All the forgoing references are for Bantams and in reading about this period, I covered from 1902 to 1923 and saw the almost decline of Large Moderns and it was apparent Moderns were split in this respect the Bantams never wavering in popularity even if they were divided into many clubs. For example the 1921 Kendal Show had 305 Bantams split: Black-Reds 81, Pile 80, Duckwing 48, Birchen 49, Brown-Reds 30, AOC 17.

The Modern Game Bantam Clubs in this era were listed as:
Modern Game: J, C. Parker, 11 Cliff Terrace, Kendal.
Birchen Club: H. Inman, 12 Squire Lane, Girlington, Bradford.
Brown Red Club: Rev J. N. Williams, Chapel-le-Dale, Kirkby, Lonsdale.
Pile Club: A. M. Crabtree, Monkholme, Threshfield, Nr Skipton.
Scottish - A. W. Forrester, Tower View, Uddingston, Nr Glasow.

The Large Modern decline was discussed by R. Wingfield in 1913 who said about Large Moderns "What a difference in number, size, shape, and quality to the birds shown at Birmingham ten years ago. In 1902 the entries were 295, this year only 111; then Black-Reds alone numbered 121, Brown-Reds 43, this year 8. Duckwings 53; This year 25, How badly we require a Game Club with some go about it."

However by 1923 the Large were still going and according to an article I have by H. Easom Smith who states in 1971 "The peak of the tall version of the Game Fowl was prior to the 1914 war. Economic considerations in the twenties caused them to be relegated. Only wealthy landowners could command their tenants to 'walk' cockerels for them and to hatch and rear as many birds as they wanted.

In my recollection, there were a few old fanciers who would not let their stocks die. These men showed their large Modern Game right up to the next war (1939) but that was, virtually, the end of the breed."

In analyzing the 1912 catalogue of results it is interesting to note that at the five major shows; Dairy, Manchester, Palace, Birmingham and Kendal; there were in the cards 30 different exhibitors with a total of 535 exhibits. The large had 18 different exhibitors in the cards with a total of 195 exhibits.

However there were only two exhibitors exhibiting both large and bantam and they were W. B. Fowler and F. W, Smith. This illustrates how the large with no breed club were divorced from the bantams.

The total moderns for 1912 were 46 exhibitors in cards with 720 exhibits. For 1991 we had 6 regional shows, 49 exhibitors in cards with 747 exhibits penned. When put like this we are not doing so bad as the good old days. But when you think back to 1902 with 121 Large Black-Reds in one show the mind boggles.

Well I've been interestingly side-tracked as this article was about people not birds and we finally go back and look at our Trophy list to see our present benefactors.

Firstly the late Steve Waring, our hard working Secretary in the mid 80's, who was sadly killed in a car crash, He loved his off-colours and appropriately his cup is for Best Non Standardised.

When the Large were taken under the wing of the MGBC, Bill Swindley was keeping large at that time and kindly donated the Trophy for best Large. Jack Richardson kindly made up the Opp Sex Large. Last but not least, Bob Mills proposed we have a trio class at the National and when this was accepted kindly presented a Trophy to the Club for same.

So apart from Walter Smithy I have accounted for all our benefactors, Trophy-wise, and if any one out there can further assist with who Walter Smithy was I will be pleased to hear from them and add it to the next edition of this publication, which I hope will happen.

I realise Trophies are considered a nuisance by many and people do not wish to take them home because they worry about their value. We have had suggestions at the AGM that we sell them but I hope this article brings home to members that these Trophies are a very important part of the Club's heritage.

In 2006 we discovered another MG Cup on eBay, the full story is here