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Novel tells the story of WW1 mobile pigeon lofts

In August 1914 the British government requisitioned over 1000 red double decker London buses and sent them to France to act as troop transports, ambulances and mobile lofts for carrier pigeons on the Western Front. Many of them drove around the French battlefields for a time in their red livery, with London locations such as […]

Lords v Commons Race 2019

The second annual revived Lords v Commons Pigeon Race took place from Bletchley Park yesterday. The race was resurrected in 2018 after a 90 year hiatus, and each bird entered is designated to an MP or peer, raising funds for the Royal British Legion. 834 pigeons were released at 9.30am to begin their 120 mile journey […]

Pigeon Liberation marks D-Day 75th Anniversary

RPRA Development Officer, Richard Chambers, travelled to Normandy with NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC), who are based in Gloucester, very close to our HQ at The Reddings. He met up with Signaller Harry Swann, to show him how to handle pigeons ahead of the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the Allied landings at […]

Wing Stamping and RPRA Rules

We are receiving reports of an increased number of pigeons that are being raced but do not have the relevant information required to adhere to Rule 121: 121. During the racing season, each member must ensure that every pigeon raced or trained by him is either wing stamped on at least three flights or carrying […]

BHW Show of the Year 2019

Thank you to everyone who made the BHW Show of the Year 2019 the success that it was – and of course to the many thousands that came along. The results were as follows (subject to ring verification etc) – our congratulations to all of the winners: • Trophy Winners • Class Winners • Full […]

New Book: Pip the Pigeon

Paula Yare has written a new children’s book entitled ‘Pip the Pigeon: Secret Mission’, about the hair-raising adventures of a heroic pigeon who joins the British Army in World War I. The book costs £4.99 plus p&p, and proceeds are being donated to Cancer Research UK. To order a copy, e-mail [email protected], with your name, address […]

British Olympiad Show 2018

The RPRA British Olympiad Show took place over the weekend at the Exhibition Centre Liverpool. In addition to the Olympiad classes, there were classes for show racers and racing pigeons, and trade stands present. The full results are below – click on the image to download a copy. You can see a report on the […]

‘Birdmen’ book now available

Earlier this year the RPRA – and many of its members – assisted award-winning photographer Zak Waters in a successful Kickstarter campaign to publish his photographic study of pigeon racing and fanciers, entitled ‘Birdmen’. The book has now been published, and is available either direct from publishers Bluecoat Press or on Amazon, but best be […]

Lords v Commons Pigeon Race 2018

On Wednesday 14th June the RPRA released 543 birds from Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes at the first Lords v Commons pigeon race since 1928. Each pigeon was designated to an MP or Peer. Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Pigeon Racing Group, Chris Davies MP, was in attendance along with Iain Stewart, MP for […]