The Up North Combine is an amalgamation of 23
pigeon racing
Pigeon racing is the sport of releasing specialized, trained homing pigeons, which then return to their homes over a carefully measured distance. The time it takes the animal to cover the specified distance is measured and the bird's rate of t ...
Federations founded in 1905. Its headquarters are located at Sappers Corner in
Greatham,
Hartlepool
Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...
, and the radius of serving federations go from
Staithes
Staithes () is a village in North Yorkshire, England, situated by the border between the unitary authorities of North Yorkshire and Redcar and Cleveland. The area located on the Redcar and Cleveland side is known as Cowbar. Formerly a hub for f ...
(south) to
Berwick (north). The combine is affiliated to and governed by the rules of the
North of England Homing Union (NEHU).
The organisation was featured in a 1969 documentary, ''Time on the Wing'', made by
Turners Film Productions for
Vaux Breweries
Vaux Brewery was a major brewer and hotel owner based in Sunderland, England. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange. It was taken over by Whitbread in 2000.
History
The company was founded in 1806 by Cuthbert Vaux (1779–1850), p ...
on pigeon fancying and pigeon racing in the North East of England. This showed officials and convoy organisers discuss arrangements for the trip to the Vaux-Usher International Gold Tankard Pigeon Race which involved the transport of some 19,000 birds.
Tommy Newton of the Houghton Federation was the owner of the winner of the first race from Lille they organised in 2000, the first winner from that club since 1938.
Officials
*President/Chairman: Mr W Heslop
*Senior Vice President: Mr S Kinahan
*Vice presidents: Mr D Drinkhall, Mr R Embleton, Mr J Groom, Mr G Hampson
*Secretary: Ms K Goldsbrough
*Convoyer: Mr P. Maw
List of affiliated federations
* Border Federation
* Coquetdale Federation
* Durham Middle Route Federation
* East Cleveland Federation
* Gateshead Federation
* Hartlepool Federation
* Hetton Federation
* Houghton Federation
* Mid Tyne Federation
* Middlesbrough & District Federation
* Newcastle West Federation
* North East Counties Federation
* North Yorkshire Federation
* Northumberland Premier Federation
* Shotton & Trimdon Federation
* South East Durham Federation
* South Shields Federation
* Sunderland & District Federation
* Sunderland Premier Federation
* Teesside Federation
* Tees Valley Federation
* Tynemouth Federation
* Wansbeck Federation
Members
As of 2017 the combine had 23 Federations affiliated, 120 clubs affiliated and 2614 members.
External links
Up North Combine website
References
{{reflist
Pigeon racing
Organisations based in the Borough of Hartlepool