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The Editor


 The Journal has long been an important part of the pigeon sport in this country. It is a vehicle by which all pigeon fanciers can learn and hopefully improve their pigeons and performances, acknowledge the performances of others, express views and ideas for the future development of the sport, and keep up to date with the goings on of the pigeon fraternity. These in my mind are the four principles on which the success of the Pigeon Journal have been built and these principles and purposes remain intact to this day.
The Journal was founded in 1993 by Mr Bill Wells on the belief that not everyone was getting a fair go in the existing publications. He was suceeded by Mr Richard Clingan in 1997 who remained as editor for the next decade. The editorship then passed to the current Editor, Mr Jeff Howell, at the beginning of 2007.
Jeff has been involved with pigeon racing since the age of 7. After flying two years as a Junior with the Goulburn Valley Pigeon Club in Shepparton Victoria, other things took priority for a few years. He returned to racing in 2002, spending three years racing with the Box Hill Homing Club in the Victorian Homing Association. A move back to Shepparton in 2005 saw Jeff winning the Shepparton and Districts Pigeon Club Aggregate that season.
The biggest disappointment of his time in the sport came in 2014 when his stock loft was broken into with all the stock hens being stolen except a couple of old ones and a couple of coloured pigeons. Fortunately the cocks were housed elsewhere at the time and so there was still something to go on with. After years of work to produce a successful family of pigeons, to lose them in this manner was disappointing to say the least.
More recently Jeff moved to Albury/Wodonga on the Victorian/NSW border and now races with the Albury/Wodonga Racing Pigeon Club, as part of the Northern Districts Invitation Combine(NDIC). His first season in Albury saw a good start, with his team of 30 pigeons winning three races and the Short Distance Aggregate. He has since won the Club's Short Distance Aggregate five times in seven years. He has been particularly successful in the NDIC's 200 mile events from Hillston, having won one of the Hillston races for five of the past six years.
Jeff is a small team flyer, generally breeding 65 youngsters each season. His family of birds is based on four birds, a Godfrey Stevens x Tournier cock bred by Peter Howell of Shepparton, a Doug Ince x Hanseene hen from Tom Silk of Rosebud and a hen from Peter Ainsworth of Melbourne which also carries some of Doug Ince's bloodlines. A number of other pigeons have been used as crosses along the way, with pigeons for stock being selected purely on performance. This family of pigeons are particularly reliable and have been very succesful at the 400 mile distance. This is Jeff's favourite distance and many of his stock birds are winners at this distance. He also keeps a few Hereman-Cuester x Van Loon pigeons which were from Geoff Parker of Shepparton and Barry Devine of Sydney. These pigeons have been particularly successful this year, having placed 1st & 2nd Fed from Hillston 200 miles and 2nd Fed from Nymagee 300 miles, all in a period of three weeks. Jeff also enjoys the history of the sport and has one of the largest collections of pigeon books and memorabilia in this country.
Below are pictured a few of Jeff's more successful birds from over the years which now form the backbone of his family.

Left is 4906(Ince/Tournier) the foundation cock of Jeff's family and prolific producer. He is part of a dominant line of cocks with his father having placed 3rd Open 600 miles twice. Center is 2841 a son of 4906 which placed 1st Fed NDIC 200 miles and 2nd Fed 300 miles and has been an even more prolific producer than his father. Right 28110 (Janssen)10th Fed VHA twice when Jeff raced in Melbourne.
Left 28186 was 1st Club 500 miles as was his daughter a few years later. Center two half brothers which arrived together to place 2nd Fed from 400 miles, one was a son of 4906 and the other a son of 2841. Right 3rd(=1st) Open Coonamble 2016 400 miles, a daughter of 28110 and granddaughter of 4906.