Officials
Alan Williamson – President
Vice President – Gordon Stewart
Secretary – William Davidson
Treasurer – William Davidson
Transport Manager – Gordon Stewart
Race controller – Colin Rae
Contact
History – founded in 1982
Aberdeen Federation was formed in 1982 after the members of Tayside Federation, which we were members of, split and left us with all the assets. We set about changing the name to Aberdeen Federation of Racing Pigeons.
Prior to that Aberdeen were part of the North of Scotland Federation which was formed about 1975 when rail transport was being reduced by the rail network after the BEECHING axe from the then government who decide to reduce the rail network and finally stopped shipping pigeons in 1976. We were forced to start road transport. We were uncomfortable with some propositions being introduce by the then committee and were given the opportunity to leave and join the Tayside Federation which we did.
Transport
We had always bought second hand vehicles because of costs and regularly had large running repairs. In about 2004 new rules came out from DEFRA regarding vehicle transporters and how they should be cleaned making the use of non-porous materials a necessity. That was the Q for the Federation to start an action plan to build ourselves a New vehicle to comply with existing rules with help from the Lottery Fund. We also managed (with Ian Douglas’s help) to get a sponsor who donated £5,000. This plan was executed to a “T” with our finances being controlled by our Sec/ Treasurer Mary Park. The outcome was we had a New vehicle on the road in 2007 with our own private plate AB 07 FED which we will retain. To celebrate the arrival we had an Open day at AUCHLEA farm where we had the use of a large Dutch type barn especially cleaned for us by Alec Clark the owner to allow us to have a barbecue, the New vehicle was for the first time on show to the members after W Davidson and Ian McKay collected it from Geraldy in Germany where the body was fitted. This barbecue was free to all who attended and was not taken from Federation funds. The cost £990, there were 2 porta-loos (donated) one for ladies and one for gents, big barbeque and an operator (Harry Haney) who towed it with his car and cooked all the food, we had everything else you would expect to get at a barbeque with a full array of sweets and cakes, every member past and present of the Federation including families and past and present drivers were invited. In 2027 we had 99 members so a huge event all completely free paid for by gifts and donations and the Dutch barn was give free by Alec Clark. Auchlea, Kingswells.
Now in 2026 our transporter being an old girl at 19yrs of age and now twice the size we need because of falling membership it is time to move forward and execute plan 2027, which is again to fund a New vehicle to preserve the future of racing pigeons in the Aberdeen area for the next 15 yrs. This time the challenge will be even bigger as the cost of the vehicle is horrendous and VAT @ 20% and we only have 38 members.
The new body
The new Chassis Crew Cab. Rear.
The New Chassis Crew Cab. Front.
Since the Federation AGM Dec 7th 2025 where there was £5,000 in the transport fund. Today there is about £15,000, the fund raising ventures have been supported well by most as usual there some who think we are not in need of a new transporter which is a very selfish attitude but it happened the last time as well, I wonder if they will put there birds in the new transporter?
On Thursday the 30th April 2026 W Davidson phoned and announced the Federation were granted £20,000 by the Lottery to help fund our effort, this was our biggest hurdle. So it is now definitely possible to put a brand New 3.5t Crew Cab on the road for 2027, 20years since our last one which will now be sold to help finance our new venture. This is quite remarkable when you consider the size of our federation, an achievement not many Federations in the UK can claim and to do it twice is remarkable.
Aberdeen Federation Transporter fund update 03/08/2026.
The plan:
Since the inception of a new transporter was announced at the AGM Dec 2025 there has been a lot happening behind the scenes. Below I will try to address some.
Situation:
1) We have had some bad luck and good luck. I will not dwell on the bad luck suffice to say the MOT fiasco cost us 6 new tyres and we now have another one gone.
2) Let’s look on the good side, we got our lottery grant of £20.000 which was a tremendous boost. Fund raising has been brilliant and most project are ahead of expectations. A lot of members have put a lot of effort into the fundraising events but some have not, it’s a shame because they will get the use of the transporter as well.
Concerns:
1) I would like to raise the football cards profile they seem to have been forgotten about. I thought when the race season came along they might have done better, so may I ask them that can sell them to try and get them going again they are available from W Dee or myself.
2) The ONLY place we advertise is Facebook which can sometimes be difficult to find the post as it is only on the Aberdeen Federation page. Our recent one is for late breds from the 3 SNFC section winners and is slow, may I ask clubs that have a Facebook page to copy and paste on to your page to promote our efforts.
3) I have sent the adverts to other Feds and Racing pigeon groups but they are controlled by a moderator/s who can ignore or refuse to allow it to be seen (that’s another sad part of the sport)
Sales:
1) I did not plan to have a late bred sale so early but some of the birds were ready for their new homes.
2) I will be having another one later this year.
The current situation with Funding/Costs:
1) We are on target. I cannot get a fixed cost to fit the body as it has to be done in or around Bathgate/Midlothian area. I do have estimates to work on.
The total vehicle cost including fitting the body is £49,500. We have £38,500 in hand which includes our deposit which is paid. Leaving a shortfall of approx. £11,000.
The 1day OLR:
Fully subscribed, and one luck winner will win £500.
Thanks to Jim Coutts for undertaking this massive task.
There is one bird in this race from a member of the Elite club with all winnings going to the Transport fund.
Elite Club Gold Ring Race:
There are 15 birds in this race if successful 100% of any money won has been donated to the transport fund. There are also 5 birds with 50% of any money won also going into the transport fund. The prize fund is £2,500.
Iveco Transporter
I have advertised our current Iveco transporter for sale and had a few good enquiries but do not expect to get any serious enquiries until other organisations racing is finished and they start to look to their 2027 season.
The next 4 months will be crucial to our success:
- James W Whyte must stay fit and healthy for his sponsored run, if you have not sponsored him, please think about it. Have a whip round at the club.
- Bonus balls need to keep being supported. Ask your friends or family to take one they can take the cash equivalent.
- Late bred sales please advertise them on your club sites and let all your pigeon pals know what is on offer.
Commitment / Thanks / Support:
There are too many to name individually, all I can say is a MASSIVE THANKS to you all. Members, Friends & Family’s, Company’s and everyone else.
Ian McKay