Rein and Peter say goodbye to their pigeon association: ‘My pigeon flew back from Spain at lightning speed’

Mail pigeons that flew back from northern France to Zoetermeer at 120 kilometers per hour. And Duif 152, which became the oldest carrier pigeon in the Netherlands. Chairman Peter van Rijs (83) and treasurer Rein Kerkhof (78) look back in their club building on the Zegwaartseweg with nostalgia on happy years at Duivenvereniging PV De Witpen: the club stops.

The club building, a monumental wagon shed from the 1920s, is for sale. The members have become too old and there are no successors for the pigeon association. Peter: “I have left some tears.”

Hobby got out of hand

PV Witpen pigeon association existed in Zoetermeer since 1936, for years before Peter and Rein became members. It was striking then that the first club members mainly lived in the Molenstraat. According to Peter at the time, a few pigeon holders made other neighborers enthusiastic for the sport. “There were just fifteen pigeon holders in the street.” The very first club building of the Duivenvereniging was in the former café De Lantaarn on the Voorweg. Peter joined the 1950s as a member, Rein followed almost 20 years later.

In the basket

For years the pigeon growers let their carrier pigeons participate in competitions. Before that they came together in the club building to put the carrier pigeons in a travel basket for transport to the competition location. A truck driver picked up the baskets and brought the pigeons to countries such as France and Spain. In the past, the race management used a pigeon clock. This registered the number of the Pootring of the Duif and the starting time.

Back faster than the truck

The truck driver was not even back from his ride or the pigeons were already in their loft in Zoetermeer. “We knew about the arrival time in Zoetermeer, but with a headwind, for example, the tour took much longer,” says Rein. At home the men had their own pigeon clock. “With this we again registered the ring of the pigeon leg and the arrival time. We went to the club building with the clocks and gave us the results. We were sometimes there deep into the night.”

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The name of the association is named after De Witp Pigeon

Quick rag

Over the years, Eighty Post Pigeons from Rein participated in the pigeon sport, from Peter there were forty. Rein: “Duif 116 was one of my favorites, because it was a good one. That’s why I breeding the animal. Peter says:“ I had a small pigeon that was like a rag on my hand. From the competition committee I had to give it a name so I called him it. At 1 p.m. the pigeon was unloaded in San Sabastian, Spain and the next morning the carrier pigeon was the first to come up with all expectations. ”

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Radio and Teletext

During the Second World War, possession of carrier pigeons was forbidden because they could serve as a means of communication. “The club members hid in cellars at the time,” says Rein. “They smuggled the birds to the right place. From there they were released with a message and flew back to the owner. In this way they maintained contact.”

Another historic fact is that in competitions the members could listen to reports about the departure times of the pigeons via the radio. After all, there used to be no telephone or internet. Later they could find that information on Teletext, the information page on television.

No time and money

According to Peter and Rein, the pigeon sport nowadays costs too much time and money. “People are not going to do this anymore,” says Rein. “You also have to leave a lot for it. You can barely go on vacation, because try to find someone who wants to take care of your pigeons every day.”

The cozy evenings in the club building are now also a thing of the past. “We regularly came together here for parties, clover jacket evenings, the basket of the pigeons and of course for the results after competitions.” That era is over and that hurts, “says Rein.

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