The Prince of Rome - a blue chequer pigeon, number J5093. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

At 4.15am, on 29th June, 1913, 1,653 birds (including 106 English) set off from Rome however they flew into a snowstorm over the Alps and only two English birds returned home. The first bird returned to Derby after 31 days, he flew 1,002 miles and won £12 for his owner and was named the King of Rome.

Then, on 18th August, the pigeon owned by Henry Vester (1869-1927), William Hugh Scurr (1890-1974) and Richard Scurr (1843-1916) arrived home in Tudhoe Colliery.

He holds the record for the longest distance ever flown by an English racing pigeon, 1,093 miles and 1,186 yards in 51 days. He won £8 for his owners and was hailed as The Prince of Rome.

He also won the Diploma of the Brussels Society for his feat in the Rome race.

Other performances included:

• 1907 Oxford (202 miles); Winchester (255 miles) and Rennes, France (456 miles).
• 1911 Arlon, Belgium (475 miles).
• 1912 Rennes, France (456 miles).

In 2010 the Northern Echo issued an article about the Prince of Rome but couldn't find when he died.

Thanks to Kalwinder Singh Dhindsa, from Derby, who has located The Prince of Rome in Derby Museum where the King of Rome is also on display.

The Prince of Rome was also donated to Derby Museum by Chas. Thompson, the bird is normally kept in storage but can be seen on request.

A plaque was unveiled to the Prince of Rome on 30th April 2023 at the Black Horse, Tudhoe. Descendants of the Scurr and Vester families, owners of the pigeon who lived in Attwood Terrace, performed the unveiling. Talks by Chris Lloyd (N. Echo) and Kalwinder Singh Dhindsa, who found the pigeon in Derby Museum, were followed by a rendition of a new song The Prince of Rome by Terry St. Clair.

Filming of the event took place to be included in a feature length film being made by Nova Mundi Studios who have been following Redcar fanciers for three years. It is due to be released later in 2023.

A pigeon, from Redcar, was released after the unveiling.

For further information go to an article from 14th February 2023 in the Northern Echo.

(Thanks to Kalwinder Singh Dhindsa, Ken Scurr, Derby Museum and the Northern Echo for their help.)

For more details of the Vester family go to Requests for Information March 2023

For more details of the Scurr family go to the Ken Scurr Collection

The King of Rome