Homing in on the riddle of Shropshire pigeon society

Much as we'd like to help expatriate Salopian Derek Sturch as he tries to unravel some of his lost family history, it's a question we can't answer.

And the special interest for him is that his father Bill Sturch, whom he never knew, was the secretary for seven years, from 1933 to 1940.

A cherished picture in Derek's possession shows Bill on the platform, either giving or receiving a trophy during some sort of society presentation event.

Another memento is a certificate of appreciation for Bill's work given to him by the society in January 1940 as he was about to join the RAF.

Derek, who was born on New Year's Day in 1942 and lived in his young days in Wellington, never knew his father as his parents divorced when he was a toddler.

"I’ve just come across this photo of my late father Bill Sturch when he was secretary of the Wrekin Homing Pigeon Society in the 1930s. I don’t know whether the society is still going, but I thought it might be of interest to your readers," said Derek.

It seems Bill retained his connection with pigeons even while in the RAF.

"I know very little about him or the pigeon club. I do know when war broke out he joined the RAF and was stationed at one of the carrier pigeon lofts in Scotland. It's probably far too long ago for many other people to remember him.

"This is now the time of life you wished you had been more interested in learning about your family history when you had the opportunity to ask the relevant questions."

His mum remarried and they moved from Shropshire to Devon in 1947.

Another treasured possession of Derek's is of his parents Bill and Jean – Miss Jean Tudor before marriage – on their wedding day.

As for Wrekin Homing Society, we can't find any group of that name, so it seems it either faded into history at some point or perhaps continued under some other name.