The Royal Pigeon Racing Association (RPRA)

About the partnership

This partnership came about when The Royal Pigeon Racing Association (RPRA), was asked to lend their support in March 2006, to help us celebrate the Great Daffodil Appeal's special 20th birthday.

We asked RPRA for the support of their Homing Pigeons to help Marie Curie Cancer Care ‘send ever more people Home', through a nationwide launch in which thousands of pigeons will ‘fly home', in a series of symbolic pigeon ‘releases' and ‘liberations'.

RPRA has an impressive 37,000 members, spread across 2,500 pigeon clubs in the UK alone.

This wonderful association does an enormous amount for charity, and the pigeon fanciers are an incredibly generous bunch of people, raising an amazing £100,000 for charitable causes each year.

The British World Homing Show of the Year

Each year, RPRA holds its annual Show, The British World Homing Show of the Year, in Blackpool.

This well-known event typically attracts the presence of some 25,000 nationwide fanciers, who descend on Blackpool to trade pigeons, enter their birds in shows, collect trophies, fraternise with old friends and make news ones.

An exciting event, we were privileged to be invited to this year's Show in January 2006, and we met some 22,000 fanciers and were presented with a wonderful donation for £2,500.

To celebrate the Great Daffodil Appeal's 20th birthday in March 2006, we held a series of pigeon releases and liberations from pigeon lofts around the country - the desired aim is to achieve 20 to mark the special anniversary year. Amongst those signed up, were releases taking place in the following places:

And last, but not least, at The Royal Lofts in Sandringham (HRH The Queen's pigeons). Her Majesty the Queen is the Patron of the RPRA, so we feel particularly privileged to have The Royal Lofts participating.

All the releases happened on the same day, for PR purposes - Monday February 27, 2006.

Other fundraising opportunities

Other fundraising opportunities include RPRA's One Loft Race, when the pigeon fanciers enter a pigeon into a ‘first past the post race', where the winner will scoop a projected £20,000 first prize. Several pigeon fanciers and pigeon clubs are kindly supporting Marie Curie Cancer Care through the One Loft Race. Thank you for your wonderful support.

We're also pleased to announce that RPRA bred a special Marie Curie Pigeon.

RPRA General Manager, Peter Bryant, had a baby pigeon bred (known as a ‘squeaker') for Marie Curie Cancer Care. Our special pigeon was bred by a local fancier and was entered in the celebrated One Loft Pigeon Race.

RPRA pledged £100 on our racer, known as ‘Daffodil'. What a lovely privilege. We were invited to visit our squeaker when she was a little bigger. Click here to read about Daffodil and see her picture.

If there are any pigeon fanciers out there that are interested in raising funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care, please send an email. We would be delighted to have your support.

You could take part in a Marie Curie Cancer Care street collection in March, or get your entire pigeon club on board fundraising. We would love to talk to you and support you in all you do for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

"I am delighted that British pigeon fanciers are working with Marie Curie Cancer Care in this project. Cancer seems to touch just about every family at one time or another and this is why this project has proved to be so popular with our members.

"Pigeon racing is all about 'getting home' and the fanciers' fondness for their birds means that they very much treat them as part of the family. The symbolic nature of this project does, I believe, show compassion and the eternal love for our loved ones as they return home one final time."

Peter Bryant, RPRA General Manager