NOW PUBLISHED! - September the First
September the First by Phil Gray, a record of fifty years of the opening day of the duck shooting season.
Set mainly on or around Whittlesey Wash, but with some coastal shooting
episodes. The text includes a few anecdotes contributed by other wildfowlers. Hardback of 242 pages, including 10 photographs.
Orders can be taken now.
To order your copy send a cheque made payable to P S Gray for £23 which includes post & packing to :
33, Bellamy Road, OUNDLE, Peterborough PE8 4NE.
Not forgetting to include you name and address. Your book will be sent to you at the
earliest possible opportunity.
Copy submitted by Phil Gray to the Shooting Press in 2010.
Phil Gray after a wildfowling trip in the '80s
Whittlesey Wildfowlers Fiftieth Anniversary
Club seeks past members
In the fens wildfowling has been practiced for centuries. It began with the native fenmen tapping into a plentiful source of natural food, and then it became a profession, the wildfowler supplying wild duck, geese and waders to local and London Markets. Finally, it became a sport followed by those with the hunting gene of their forefathers carrying on the old tradition. As the fens were drained, so the main wildfowling areas were reduced until the last semi-wild places were the Washlands.
Whittlesey Wash was shot over, by locals in a free and easy manner, but by the 1950’s more disposable income was becoming available and some folk were able to afford cars. Strangers turned up to shoot and in 1958, although only 17 years of age, Phil Gray foresaw the potential threat of outsiders forming a syndicate and excluding locals from their ‘own’ marshes. During the next two years he tried to arouse interest in starting a wildfowling club. Gatherings of likeminded people bore fruit and on 9th September 1960 the inaugural meeting of Whittlesey Wildfowlers Association was held. The first shooting rights were rented for 1/- (5p) an acre and eventually the club shot over the whole of Whittlesey Low Wash. Seven miles of riverbank was added a few years later. The first conservation project was the rearing of wild mallard, which were ringed and released at the Wildfowl Trusts Borough Fen Decoy. Over the years at least 700 duck were put back into the wild.
After renting the 22 acre Bassenhally Pits for Clay Pigeon Shooting, the club took the opportunity to purchase the site. Around that time the name was changed to Whittlesey Wildfowlers & Conservationists (WW&C) and Bassenhally Pits has been managed for its wide variety of wildlife ever since.
In the 1980’s the RSPB began buying up land on the Low Wash, but the club retained a presence there by purchasing two fields early on. Shooting had been hired on the Whittlesey High Wash and as land came up for sale there the club bought it and entered into a Countryside Stewardship Scheme. The land is hayed and grazed and in recent years water control features have been installed to maintain higher water levels for the benefit of winter shooting and spring breeding wildfowl. Gadwall, little egrets and a spotted crake are among the birds that have been seen on club land. Other conservation work involves the pollarding of the willow trees on the main B1040 road across the Wash. These 100 year old trees would blow over were it not for their regular ‘haircut’. In consideration of these works in 2002 the club was awarded the prestigious BASC ‘Stanley Duncan Trophy’ for conservation.
WW&C enjoys a good working relationship with Natural England, RSPB and the Environment Agency. The Founder Phil Gray, Chairman Geoff Borrett and the Committee take this opportunity to heartily thank Whittlesey Wash Landowners past and present who have generously let their shooting rights to the club and made it possible for the ancient fenland tradition of wildfowling to continue into the 21st Century. Members currently shoot over 750 acres, 130 of which are owned by the club.
Whittlesey Wildfowlers are particularly keen to hear from past members who might like to know more about this special year. For example, a DVD is being compiled and a 124 page history entitled ‘WW&C – Fifty Years On’ has already been published. The club acknowledges with thanks, the kind contribution towards publication costs by Whittlesey Town Council. The book will be available to the public in the summer at a cost of £9 + p&p. If any past members are interested in those items they should contact Ernie Taylor on 01733 205635
Club seeks past members
In the fens wildfowling has been practiced for centuries. It began with the native fenmen tapping into a plentiful source of natural food, and then it became a profession, the wildfowler supplying wild duck, geese and waders to local and London Markets. Finally, it became a sport followed by those with the hunting gene of their forefathers carrying on the old tradition. As the fens were drained, so the main wildfowling areas were reduced until the last semi-wild places were the Washlands.
Whittlesey Wash was shot over, by locals in a free and easy manner, but by the 1950’s more disposable income was becoming available and some folk were able to afford cars. Strangers turned up to shoot and in 1958, although only 17 years of age, Phil Gray foresaw the potential threat of outsiders forming a syndicate and excluding locals from their ‘own’ marshes. During the next two years he tried to arouse interest in starting a wildfowling club. Gatherings of likeminded people bore fruit and on 9th September 1960 the inaugural meeting of Whittlesey Wildfowlers Association was held. The first shooting rights were rented for 1/- (5p) an acre and eventually the club shot over the whole of Whittlesey Low Wash. Seven miles of riverbank was added a few years later. The first conservation project was the rearing of wild mallard, which were ringed and released at the Wildfowl Trusts Borough Fen Decoy. Over the years at least 700 duck were put back into the wild.
After renting the 22 acre Bassenhally Pits for Clay Pigeon Shooting, the club took the opportunity to purchase the site. Around that time the name was changed to Whittlesey Wildfowlers & Conservationists (WW&C) and Bassenhally Pits has been managed for its wide variety of wildlife ever since.
In the 1980’s the RSPB began buying up land on the Low Wash, but the club retained a presence there by purchasing two fields early on. Shooting had been hired on the Whittlesey High Wash and as land came up for sale there the club bought it and entered into a Countryside Stewardship Scheme. The land is hayed and grazed and in recent years water control features have been installed to maintain higher water levels for the benefit of winter shooting and spring breeding wildfowl. Gadwall, little egrets and a spotted crake are among the birds that have been seen on club land. Other conservation work involves the pollarding of the willow trees on the main B1040 road across the Wash. These 100 year old trees would blow over were it not for their regular ‘haircut’. In consideration of these works in 2002 the club was awarded the prestigious BASC ‘Stanley Duncan Trophy’ for conservation.
WW&C enjoys a good working relationship with Natural England, RSPB and the Environment Agency. The Founder Phil Gray, Chairman Geoff Borrett and the Committee take this opportunity to heartily thank Whittlesey Wash Landowners past and present who have generously let their shooting rights to the club and made it possible for the ancient fenland tradition of wildfowling to continue into the 21st Century. Members currently shoot over 750 acres, 130 of which are owned by the club.
Whittlesey Wildfowlers are particularly keen to hear from past members who might like to know more about this special year. For example, a DVD is being compiled and a 124 page history entitled ‘WW&C – Fifty Years On’ has already been published. The club acknowledges with thanks, the kind contribution towards publication costs by Whittlesey Town Council. The book will be available to the public in the summer at a cost of £9 + p&p. If any past members are interested in those items they should contact Ernie Taylor on 01733 205635
The Booklist
Here are some books chosen by the Website author that I feel compliment our sport and philosophy. It is my intention to add to this list either by my own reading or through publications suggested to me by members and visitors. Books can be suggested on any related subject but preference will be given to those more directly aimed at wildfowling and it's fenland home
Edward Storey
Call it a Summer Country, Portrait of the Fen Country, Four Seasons in Three Countries, North Bank Night (Poetry), A Man in Winter (Poetry), Fen Boy First, A Fen Country Christmas, Fen, Fire and Flood: Scenes from Fenland History, Letters from the Fens, Last Train to Ely, In Fen Country Heaven, A Right to Song: The Life of John Clare, A Solitary Landscape & Spirit of the Fens
Fifty Years On - The history of The Whittlesey Wildfowlers
Fifty Years On - A book covering the first 50 years of the Whittlesey Wildfowlers & Conservations. Written by Phil Gray, the founder of the Association, with limited numbers available from the secretary via our contacts page. The book covers the half century between 1960 and 2010. Each decade is dealt with seperately and includes the stories of many of the characters and incidents of the time.
Included also are wildfowl returns, a history of serving officers and even lists of museum donations!
Included also are wildfowl returns, a history of serving officers and even lists of museum donations!
The Washlanders - Phil Gray
Photograph by Robert Gray
The Nene washes, formed as part of a plan to improve the drainage of the Fens in the early 18th century, provide a home for geese and other wildfowl as well as grazing for cattle. Today the RSPB owns much of Whittlesey Wash; in earlier days the land was the haunt of wildfowlers and Eel fishermen.
It is these wildfowlers and fishermen who found both their livelihood and their sport in this wild waste of reeds and tall grasses, that are the subject of Phil Gray's book. They were men who were always opposed to anything that might curtail either their business or their sport, and in the old days things were apt to become quite lively whenever their interests were at stake.
Many of these stories of shooting and fishing are told in the words of men like George "Wigger" Hailstone, Bert Weldon and Bill Benstead, who remember going in search of wildfowl on the flooded washes in their gunpunts in days when a good shot with the big gun might result in a hamper of Plovers or Ducks going off to Leadenhall Market. Rough fellows they were, but they loved their sport and they loved the washlands.
It is these wildfowlers and fishermen who found both their livelihood and their sport in this wild waste of reeds and tall grasses, that are the subject of Phil Gray's book. They were men who were always opposed to anything that might curtail either their business or their sport, and in the old days things were apt to become quite lively whenever their interests were at stake.
Many of these stories of shooting and fishing are told in the words of men like George "Wigger" Hailstone, Bert Weldon and Bill Benstead, who remember going in search of wildfowl on the flooded washes in their gunpunts in days when a good shot with the big gun might result in a hamper of Plovers or Ducks going off to Leadenhall Market. Rough fellows they were, but they loved their sport and they loved the washlands.
Fowler's Footsteps - Phil Gray
Fowler's Footsteps is a book for the wildfowler and rough shooter. Set in the 1960's when waders, particularly Curlew, were still legal quarry, this is the story of two old friends who meet again after several years and decide to renew their shooting adventures. Together they join forces to experience all those little successes and falures that are essential to the sport's appeal.
During the course of a shooting season, the pair share some exciting moments as they travel The Wash shores and the Fen landscapes. The shooting days described took place at the time of the year and in the conditions stated in the text.
This is a book to read when comfortably seated at the fireside, possibly with a glass of the right stuff within easy reach. It's aim is to rekindle memories of the readers own adventures under the moon, or on a frosty dawn.
During the course of a shooting season, the pair share some exciting moments as they travel The Wash shores and the Fen landscapes. The shooting days described took place at the time of the year and in the conditions stated in the text.
This is a book to read when comfortably seated at the fireside, possibly with a glass of the right stuff within easy reach. It's aim is to rekindle memories of the readers own adventures under the moon, or on a frosty dawn.
