Look skyward from back gardens and yards across Middlesbrough and you may see something quite extraordinary. At first glance, it seems like an ordinary flock of pigeons – until, inexplicably to the uninitiated, they start doing rapid somersaults while apparently tumbling towards the ground.
Feathers, quite literally, fly. Birmingham Rollers do what it says on the tin – they were originally bred as a hobby in Birmingham in the 19th century and roll spectacularly while in flight.
A kit of Birmingham Rollers in aerial action is quite the sight. And in the Birmingham Roller community, Middlesbrough is elite.
So elite, in fact, that an American film crew recently spent 11 days on Teesside documenting the town’s dedication to these remarkable aerial athletes. And judging by a soundbite from a trailer they’ve produced, they were impressed.
Birmingham Rollers(Image: UGC)
In tones reminiscent of a Hollywood blockbuster, the film’s producer, Meng Lee, tells viewers: “In the world of Birmingham Rollers, there’s one place spoken of with a certain reverence – Middlesbrough, England – a town built on steel, forged by hard work and known throughout the roller world for something far less ordinary, the Birmingham Roller.
“For generations, flyers here have bred, trained and flown birds that many believe are the finest on earth.” But why Middlesbrough? Among those featuring in the film is retired scaffolder John Wanless who, as a young lad born in Cannon Street, caught the roller bug from his uncle when he was eight or nine and is now a respected authority on the pastime.
And while most people’s minds have been on the football World Cup recently, the Birmingham Roller community has been in the midst of its own World Cup – an event for which John once travelled the globe as a judge.
Filming for documentary
John, 68, told Teesside Live: “Middlesbrough’s probably the biggest catchment area with Birmingham Rollers in the world. It’s got a really good reputation for having the best out there.
“There’s probably about 150 of us doing it in the Middlesbrough area. Everyone who comes here, especially from America, can’t believe how many people do it in such a small area. We all fly them from our back gardens, so the judge has to come to everybody’s house to judge.
“We had a guy here for two days from America judging a competition called the World Cup. In 2015, I judged the World Cup.
“I had to take three months off work but I travelled all around the world. So, we’ve just had the judge here judging the England side of it before he flew out to South Africa.”
John Wanless(Image: UGC)
But what does a judge look for? John explained: “You fly ‘kits’ – a flock of 20 pigeons – and you want as many of those 20 pigeons to roll at the same time. The more that roll at the same time, the higher your score. The competition lasts for 20 minutes and you want those pigeons to break together or roll together at the same time, as many times as they can, then you add the scores up.
“As a judge, I’m looking for the quality of the roll and the break. For a break to score any points, a minimum of five birds have to roll at the same time, but anything more than five is a bonus. Basically, the more birds that roll, the more points you’re going to get.”
Why Birmingham Rollers roll in the first place remains unknown – developed via selective breeding, they clearly love a good somersault but the exact neurological causes have never been determined. John, who currently has around 100 pigeons, said: “Nobody knows why they roll, but they’re just bred to do it. It’s like a racing pigeon is bred to race.
“They’re probably one of the cheaper birds to keep, although the price of food, like everything else, has gone up. I still fly mine just about every day.”
Middlesbrough District Rollers Club (MDRC)(Image: UGC)
Middlesbrough enthusiasts have three clubs to choose from: Cleveland County Rollers Club (CCRC), Middlesbrough District Rollers Club (MDRC) and the North East Roller Club. And the new Meng Lee documentary won’t be the first time the Teesside Birmingham Roller community has featured on film.
John said: “A few years ago, we had a film crew here from Carling. Somebody had told them about the Middlesbrough pigeons and they did a little film.
“They were based in London but they did short films about unusual hobbies and activities – they did one about gay wrestlers. But they got in touch with us because in London, there’s no youngsters involved in wildlife or pets or hobbies like ours – they’re all on their computers and on the phones.”
John showed the visitors our beautiful surroundings on Teesside
For the latest film, Meng Lee’s footage includes a surprising appearance by former boxing world champ and Birmingham Roller fan Mike Tyson – “he’s just bought some pigeons off a friend of mine,” John says. And he hopes the resulting film – or films – will put across the passion, and extraordinary spectacle, of the Birmingham Roller community on Teesside.
He said: “Meng’s a lovely guy and is coming back next year to do a second video. He’d been going round America doing documentaries, but then somebody told him about how good the rollers were in Middlesbrough.
“He got in touch with me and said he’d love to come over and was there any chance we could organise a visit for him? Four came over – three from America and one from Hungary. He’s hoping the main documentary might be picked up by Netflix but he’s also doing a second film about the Boro lads, which will hopefully be ready by the end of the month.
“But it’s just great to get what we do out there. Everybody in the world wants pigeons from Middlesbrough because it’s known to have the best quality rollers in the world.”
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