Origins of the English Flying Tipplers
(Internet Published) February 2006
If you were unlucky enough to be born in England around the mid-1800's, the
best thing that you could do, was to sail to America. The conditions in our
mines and other industries were absolutely appalling. Poverty, malnutrition,
ignorance, disease, and all of the other pleasantries were rife.
As a last resort, a young man of 18, could join the British Army and sign up
for 7 years service in India. For a shilling a day, he gave up all his
rights and became a soldier of the Queen.
He was kitted out and drilled and generally knocked into shape. Arriving in
India to keep the peace, he would probably be killed in an ambush or left
out wounded upon India's plains. The women, then, would come out and carve
up his remains...........unless he could roll to his rifle and blow out his
own brains. Die, die, die like a soldier, a soldier of the Queen.
And so, it came to pass that my great grandfather joined the Yorkshire Light
Infantry at the age of 18. Weighing only 112 pounds and only 5 feet 2 inches
tall. On army grub.........he soon got to be 20 pounds heavier. He was
posted in Northern India, where he served for 7 1/2 years. He told of the
impact of seeing many wonderful things in India, not least of all the
curious acrobatic pigeons which also flew extremely high.
I wish, that I could tell you, that my own great grandfather brought these
pigeons home to Sheffield, after his soldiering. In fact, he did not, but
other men did. If you were a sergeant or an officer or even if you could get
authority from an officer.........you could crate such pigeons up and bring
them back to England.
Therefore, it came to pass that a lot of various pigeons came from India,
with the troops. Men, of course, in those days, had to make their own
pleasures and any novelty with spectacular performance was regarded with
great interest. The men of Sheffield and other areas soon got to work on
these strange new pigeons.
The acrobatic aspect was cultivated as well as the high flying aspect.
It was not too long before the two talents were separated. For High Flying
and Long Times...........the acrobatics had to be selected out and the
result was.....the Tippler. The early specimens were often seen to tumble.
The local dialect word for "Tumble" was "Tipple".
In Sheffield today, just ask any very old person what it means to "tipple".
You will be told that it simply means to fall down, head over heels. Now,
don't bother asking the young folks. Our dialect has changed and the word
"tipple" is seldom heard or written. Yet, the railroad enthusiasts will be
able to tell you, that in the rail-rolling stock list, there is a rail car
known as a "Tippler". It is a special wagon that can be tipped over to spill
its load of coal, coke, sand or gravel into a delivery area. So, you see how
this rail wagon has retained the very old description......even
today....1997.
Anyway, I'm saying that's how Tipplers got their name and kept that name in
spite of the tippling or tumbling being bred out.
It came to pass that the Sheffield area became the strongest hot bed of
Tippler flying. Thirty eight (38) miles away in Macclesfield, a different
type of Tippler was cultivated.....but very widely used in the cocktail of
types, that produced the Sheffield Tippler.
My great grandfather actually purchased some Tipplers......but not those of
the first early Indian imports. What he had were Macc crosses that flew
very, very high......but were rather unreliable. My grandfather did a lot
better and flew with the old Carbrook club..........long before the NTU was
formed and right up to 1937 or 1938.
For a time, after 1912 when the NTU was formed, a lot of East End men flew
locally and would not join the NTU.
The top man and absolute leader was Ben Stamp or Ben Stampe........I an not
sure how it was spelled. He declared that Tippler flying only made sense as
a very local sport when men refereed each other's birds.
"Gentleman", said he, "if we allow outsiders, the refereeing will become too
subject to interpretation. The day will come when an isolated man will
compete....using his own grandmother as his referee".
It sounded like a joke in 1906 but I ask.....is it so much a joke in
1997 in the NTU?? I've asked several NTU men and they are not ready to
laugh.
Jack Prescott
P.S.-----Soldiers were not the only ones to bring livestock and plants,
etc., back from India. There were many civilians working in India; police,
administrators, business people and a lot of British soldiers were detached
for service with that company to protect the trade and deal with bandits and
other hostiles. A lot of soldiers and hostiles were killed.