Tippler history - Sheffield
(Internet Published) Sep 2001
According my inherited records I conclude that the early Tipplers came not
from Asia directly but from Macclesfield, in the county of Cheshire, about
30 miles south west of Sheffield. Macclesfield is a small town in the Peak
Mountain district noted for the export of silk. It is on record that Al
Capone imported his silk scarves from there.
The early Tipplers that were flown in Sheffield in the county of Yorkshire
were called Macs. At a later date these birds were crossed with something
else which was better adapted to night flying. Do not ask me what this
something else was? I do not know and no one else does either!
The true Macclesfield Tipplers were identifiable by their unique style of
flying. They were essentially floaters, tails spread somewhat and using
up-draughts effortlessly, which was a most economical style. On conducive
days, these Macs would rise to ridiculous altitudes and go completely out of
sight, having little or no control to combat the thermals. The Sheffield
crosses were lower flyers and easier to control and to referee. The pure
Macs became unpopular for the sake of winning contests. Nevertheless, some
Mac blood prevails in the best of British Tipplers.
Even to this day some specimens take my breath away because they look
precisely like the old fashioned Macs that I knew as a child in Sheffield.
My Grandfather would keep nothing else and in fact hated the Sheffield
crosses. He said " These here Sheffielders are flying machines, but they
have no style, and no class".