Gadwa Club History
Our club was founded in 1959 by a few likeminded people, namely Messrs P Thompson, D Wiseman, M Miller, J Green and Mr Dixon. Affiliation to the then Wildfowlers of Great Britain and Ireland (WAGBI), now the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), took place in 1960. Our affiliation number being 077.
Association
Presidents
Our association’s first president was Mr Reg Pumfrey. At the time, the secretary was expected to report to him, at least once a month, to keep him up to date with the association’s activities and fortunes.
Upon his death in 1988, he was succeeded by his son, Mr Peter Pumfrey.
Our current president, Mr Stewart Whitlam, took over in February 2024 with the retirement of Mr Michael Anyan.
The first officers of the association were: Mr B Bessant (Chairman), Mr P Thompson (Secretary), Mr D Wiseman (Treasurer).
Land Efforts
In 2003 we elected Sir Malcolm Guthrie BT as our Patron. He retired from the position in 2018.
Our first land:
We first leased marsh land in Gainsborough, known as The Point, in 1960 from the then Trent River Board. A couple of years later we extended the lease to incorporate Turnpost Corner and we still manage the land to this day.
In 2008, we, with the help of the Environment Agency, created a large pond, which has since attracted a large number of ducks and geese. We now have two other ponds on The Point. We had 125 acres of farmland at Blyton, which we used to lease from the Thornock Estate.
In 1963 we obtained the shooting rights over Bole Marsh, leased from Limestone Farming Co. When this marsh was first shot, there were no flood banks, so it flooded regularly. Great numbers of duck and geese were present, including white fronted geese. A member once had two with a left and right.
Pigeon shooting has always played a part in our association’s activities since the 1960s.
We used to shoot on Limestone Farming land at Willoughton, as well as other local farms.
Roost shootings used to take place on the Thornock Estate, Kexby, Northorpe, Grimethorpe Estate and Scarm Park at Selby.
We now have about 125 acres of farmland nearby that we manage.
Duck Rearing
In the 1960’s and 70’s we rented some allotments at Vimy Ridge, at the top of Foxby Hill. Here, Mallards were reared from eggs purchased from Slimbridge Wildfowl Trust, as part of the WAGBI ringing and release scheme. The ducklings were released onto a lake on the Thornock estate.
Later, a ring was recovered from a mallard in Russia and several were also recovered from the European continent.
In addition to rearing mallards, we used to keep a collection of wildfowl, including teal, pochard, pintail, shelduck and widgeon. We still release a number of mallard, pheasant and native English partridge onto our respective lands, to help sustain the wild populations.
Access to the Humber
In 1988, we obtained access to the south bank of the Humber at Whitton & Winteringham, under the permit scheme, operated by the South Humber Area Joint Council (SHAJC) of which our association is a member.
Association's Past Activities
For many years we were members of the East Coast Joint Council. In 1961, we teamed up with South Yorkshire Wildfowlers and we visited farmers in the Alkborough area to try to obtain shooting rights on the Humber, sadly with no success.
Past Membership:
Membership numbers have fluctuated since 1959, from as little as 12 and reaching up to 80. Currently, our capacity is 45 members. We have several honorary members, namely Ted Albone, Harry Abbott, David Otter, Stewart Whitlam and, Brian Dannett our longest-serving member.
The Good Old Days:
In the early days, a few members clubbed together to buy a Ford estate car, to enable them to shoot on the Humber and the Wash. Similar outings were planned for the Solway and some members ventured as far as Ireland to shoot. In 1984 we celebrated our 25th anniversary by holding a dinner at Gainsborough Old Hall. The guest of honour was then the BASC director, Mr John Alderton and the occasion was marked by Mr Jonathon Young in the shooting times magazine. In 2009 we celebrated our 50th anniversary with a dinner at the Weston Rooms in Gainsborough. Over 100 people attended. The guest speaker being Sir Johnny Scott. We raised monies by an auction and a raffle. We later presented a cheque for £450 to Gainsborough Adventure Playground. We are looking forward to our 75th anniversary in 2034. The association still has dedicated members that willingly give up their time to help run it and carry out vital conservation and maintenance work. We have junior members which are the future of our association. If you wish to become a member, then please get in touch with the membership secretary.
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Gainsborough & District Wildfowling Association
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