THE GLORY BOYS
by Brian Battison

Around 1963, when the Herts and Chiltern Specimen Group was formed by such names as Jack Hilton, Bill Quinlan, Bill Keel, and Peter Frost, many dedicated anglers were getting together to pool their knowledge. One such band was the Northampton Specimen Group. Today the group still flourishes and boasts four founder members in Bob Church, Frank Wright, Ron Kyte and John Snelson. To quote two rules from the original Group Constitution will explain how and why the Group came into existence.

(1) That the object of this Group be the furtherance and knowledge of fish and fisheries and the capture of specimen fish.
(2) That this Group shall make every effort to protect the future of angling in this country from abstraction, pollution and the ignorance of the non-angling public.

We tend to think that the full frontal attack on our gentle sport by the animal rights groups is a recent thing, but either the founder members were men of great foresight or things have changed very little.

I was understandably nervous when invited to one of the Group's meetings to discuss doing this article. Here were some of the country's top anglers, all of whom have caught more big fish than I've smoked cigarettes this year. To be invited to one of the Group's meetings is an honour not bestowed on many outsiders.
Any qualms I had quickly dispersed as it became apparent that although these guys take their angling very seriously, their attitude towards themselves is decidedly light-hearted as a glace at the club's record book quickly proves.
Under the heading of 'Special Achievements' are such comments as 'Duncan Kaye caught a carp on "bread"', 'Peter Chillingsworth got an M.O.T. test', 'Andy Barker caught laryngitis but put it back after a short discussion' and 'Duncan Kaye, no divorce in eight consecutive years'.

A question many anglers ask is what makes one man better at catching big fish than another? A lot put it down to private waters, unlimited time to fish and money to finance that fishing. But a story related to me by Bob Church shows that these things are relatively unimportant and an inquiring mind is the key to success.
In the early 70's reports of big pike caught from a water in Bedfordshire by Dave Hegan began to filter through the grapevine. Bob, in the company of Group members Peter Chillingsworth and John Baysley, resolved that if the water was producing big pike there must be high stocks of other coarse fish.
The water, called 'Green Lagoon', was finally tracked down and fished at the beginning of the season. The three, using 5lb line, bobbins on the line and maggot and bread cocktail bait, started fishing. A long, blank, night followed but at dawn things took off with Bob taking six roach over 2lb and rudd up to 3lb 1oz. Both Peter and John took roach over 2lb.
Now most of us would have offered up thanks to heaven for finding such a venue and flogged it to death. But the trio set about finding out how such a water could possibly contain so many specimen. The pit contained a shoal of big perch to well over 3lb in weight and this fact, combined with the large pike, kept the survival rate of fry down and allowed fish of all species to grow to enormous size. That sums up the whole approach of the specialist angler. He can never just accept that something is as it is, he must know why it can be so.

Bob Church, the Northampton tackle manufacturer, is perhaps better known for his trout fishing, right up to England International level, but his coarse fishing record must compare with that of any angler in the country. Bob, with his fellow Group member Rodney Kilbey, claims to have invented and developed the 'open swimfeeder' for tench in the late 50's and early 60's, a method that resulted in the two taking several bags of fish well in excess of 100lbs. Later, Peter Jackson of the Tenchfishers Club watched this in action, approved it and the Tenchfishers adopted the rig.

Bob may be a National figure but he still retains a sense of humour as displayed in a story he told me. It was a blazing hot day on a local trout reservoir and everyone was struggling for fish. Bob spotted a rise, all the stealth and experience of a lifetime of holding a rod went into placing the fly in the right place and in the right manner, and Bob promptly landed an eight-inch frog!

One of the characters in the Group's history must be Ray Clay, who is best remembered for his 42lb Billing carp. Ray's skill as an angler was definitely helped by large strokes of luck. Such was the frequency of the near miracles that came Ray's way that he earned the nickname 'Golden Bollocks'.
At Emberton Lake, Ray was deadbait spinning for pike when he pulled into a big pike which, after being played, fell off at the net. Not much luck there you might say but, unperturbed, Ray set off to cover the rest of the lake taking several good fish. At the end of the day he arrived back where he started. First cast and, yes, you've guessed it, he hooked and landed the same fish which he recognised by its markings and it tipped the scales to 25½lbs. A once in a lifetime event for most of us, but Mr Clay took such things as everyday occurrences.
Never having caught a carp, he was wandering around Billing Aquadrome one blazing hot summer's day in 1966, armed with a roach rod, 4lb line and a size 16 hook, when he spotted a carp. He baited with a piece of flake and cast to the fish, which took the bait and was landed. It weight 26½lb, a monster at that time. Ray is reported to have said, "Well, if it's that easy, I'll catch a big 'un".
So began his campaign which resulted in the capture of the 42lb fish on honey paste. The fish remains the Billing record to this day, although undoubtedly bigger fish did and still do exist there.
Ray never fished there again, which possibly explains why they were never caught. Luck finally ran out for Ray in the most tragic way possible. A publican by profession, he accepted a hotel in Norfolk and one reason for the move was the excellent pike fishing offered at that time by the Broads. Shortly after his arrival came the natural pollution, which temporarily wiped out pike fishing in the area.

Another Group member who can boast a Billing carp over 30lb is the Records Officer, Peter Chillingsworth, the quiet man of the Group. He arrived at the Willow Tree Lake in the late 60's on a sunny, warm evening at 7pm. Whilst tackling up he passed the time of day with a passer-by whom he got to know during his time at Billing. "Any luck yet?" his acquaintance enquired. Even after all these years the determination still shines in Peter's eyes with the reply, "No, but I'm going to have one of the big ones".
With one rod baited and ready to cast, it began to rain, making the casting of a free-lined lobworm impossible. Peter spotted a bubbling carp as he squeezed a swan-shot onto the line which allowed him to cast to the fish. Placing the rod the rests, he sheltered from the rain under an umbrella and began to put his second rod up. Through the stinging rain he was just in time to see the first rod being towed into the lake and a massive bow-wave disturbing the water.
Breathless, he reached the rod as it lay in the margins, striking into a good fish which took off at high speed for the reed beds. Peter, knowing that fish always run against pressure began to pull it towards the reeds where upon it swam into open water where it was beaten and netted.
The massive fish was sacked and Peter's thoughts turned to what every self-respecting carp man's would do at this time, a drink. Realising that he had no scale or camera with him, Peter phoned his sister asking her to contact fellow Group member Alan Smith with a request for some scales. The numbness began to wear off as realisation began to dawn on Peter as to what had happened over the last hour. When Alan arrived in a state of some excitement, minus the scales, Peter was running all over the Aquadrome shouting "I've done it, I've done it", between pints. A bystander took some photos which were passed on to the Angling Times. The identity of this kind person was never discovered.
The problem with weighing the fish was solved, albeit not very satisfactorily. The only scales on hand were in the gents' toilets where Peter weighed himself and did it again holding the fish. A weight of 34lb was agreed, on the type of scales not always noted for their accuracy. Surely this must be the only carp on record to be weighed in the gents' loo!

Peter is also a frustrated eel angler, although he holds the Group record with a fish of 6lb 1oz, he's never taken a big one while fishing for the species. The record fish came from Barnwell Pit in 1973 where the quarry was tench. As dusk approached Peter put on a 6lb line, wire trace and lobworm bait in hope of a big eel overnight. The hours of darkness passed slowly and uneventfully. Tench began to roll into the swim at dawn and the terminal rig was changed for this species. First bite was the 6lb 1oz eel.

The same Alan Smith in the carp story was later to go on and capture the bream record with a fish of 13lb 12oz taken from an Oxfordshire pit in 1983 for which he won a holiday in Miami and the distinction of being the only Group member to have held a National record.

No history of the Group could be complete without mention of the late Cyril Inwood who died in 1970 and is claimed to be, by many, the best all round angler of our time; a claim underlined by his record of barbel to 13lb 5oz, dace to 14oz and salmon to 38lb, but the greatest tribute to the man is that he is remembered with affection by all who knew him.

The Group's record shows how fishing has changed over the years. While ten years ago notable chub over 4lb were numerous, now the numbers have decreased, but ten years ago a 4lb tench was regarded as a specimen, now anything under 5lb doesn't rate a mention.

Their reluctance to part with money for any other reason than fishing shines through as bright as ever. The Group's meeting place is the Kingsley Park Working Men's Club which is a very up-market place where a private room is laid on for the members. It took five years, up to 1982, to get every member to join the Working Men's Club, and then it was only the threat of the Group being asked to leave and have to hold their meetings in some tatty little room elsewhere that finally swayed it.
On the day the last member parted with his subscriptions the Club burned down and the Group had to hold their meetings in the tatty little room whilst the Club was being rebuilt. Rumblings can still be heard whenever this subject is mentioned!

Mention must be made of the Group's infamous annual stag night which somehow is linked with the Group having the highest divorce rate of any in the country. Little is known of what takes place at this event, least of all the membership once the bar is declared open, but a medical examination has been suggested to prospective members for only those in tip-top shape can be expected to live through one of these nights.

Much of the Group's success must be attributed to their willingness to travel, to find big fish venues and to shoulder the trouble and expense of getting to them. Not so difficult nowadays with modern transport, but in the 60's when members were heading for the Fens, the River Delph and the Drains it took a special kind of dedication, and the Group certainly did quite a lot in this direction, to shape modern specialist angling as we know it, for as news of their exploits has leaked out others began to adopt their methods and attitudes.

An example of the hazards involved in travel is highlighted in a tale about my old boyhood friend, Fred Wagstaffe, one of the great characters of angling who now seems sadly lost to coarse fishing.
You could always rely on something happening when Fred was around, for if Fred has a talent in those bygone days, it was one for bringing chaos to any given situation.
Growing into a man didn't seem to change Fred at all. Whenever he was around you could expect the unexpected to happen. In the early 70's when Fred was a Group member, he had acquired a three-wheeled car, some of which were not noted for their stability in those days. This, coupled with Fred's driving, made accepting a lift an experience to be missed.
Anyhow, Bob Church had gone with Fred to sample the pike fishing in Ireland. After driving around for over an hour, always arriving back at the same spot instead of the intended lough, Bob was a little worried. Spotting a man in a peaked hat he exclaimes, "Look, there's a postman, Fred, he'll know the way." The postman turned out to be policeman guarding the body of an unfortunate down-and-out who had departed this world during the night.
Bob returned to the car visibly shaken, but Fred took such things in his stride and set off at alarming speed in search of the water. In the next hour they had arrived back at the same place three more times. By then, Bob was contemplating the advantages of changing places wit the corpse!

I wish to thank the group for allowing me to write this article, but I know I have not really done them justice, not touched on their amazing sea and game fishing record, which doesn't belong here, but must be chronicled somewhere. I've tried to show their approach and some of their tactics, but more importantly, to paint with my pen the characters, the comradeship of men who have shared hardship and disasters together, often forming links of friendship that go far beyond fishing.

So, there you have it. Thirty anglers with unique records, all of whom seem to be larger than life.