'King of the Norfolk Poachers'

We always wondered where James Fiddaman obtained the pigeons for his shooting matches. The following extract from 'I Walked by Night - being the Life & History of the King of the Norfolk Poachers' written by Himself, edited by Lilias Rider Haggard, gives a clue to one possible supplier. For more about the 'King' and his life at Pentney visit Rita Sheridan's pages . "Well once there hapened to be a Pigeon shoot, and it was that there Pigeon shoot wich led to all the trubble. Befor I tell about that I might say that I was verry much intrested in that kind of sport and was often called upon to procure Birds. There was a Gentleman Farmer at ower place, and he had some young Ladies who were verry fond of Pigeons, they used to keep them in Barrells made into Pidgeon Cotes. The night befor some of these shoots, me and a Pall used to take a net on poles, and put it round them barrells and capture most of the Birds. That was not stealing, as some of them used to fly back, - them that did not get killed. In fact we used to raid any Pigeon Cote that we hapened to know of, some times goen sevrell miles for them, not for there value, but more for shere sport. Well to go back to this Petacular match. It was about three miles from home, and of cors we had to go walking as Bycicliss were not so numeriss as they are to day. I did well at that Pigeon shoot, and won a duble Breach Loding gun that day, and wen we were all comen home at night one of us spied a Phesant on a tree. No sooner seen than it was dead, and that started us off. I supose we had all had a merry time and were verry well pleased with ourselves, any ways we soon got bussy in the wood. That was all right, but things bein what they were we were not as careful as we should have been and I expect made a bit of a racket. Two Keepers must have heard us and they come along and was on us befor we knew. One of my mates sone laid one of them out, and I had the plesure of stoppin the other one. He hapened to be the man as had treated me so bad befor, and as by that time we was well in it, I did not stop to think or lose the chance of payen some of the score back that I owed. Well the Game was up then for me, and I knew I must get away as quick as I could, or they would be onto me, as I was thinking we had hurt both them Keepers verry badly and were in for a lot of trubble soon as they was found. So I got to the nearest town and into the train for the North of England, before many hours were past. Of corse there was a warrent out for me in no time but as I had got clean away to the City of Manchester I was safe. I had another name, and it seam we had not hurt the Keepers as much as I expected, so the Police did not bother about me as long as I was gone. I rember well that was the year of the Jublee, the first of Victoria's Reign, and I stayed there in Manchester six years."