In October 1914 in London, the flocks of tame pigeons that nested under
the loft eaves of St Paul’s Cathedral and were fed on the Cathedral steps were
not so popular as they used to be before the war, for the London newspapers had
been warning the people that German spies are using carrier pigeons to transmit
messages to Germany, and the average city dweller does not know enough about
pigeons to distinguish between the harmless Blue Bar Antwerp of St. Paul’s
Cathedral and the heavily-wattled long distance carrier pigeon which has been
training with German thoroughness to fly from London to Berlin. An unregistered
German living in London, Peter Duhn by name, was seen liberating a pigeon with
a little piece of white paper under its wing; so a policeman was called and the
person was banned from flying pigeons for 6 months.
Following upon the precaution taken in England for reducing the danger
from the presence of subjects of the enemy in British communities, the Australian
Government passed the War Precautions Act. Among other regulations were
those relating to tampering with telegraphic or telephonic wires or any
contrivance for use or a signalling apparatus, and the keeping of homing
pigeons, unless permission had been given.
Pigeons played a vital part in World War One as they proved to be an
extremely reliable way of sending messages. They were often used alongside
radio and telegraph communications and were valuable as a redundant messaging
channel, and prized for their ability to avoid interception and operate during
radio silence. Such was the importance of pigeons that over 100,000 were used
in the war with an astonishing success rate of 95% getting through to their
destination with their message.
From 1914-18 no fewer than 100,000 pigeons were employed in France. They
flew above the tragic trenches of Ypres, the Somme and Verdun; they winged
their way through the crash of bursting shells and the rattle of machine guns;
many, despite fatal wounds, struggled to their lofts with urgent messages; some
were brought down by enemy snipers, and others perished from poison gas.
Fittingly some were honoured in life, and, as soldiers, tens of
thousands of them were honoured after death. It is stated that the British Army
alone had 22,000 pigeons, and they are remembered in the Royal United Services
Institution, London, and on the Scottish National War Memorial, Edinburgh.
Hungary has its war pigeon memorial; Brussels honours the 30,000 members of the
Belgian homing pigeon societies and their birds with a memorial and France
likewise honoured the heroic carrier pigeons of its army which were killed in
action by erecting a monument at Lille.
The Great War was by no means the first in which pigeons were used for
carrying urgent messages. During tile Franco-German war, when Paris was
besieged, 115,000 messages were sent to and from the city by carrier pigeons in
the form of tiny, photographs of tile messages, which were attached to the birds.
At the beginning of tile Great War pigeons rendered invaluable services
to the Belgian military authorities after the telegraph lines had been
destroyed. It is an astonishing fact that on the Allied side less than 5 per cent
of messages sent by this means throughout hostilities failed to reach their
destination. During the battle of the Somme the French alone used 5,000 pigeons,
and only 2 per cent of the birds failed to return, despite shellfire and bad
weather conditions.
The birds were invaluable in connection with intelligence work, and each
side endeavoured to capture the other's bird in order to lay traps. On the
Allied side small balloons were sent up, to which were attached baskets fitted
with parachutes. In each basket was a bird, and at the right moment the basket
was automatically released, gliding down behind the German lines, by means of
the parachute. The senders hoped the baskets would come into the possession of French
and Belgian civilians in the occupied territory, and often they did. The
messages attached to the birds asked for certain information, which was given,
and then the birds were released.
The Germans threatened instant shooting to people found tampering with
the baskets, which they ordered to be handed over to the military authorities. Nevertheless
priceless information was sent by those who were willing to risk all to aid
their country, and the Germans set traps to catch them. They replaced the birds
with some of their own, and then left the baskets, knowing full well that the
pigeons would fly back to their own lines. If all informant of the Allies was
foolish enough to put his name or address or any other piece of evidence in the
message by which he could be identified, shooting was the penalty.
Fig.1 A motor cyclist transporting carrier
pigeons in small cages at Wadi Mellahah, Jordan Valley
Another plan to foil the enemy consisted of capturing his birds and then
releasing them with false messages purporting to be secret instructions about
forthcoming attacks and so on. It is believed now that all the winged heroes of
the Great War are gone, although several lived to a ripe old age.
Probably the very last was, “Mocker”, which lived until 1937. Mocker carried
33 messages for his division and was made famous by his deeds with the American
Expeditionary Forces. One day the American lines were being subjected to a terrific
bombardment. Help was imperative and Mocker set off for his loft behind the
lines with the message in the container attached to his leg. Half an hour later
Mocker arrived at his base, badly wounded and minus an eye, but the message was
delivered and help sent, happily Mocker survived.
“Rupert”, another veteran, met with a sad fate for a pigeon which 'had defied
shells by the countless thousand. Not so active as he was, and approaching his
20th year, he was the victim of a wandering cat.
“Lightning” passed away at the age of 17, full of years and honours.
Quite a youngster when he entered hostilities, for four years he carried
messages to the naval base at Lowerstott over the grey waters of the North Sea.
“Old Bill”, a veteran of the western Front; died in honourable
retirement, after faithful service in some of the worst battle areas including
Ypres and Arras.
One little known fact is that King George V supplied a large number of
pigeons for active service. He had a famous racing loft at Sandringham and no
fewer than 50 gallant birds bred there received special mention. One carried no
fewer than 403 messages, including that announcing the victory of the fall of
Messines Ridge, and another announcing the evacuation of Lille by the Germans.
The number of heroic deeds performed by these faithful winged friend of man,
even in the face of death, was legion.
Among the most celebrated was that of Cher Ami, an English pigeon
attached to the American Forces. Cher Ami achieved glory by saving from certain
annihilation the famous American "Lost Battalion”, commanded by Major
Charles Whittlesey. This battalion found itself surrounded and under heavy
fire. Major Whittlesey had seven pigeons with him, six were sent aloft to be shot
down immediately. The seventh was Cher Ami which rose and circled among bursting
shrapnel.
Falling feathers told the story that Cher Ami had been hit but the
bird arrived at its loft 25 miles away. Its breast-bone had been shattered by a
splinter of shrapnel, and its, right leg had been shot away. But, still fixed
to its body was the small aluminium tube containing the battalion's co-ordinates,
the Americans launched a rescue and the 194 men were saved. Cher Ami was
awarded the Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) with Palm for its astonishing
flight. In gratitude the Battalion declared Cher Ami should be cared for as its
most honoured war veteran. The bird was sent to the south of France until convalescent,
and was then taken to the United States, where to the end of its life this
English pigeon was banqueted with the choicest of food.
Sources:
Goulburn Evening Penny Post, NSW, Tuesday 5 December
1939
Northern Star,Lismore, NSW ,Friday
30 October 1914
