Pigeons of World War 1

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