Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Pigeon Service extricates more than 300 men from danger, 1944



Pigeon in Rome by D. Truong

(c) Crown copyright images reproduced by courtesy of The National Archives, London, UK
Catalog number:  WO169/16699  #30





Sunday, October 23, 2016

Use of pigeons by British and Americans, 1944






Pigeon in Rome by D. Truong

(c) Crown copyright images reproduced by courtesy of The National Archives, London, UK
Catalog number WO169/16699  #28



Microgram Pigeon Service, 1944






Pigeon in Rome by D. Truong

(c) Crown copyright images reproduced by courtesy of The National Archives, London, UK
Catalog number WO169/16699  #29



Friday, October 14, 2016

Pigeon lofts in the Western Desert, 1943 and D-Day Fliers, 1944





Paddy and Gustav, were awarded the Dickin Medal in 1944 for their participation in D-Day.

To see these 2 pigeons receiving their medals you can copy and paste this link to your browser and view the 2 minute film:

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/d-day-fliers-decorated/query/pigeon+medal

The page below is from the 1943 War Diary for the Middle Eastern Pigeon Service.





Wednesday, October 12, 2016

1943 Traiing Notes on 2-Way Pigeon Service






(c) Crown copyright images reproduced by courtesy of The National Archives, London, UK
Catalog numbers:  WO169/11222  #14, #21, #22



Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Report on the use of pigeons in Palestine, Syria, and Cyprus by the Middle Eastern Pigeon Service, 1943




(c) Crown copyright images reproduced by courtesy of The National Archives, London, UK
WO169/16699  #8, #9

The first page is the December 1943 report for the Middle Eastern Pigeon Service’s operations in Syria, Palestine, and Cyprus.  268 operational messages were delivered.

The next page is Appendix A, the Cyprus Detachment Report for June-December 1943.  This report covers pigeons’ ship work and the use of pigeons by the RAF and the P.W.E.  Pigeons were used to maintain wirelss silence.  Action taken on a message delivered by one pigeon resulted in the capture of a Brigade Major along with the staff and transport.