World War II pigeon delivers 12 page message from Belgium in 1941

(c) Crown copyright images reproduced by courtesy of The National Archives, London, UK

WO208/3564 #1, #11, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27
WO208/3556 #47, #48

This pigeon delivered the 12 page message as part of Operation Columba which operated the Continental Pigeon Service.  Between 1941-45 approximately 17,000 pigeons were dropped into occupied Holland, France, and Belgium.  The pigeons were in small boxes attached to small parachutes.  The British hoped those who found a pigeon would send he or she back with information about the Germans.  Sending a pigeon with a message was a crime punishable by death under the German occupation.  Other messages delivered by the pigeons can be found in another post in the August section.  It is “The Brave Message Writers of Occupied Europe.”  You may need to scroll left-right to read the message.  It exceeds the frame for ease of reading.  Before the message is the report which explains the process for verifying the information in the message.