Auction Recalls Wartime Pigeons
By JILL LAWLESS

LONDON (AP) — They were a secret airborne force who worked undercover during World War II. Those who were discovered were shot — or eaten by falcons.

A London auction this month has revived memories of the war's animal heroes, including pigeons who flew dangerous missions to bring messages from behind enemy lines.

Several pigeon portraits from the collection of a wartime bird-breeder are included in the "Gentleman's Library" sale, an eclectic array of items being offered at Bonhams auction house Jan. 15.

The paintings are owned by Jack Lovell, a pigeon breeder who was approached by British intelligence services in 1939 to provide birds for covert operations. The avian unit, overseen by military intelligence, was housed in secret pigeon lofts in the coastal city of Dover.

Pigeons' homing instinct make them excellent messengers, and more than 200,000 served with British forces during the war. Thousands were placed in containers fitted with parachutes and dropped by British bombers behind enemy lines, where they were picked up by Resistance fighters or sympathetic locals and used to send messages back to England. [Read On...]

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I have read about that many times and found it very interesting.
The brave little ones didn't even know they were making history.

Sadly they were forgotten.
In todays time there memory is only awakened when trying to defend them from being mass poisoned, or an aution such as Karen has brought to our attention.
The unique homing abilities of these wonderful birds has saved many a mankind lives, from wars to life saving messages sent from hospital to hospital during the times of poor communications.
At one time during Mankinds history the Pigeon was the only form of communication, they flew the skies helping mankind even before the Pony Express was used.
When the great country of the United States was being born, many folks were starving and mankind exploited the Passenger Pigeon as a source of food and today the flocks of Passenger Pigeons that used to darken the skies with there great numbers are now extinct.
Thank you Karen for your contribution towards the bird of peace.

Arty

Interesting thank you