大象传媒

D' Day and our Winged Messingers.

Early on June 6th 1944 although the weather was more like a day in October, overcast with some light rain, the constant drone of of planes flying in a southerly direction,the cloud base was so low it was impossible to know if they were friend or foe.Listening to the radio the news was released that strong Allied forces had landed on the French coast and supported by the Royal Navy that had been shelling the German fortifications for hours,and the RAF and the US
Air force were bombing the 'Jerries' non stop.
Now on the beaches it did appear that the British and Canadian forces and other Allied units were having some success on their landing beaches but the Yanks were being held on their patches named 'Omaha' and 'Utah' and was unable to break out and drive further inland.
The British and other Allied forces were on 'Juno' 'Sword' and'Gold and began to drive inland,
but was meeting with some stiff resistance from the 'Jerries' who were trying to push our forces back out into the sea.
Now in this mayhem that followed some units were suffering bad communications as their radios proved useless with battery trouble,damage,or water problems and the loss of the brigade signalman and his equipment from the murderous fire from the enemy entrenched in their defensive fortifications,so contact with HQ. was proving a disadvantage especially if the Germans seemed to be gaining the upper hand.
Now here I have to mention the part our pigeons were playing in keeping contact with HQ as to the progress or setbacks various sectors were having to deal with. Many birds were having to be released reporting the latest updates on the fortunes effecting these units,and hundreds of our birds were destined to take part in the survival of the Allied forces if we were to stay on the mainland of Europe. For my part I will try and give some order of sequence to the birds releases as the days progressed,and some details of their accomplishments and award winning flights.
Now the first bird to arrive carrying a message from the beaches was,
'Gustav' 42.NPS.31066. released from a ship offshore on June 6th 1944.
following on we had 'The Duke of Normandy'. Nurp.41.SBC.219. the fist bird to arrive bearing a message from the Para's of 21st army group[behind enemy lines] on 'D' Day 6th June.
Note behind enemy lines, some achievement this and very worthy of his medal. The next two birds were first ' Paddy' .NPS.43.9451.for the best recorded time from Normandy serving with the RAF in June 44.and now 'Navy Blue' NPS.41.NS.2862.for delivering a message from a raiding party on the French coast although suffering injuries in June 44.This bird was bred by H.M.The King at the ROYAL LOFTS at Sandringham. These were just 4 birds out of the many hundreds that were used by the combined forces to keep the lines of communication open under very difficult conditions and did mean the saving of many lives,so the awarding of their
'Dicken Medals' was well deserved.
As the breakout from the beaches began to drive the Germans backwards the APS and the RAF pigeon sections were calling for more birds to replace the losses sustained,that we knew would happen under battle conditions of two Armies fighting for their very existance in total warfare. I therefore now had a very URGENT request to supply as many birds that I could spare to use in an 'OP' with the Special Section as quickly as possible, but they needed to be tested Old birds and experienced of flying the Channel if possible. On the 6th July I sorted 6 birds that I knew to be reliable and despatched them to HQ for collection but had no idea of where their final destination might be, but I was aware that a very serious event was soon to take place.
Now on the afternoon of the 21st of July a bird arrived carrying his message container and he was just a bag of nerves on entering the loft when I handled him to remove his container.
I now immediately contacted HQ and within 40 minutes a Despatch rider arrived and the message was on its way to 'Wing House' Piccadilly, London for decipher and action.
I was never able to learn the contents of that message as all messages were 'Classified' and never divulged to the public in general. Later I was able to learn that this Red cheq cock ring no
BNR.209. 41 'Allegiance' was dropped by parachute on the night of July 9th over France and returned home on July 21st. He had fallen into friendly hands and been fed and watered for some ten days and was in quite good condition, unfortunately he was the only one that returned out of the 6 birds that I sent and I often wondered what was the fate of the other 5 that did not return.
This is just another one of the episodes that our pigeons suffered at the expence of their wartime exploits that many members of the general public have no idea that the humble pigeon was responsible in the saving of human life.
The 'Animals in War' memorial will, I hope,when it is erected in Park Lane,London later this year be a tribute to the gallant exploits that our birds and their handlers that played a vital part in the defeat of the Nazi regime some 60 years ago.
Just a memory,
Freddy Dyke

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