National Pigeon Service

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The National Pigeon Service (NPS) was a volunteer civilian organization formed in Britain in 1938 as result of representations made to the Committee of Imperial Defence and the British Government by Major W. H. Osman. [1] During 1939-45 over 200,000 young pigeons were given to the services by the British pigeon breeders of the NPS. [1] The birds were used by the Royal Air Force and the Army and Intelligence Services, Special Section of the Army Pigeon Service (which was formed in World War I by Lt. Col. A.H.Osman). During three and a half years of World War II, 16,554 war pigeons were parachuted onto the continent. [1] One of these was Commando, a red chequer cock bird that became a recipient of the Dickin Medal. [2] Many other NPS pigeons also received the Dickin Medal. [3]

Contents

Canister color code

Pigeons were used by a variety of services and the canisters affixed to their legs were colour-coded to distinguish recipients. [4]

Pigeon NURP 40 TW 194

In 2012, the skeleton of a carrier pigeon was found inside a home chimney in Bletchingley, Surrey, in the southeast United Kingdom. Inside a red canister attached to one of its legs was an encrypted message handwritten on a Pigeon Service form. The message was addressed to "XO2," which is thought to be RAF Bomber Command, and is signed "W Stot Sjt." It is believed to have been sent from France on June 6, 1944 during the World War II D-day invasion. The message consists of 27 five-letter groups, with the first and last group identical. As of February 2019, the message has not been deciphered. Britain's GCHQ, the successor to Bletchley Park has asked for any information the public might have about the message. [5]

The cipher text reads:

AOAKN HVPKD FNFJU YIDDC
RQXSR DJHFP GOVFN MIAPX
PABUZ WYYNP CMPNW HJRZH
NLXKG MEMKK ONOIB AKEEQ
UAOTA RBQRH DJOFM TPZEH
LKXGH RGGHT JRZCQ FNKTQ
KLDTS GQIRU AOAKN 27 1525/6

The form indicates that two copies of the message were sent. Additional notations, in a color different from the code groups and signature, are "NURP 40 TW 194" and "NURP 37 OK 76." [6] These identify the specific birds used. [7] NURP stands for "National Union of Racing Pigeons." [8] The pigeon whose remains were found is apparently 40 TW 194. [9]

Wide press coverage was given to a solution proposed by Gord Young of Canada, based on a World War I coding book. It explains 7 of the 26 unique code groups as ad hoc acronyms, such as "FNFJW - Final Note [ confirming ] Found Jerry's Whereabouts." [10] However, Michael Smith, a former British army intelligence operator and advisor to Bletchley Park, dismissed Young's purported decryption as "nonsense", [11] explaining "a World War One code ... wouldn’t have been used because it would have been well known to the Germans and insecure." The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) has stated "without access to the original code books, details of any additional encryption, or any context around the message, it will be impossible to decode. Similarly it means that any proposed solutions sent to GCHQ will, without such material, be impossible to prove correct." [12]

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Dickin Medal Award for animals in wartime

The PDSA Dickin Medal was instituted in 1943 in the United Kingdom by Maria Dickin to honour the work of animals in World War II. It is a bronze medallion, bearing the words "For Gallantry" and "We Also Serve" within a laurel wreath, carried on a ribbon of striped green, dark brown, and pale blue. It is awarded to animals that have displayed "conspicuous gallantry or devotion to duty while serving or associated with any branch of the Armed Forces or Civil Defence Units". The award is commonly referred to as "the animals' Victoria Cross".

G.I. Joe (pigeon) US Army homing pigeon in WWII

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United States Army Pigeon Service US Army homing pigeon unit

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Paddy was an Irish carrier pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal after being the fastest pigeon to arrive back in England with news of the success of the D-Day invasion, out of hundreds dispatched. He flew 230 miles across the English Channel in four hours and fifty minutes, the fastest recorded crossing, and was awarded the medal on 1 September 1944, just under three months after the crossing. Paddy was trained by Andrew Hughes of Carnlough and is the only animal in Ireland to be awarded this medal. The medal citation reads,

"For the best recorded time with a message from the Normandy Operations, while serving with the RAF in June, 1944."

Commando (pigeon)

Commando was a pigeon used in service with the British armed forces during the Second World War to carry crucial intelligence. The pigeon carried out more than ninety missions during the war, and received the Dickin Medal for three particularly notable missions, in 1945. The medal was later sold at an auction for £9,200.

Royal Blue (pigeon)

Royal Blue, also known as NURP.40.GVIS.453, was a male pigeon of the RAF pigeon service. He was awarded the Dickin Medal for bravery in March 1945 for being the first pigeon to deliver a message from an allied forced landed aircraft from the European mainland during World War II. He had originally been housed at the Royal Lofts at Sandringham, and was owned by King George VI.

Gustav, also known as NPS.42.31066, was a pigeon of the RAF pigeon service. He was awarded the Dickin Medal, also known as the animals' Victoria Cross, for bringing the first report of the Normandy landings to the British mainland during the Second World War.

Beach Comber was a Canadian war pigeon who received the Dickin Medal for bravery in service during the Second World War.

Dutch Coast, also known as NURP.41. A.2164, was a pigeon who received the Dickin Medal in 1945 from the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals for bravery in service during the Second World War.

Ruhr Express was a pigeon who received the Dickin Medal in May 1945 from the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals for bravery in service during the Second World War.

Scotch Lass was a carrier pigeon who received the Dickin Medal in June 1945 from the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals for bravery in service during the Second World War. She accompanied a British agent on a mission into The Netherlands. Immediately after she was released, in September 1944, and still in view of the agent that had released her, she hit telegraph wires. However, she carried on and delivered her message and photographs.

NPS.42.NS.2780 was a pigeon who received the Dickin Medal in October 1945 from the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals for bravery in service during the Second World War. NPS.42 was cited after delivering important messages three times from enemy occupied territory, in July 1942, August 1942 and April 1943, while serving with the Special Service in Europe.

NPS.42.NS.7524 was a pigeon who received the Dickin Medal in 1945 from the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals for bravery in service during the Second World War. The citation was received for delivering important messages on three occasions from enemy-held territory, in July 1942, May 1942 and July 1942, while serving with the Special Service on the continent.

Tommy (NURP.41.DHZ56) was a pigeon who received the Dickin Medal in 1946 from the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals for bravery in service during the Second World War. Tommy was cited for delivering a valuable message from the Netherlands to Lancashire during difficult conditions while serving with the National Pigeon Service in July 1942.

NURP.38.BPC.6 was a pigeon who received the Dickin Medal in 1946 from the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals for bravery in service during the Second World War.

Cologne was a pigeon who received the Dickin Medal in 1947 from the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals for bravery in service during the Second World War.

Duke of Normandy was a pigeon who received the Dickin Medal in 1947 from the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals for bravery in service during the Second World War. Duke of Normandy was the first bird to arrive back with a message from the paratroops of 21st Army Group on D-Day after the capture of a gun battery at Merville.

NURP.43.CC.1418 was a pigeon who received the Dickin Medal in 1947 from the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals for bravery in service during the Second World War. NURP.43 received the citation for the fastest flight carrying a message from the 6th Airborne Division from Normandy on 7 June 1944, while serving with the National Pigeon Service.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Levi, Wendell (1977). The Pigeon. Sumter, S.C.: Levi Publishing Co, Inc. ISBN   0-85390-013-2.
  2. ↑ "PDSA Dickin Medal: 'the animals' VC', Pigeons — Roll of Honour". PDSA. Archived from the original on September 22, 2008. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
  3. ↑ "Dickin medal pigeons". PDSA. Archived from the original on 13 February 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  4. ↑ WO 205/225 – pages 1/2/3 , referenced in At last, the secret history of that dead cipher pigeon...Cipher Mysteries
  5. ↑ "Wanted for one last mission: call for Bletchley Park codebreakers to crack the D-Day pigeon cipher". Telegraph. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
  6. ↑ "Experts: Unbreakable code message found on WWII carrier pigeon - World News". Worldnews.nbcnews.com. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
  7. ↑ "Pigeon takes secret message to the grave". Gchq.gov.uk. 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  8. ↑ "Dead WW2 pigeon – a ring of truth?Cipher Mysteries". Cipher Mysteries. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
  9. ↑ World War II Pigeon's Message a Mystery, Alan Cowell, New York Times, November 1, 2012
  10. ↑ "Has World War II carrier pigeon message been cracked?" BBC News, 16 December 2012
  11. ↑ "The Independent", 26 December 2012
  12. ↑ "Pigeon Message Update". Gchq.gov.uk. 2012-12-17. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
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