jimmy white

would certainly like to find out about this bird , i quite beleive its true anyway, so ill keep trying maybe some info will come from some where, hope so,,j.w

spot on clockie, thats why i wondered how it had a n,e,h.u. ring on.,, it was bred by george ross at broughty ferry, and was actualy stationed at leuchars, scotland

beautifull morning in the lothians,,,,up till now,,,see the mist and cloud comming in now,

these were all very brief facts about these fantastic birds, but im sure ,with the help of the forum ,we can post a story on each of these birds i.e. like the one with gi, joe., very interesting one is winkie based at.r.a.f. leuchars, the first pigeon to win the dicken medal, homed off the norwegian coast with her wings clogged with oil , wet and exhausted to save a downed bomber crew,,,,,,,mary [of exeter homed homed with her right breast, and badly gashed neck, ripped open and savaged by hawks, then theres paddy,etc etc im sure the members could print the actual story on a lot of these birds, i hope so anyway,, would make very interesting reading,,,,,,,FOR ANYBODY :)

each and every pigeon in the last posts paid a vital role in the war, allthough these are very brief details, theres a fantastic story, to each and every bird,mentioned. i,e." GI JOE"WAS THE MOST OUTSTANDING MILATRY PIGEON IN HISTORY, AND IS CREDITED WITH SAVING THE LIVES OF AT LEAST 1000 BRITTISH TROOPS DURING WORLD WAR 2 THE BRITTISH 56TH BRIGADE WS SCHEDULED TO ATTACK THE CITY OF COLVI VECCHIA, ITALY, AT 10 AM OCT 18 1943. THE US AIR SUPPORT COMAND WS SCHEDULED TO BOMB THE CITY TO SOFTEN THE ENTRANCE FOR THE BRITTISH BRIGADE. THE GERMANS RETREATED, LEAVING ONLY A SMALL REAR GAURD, AND AS A RESULT THE BRITTISH TROOPS ENTERED THE CITY WITH LITTLE RESISTANCE AND OCCUPIED IT AHEAD OF SCHEDULE. ALL ATTEMPTS TO CANCEL THE BOMBINGS OF THE CITY, MADE BY RADIO AND OTHER MEANS OF COMMUNICATION, HAD FAILED. LITTLE g i joe. WS RELEASED WITH THE IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO CANCEL THE BOMBING. HEFLEW THE 20 MILES BACK TO THE U.S. AIR SUPPORT COMMAND BASE IN 20 MINUTES, AND ARRIVED JUST AS OUR PLANES WERE WARMING UP TO TAKE OFF. IF HE HAD HAVE ARRIVED A FEW MINUTES LATER, IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A DIFERANT STORY. GENERAL MARK CLARK, COMMANDING THE US FIFTH ARMY, ESTIMATED THAT GI JOE SAVED THE LIVES OF 1000 OF OUR BRITTISH ALLIES. IN NOV 1946 GI JOE WAS SHIPPED TO ENGLAND, WHERE HE WAS CITED AND AWARDED THE DICKEN MEDAL FOR GALLANTRY BY THE LORD MAYOR OF LONDON. GI JOE IS THE ONLY BIRD OR ANIMAL IN THE UNITED STATES TO RECEIVE THIS HIGH AWRD. GI JOE, A ARK CHEQ PIED WHITE FLIGHT COCK, WAS HATCHED MARCH 24TH 1943, AT THE PIGEON SECTION IN ALGERIA, ALGIERS, NORTH AFRICA,LATER HE AS TAKEN TO THE TUNISIAN FRONT, THEN TO BIZERTE, AND FROM THERE TO THE ITALIAN FRONT. AFTER WORLD WAR 2 GI JOE WAS HOUSED IN THE CHURCHILL LOFT, THE U.S "ARMIES HALL OF FAME" AT FORT MONMOUTH, N.J. ALONG WITH 24 OTHER PIGEON HEROES. IN MARCH OF 1957, THE REMAINING PIGEON HEROES WERE PLACED WITH DIFFERANT ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS THROUGHOUT THE U,S,A. GI JOE WAS PLACED WITH THE DETROIT ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS, WHERE HE DIED ON JUNE 3D 1961 AT THE AGE OF 18. GI JOE WAS RETURNED, MOUNTED AND PLACEDIN THE HISTORICAL CENTER, MEYER HALL AT FORT MONMOUTH, N.J. AS I SAY A FANTASTIC STORY ATTACHED TO EVERY SINGLE BIRD ON THESE POSTS AND WELL WORTH THE LOOKING UP, AND READING, THEIR INDIVIDUAL STORY " THANK GOD FOR THESE BIRDS" J.W.

COLOGNE pigeon nurp 39 nps 144 DATE OF AWARD UNKNOWN "FOR HOMING FROM A CRASHED AIR CRAFT OVER COLOGNE, ALLTHOUGH SERIOUSLY WOUNDED.SERVING WITH THE R.A.F. IN 1943."

PIGEON DD Q 879 [AUSTRALIAN ARMY CORPS] date of award feb 1947 "during an attack by japanese on a u,s marine patrol on manuus island, pigeons were released to warn headquarters of the impending enemy counter -attack,dd43 despite heavy fire at it, reached the h,q, with the result thatenemy concentrations were bombed and the patrol extricated"

pigeon dd.43.t.139 [australian army signal corps] date of award feb 1947 "during a heavy tropical storm this bird was released from army boatwhich foundered on wadou beach in the Huon gulf. homing 40 miles to madang it carried message ,which enabled a rescue ship to be sent in time tosalvage the craft of valuable cargo of stores and ammunition"

PIGEON NURP 43 1418 date of award 8 jan 1947 "for the fastest flight with message from 6th airborne div. normandy 7th june, serving with the a,p.s,"

DUKE OF NORMANDY pigeon nurp 41 sbc 219 date of award 8th jan 1947 "for being the first bird to arrive witha message from paratroops of the 21st ,army, while behind enemy lines on D day6th june 1944 while serving with the a.p.s."

gi joe PIGEON USA 43 SC 6390 date of award aug 1946 "this bird is credited with making the most outstanding flight by a usa army world war 2 . making the 20 mile flight from the brittish 10th army hq, in the same amount of minutes,it brought a message which arrived just in time to save the lives ofa all allied soldiers from being bombed by their own planes"

PIGEON NURP 38 BPC 6 DATE OF AWARD AUG 1946 " FOR THREE OUTSTANDING FLIGHTS FROM FRANCE WHILE SERVING WITH SPECIAL PIGEON SERVICE 11 JULY,1941,,,9 SEP1941, AND 29 NOVEMBER 1941"

MERCURY pigeon nurp 37 cen 335 date of award aug 1946 "for carrying out a special task involving a flight of 480 miles, serving withthe special section army pigeon service in july 1942"

PRINCESS pigeon 42 wd 593 date of award may 1946 "sent on special mission to crete, this pigeon returned to her loft[ r,a.f alexandria] having travelled 500 miles mostly over sea, with the most valuable information, one of the finest performances in the war record of the pigeon service"

ALL ALONE pigeon nurp 39 sds 39 dateofaward feb 1946 "for delivering an important message in one day over a distance of 400 miles with n.p.s in aug 1943"

TOMMY pigeon nurp 41 dhz 56 DATE OF AWARD FEB 1946 "FOR DELIVERING A VALUABLE MESSAGE FROM HOLLAND TO LANCASHIRE, UNDER DIFFICULT CONDITIONS, WHILE SERVING WITH N.P.S. IN JULY 1942"

MARY pigeon nurp wce 249 date of award nov 1945 "for outstanding endurance on war service, in spite of seriuos wounds"

MAQUIS pigeon nps ns 42 36392 date of award oct1945 "for bringing important messages three times from enemy occupied country;vi may 1943 [Amiens] feb 1944 [combined operations] and june ist [maquiis]while serving with the special services from the continent!"

pigeon n,p,s, 42 ns 2780 DATE OF AWARD OCT 1945 "for bringing important messages 3 times from enemy occupied country viz; july 1942 aug 1942 and april 1943 while serving with the special service on the continent"

BROAD ARROW pigeon 41 ba 2793 DATE OF AWARD OCT 1945 "FOR BRINGING IN IMPORTANT MESSAGES 3 TIMES FROMENEMY OCCUPIED COUNTRY, MAY 1943 JUNE 1943 AND AUG 1943 WHILE SERVING WITH THE SPECIAL "S... CONTINENT

BILLY pigeon nu, 41,hq. 4373 date of award aug 1945 for delivering a message from a force-landed bomber, while in a state of constant fire and under exceptionaly bad weather conditions while serving with the r.a.f."

SCOTCH LASS pigeon n.p.s.42,21610 date of award june 1945 "for bringing 38 micophotographs across the north sea in good timealthough injured, whileserving with the r.a.f.in holland in sept 1944"

WILLIAM OF ORANGE pigeon n.p.s.42. ns 15125 date of award may 1945 "for delivering message from Arnheim airborne operation in record time, for single pigeon, while serving with the a.p.s. in sep. 1944

RUHR EXPRESS pigeon no n,p,s.43 29018 date of award may 1945 " for carrying an imporant message from the rhur pocket in excellent time,,,with the r,a,f,in april 1945"

ROYAL BLUE pigeon ring no. nurp 40 gvis 453 date of award march 1945. "for being the first pigeon in this war to deliver a message from a forced landing in the continent while serving with the r.a.f. in oct. 1940