The heroic story of a First World War carrier pigeon that delivered a vital message despite being mortally wounded by a German sniper has come to light 100 years since its death.
Previously unseen papers found in a house clearance document how the plucky pigeon earned the name ‘The VC Pigeon’ after the gallant but fatal feat.
The bird had been given an important message to take nine miles back to Divisional Headquarters from the frontline at the Battle of Passchendaele in October 1917.
It is a flight that should have taken no more than 25 minutes but the carrier, identified then as ‘Pigeon 2709’, took 21 hours to complete the mission.
The exploits of a British Army carrier pigeon, picutred, shot by a German sniper during the First World War have been revealed for the first time after classified documents were found
The British Army used carrier pigeons during the First World War to carry messages
Intelligence officer Captain James Lloyd wrote about the pigeon’s display for Mi7b
So revered was the brave bird by the loftsmen of the Western Front they had him stuffed.
After the war the dead bird was donated Royal Signals Museum in Blandford, Dorset, which has put him on display in a glass case.
The museum has also received the recently-discovered first hand account of the last moments of the pigeon which they have also displayed.
Upon arrival at the HQ pigeon loft, staff realised the bird had been shot in the body in mid-flight.
The dishevelled creature stayed alive long enough to deliver the message before succumbing to his wounds.
His death was a far more noble one than that of ‘Speckled Jim’, the carrier pigeon famously shot by Captain Edmund Blackadder in the BBC comedy Blackadder Goes Forth.
After eating the bird for dinner, Rowan Atkinson’s character was the court martialed and nearly shot for killing the homing pigeon.
The account of the brave actions of the VC Pigeon was written by Captain James Lloyd, a propagandist for the Mi7b, a little-known British intelligence service.
After the war he took about 150 classified documents home to Wales. The papers were found in an old trunk by his great nephew Jeremy Arter in 2015.
Capt Loyd’s hand-written account of the demise of VC Pigeon reads: ‘Pigeon No 2709. IX Corps. Died of wounds received in action 4th October 1917.
‘In the action which was fought in the region of the Menin Road, this bird was despatched with a message from the frontline to Divisional Headquarters at 1.30pm.
‘This bird was hit by a bullet which broke one of its legs.
‘In spite of wounds and being out in the wet all night the bird struggled home to its loft.
‘When the man came to see what it had brought, they found the pigeon lying on the floor of the loft bleeding to death, with its legs shot away and the message holder embedded in its body.
‘It died shortly afterwards.
‘That bird’s courage and devotion earned for it the name of the ‘V.C Piegon’.
Adam Forty, of the Royal Signals Museum, said: ‘Almost 100 years later documents from the secretive propaganda branch of Mi7b came to light after being discovered in a Welsh attic by Jeremy Arter.
‘These papers had thought to have been destroyed but Mr Arter’s great uncle, Captain James Loyd, had kept copies of many poignant documents.
‘Among these papers was the story of “Britain’s winged soldiers”.
‘In this particular story Pigeon 2709 is mentioned having earned the respect and admiration of the loftsmen at the frontline who gave him the honoury title ‘VC Pigeon’.
‘We have been aware of the bravery of this pigeon for many years but have relied on anecdotal evidence.
‘Now we have solid documental evidence.
‘They also show the dead bird then became known as The VC Pigeon, in a nod to the Victoria Cross which is the highest award for valour.
‘Up until now we have always known it as Pigeon 2709.
‘The VC Pigeon is proudly on display at the Royal Signals Museum. The schoolchildren love him.’