World War 2 Talk - View Single Post - Irish Guards, 3 Bn. War Diary, June 1944 -

dbf · 02-05-2008, 05:54 PM

Adam,
Thanks, I hope it may yet help someone to find info about a relative.
Unfortunately can only limit myself to 3Bn although I do naturally stray in to 2Bn now and again.

As for pigeons, I think they might just deserve a thread of their own sometime. Was interesting ref. made to them in article on Boer war thread too. Led me to spend an entire day looking for refs. to their contribution to the war effort over the years. Sad I know ... who ate a carrier pigeon - was that a true WWI incident or just one of those myths ...? Then there's the ref in Longest Day to the war correspondent's 'traitor' who flew the wrong way.

d

Pigeon Carrier Service in Africa.

From St. Nicholas.

The pigeon post at Durban, in South Africa, was the beginning of the pigeon experiments conducted in recent campaigns between the English and Boers, and scores of messages were carried from one part of the English Army to another by means of the birds. Col. Hassard of the Royal Engineers, a staff officer at the Cape, had made a life study of the carrier pigeons, and before the war broke out the had established pigeon posts between most of the beleaguered cities. From Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking, pigeons early in the sieges regularly brought messages from the English soldiers cooped up in the towns. Sir George White's first message from Ladysmith was carried by a pigeon, and this means of communicating with the outside world continued until the number of birds in the city was exhausted. It was only a short time before that The English Government had decided to establish a service of carrier pigeons. In the navy pigeon posts were recognized means of carrying information as early as 1896, and there are over a thousand birds recorded on the books of the royal navy. The first naval loft was at Portsmouth, and now there are two others. In the English Army the posts have been confined almost exclusively to the Cape, where the nature of the country makes the homing pigeon service of more value than in England.

Published NY TIMES, June 16, 1901.

02-05-2008, 05:54 PM	#31 (permalink)
dbf Silly old moo Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Co Down, Northern Ireland Posts: 950	Adam, Thanks, I hope it may yet help someone to find info about a relative. Unfortunately can only limit myself to 3Bn although I do naturally stray in to 2Bn now and again. As for pigeons, I think they might just deserve a thread of their own sometime. Was interesting ref. made to them in article on Boer war thread too. Led me to spend an entire day looking for refs. to their contribution to the war effort over the years. Sad I know ... who ate a carrier pigeon - was that a true WWI incident or just one of those myths ...? Then there's the ref in Longest Day to the war correspondent's 'traitor' who flew the wrong way. d Pigeon Carrier Service in Africa. From St. Nicholas. The pigeon post at Durban, in South Africa, was the beginning of the pigeon experiments conducted in recent campaigns between the English and Boers, and scores of messages were carried from one part of the English Army to another by means of the birds. Col. Hassard of the Royal Engineers, a staff officer at the Cape, had made a life study of the carrier pigeons, and before the war broke out the had established pigeon posts between most of the beleaguered cities. From Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking, pigeons early in the sieges regularly brought messages from the English soldiers cooped up in the towns. Sir George White's first message from Ladysmith was carried by a pigeon, and this means of communicating with the outside world continued until the number of birds in the city was exhausted. It was only a short time before that The English Government had decided to establish a service of carrier pigeons. In the navy pigeon posts were recognized means of carrying information as early as 1896, and there are over a thousand birds recorded on the books of the royal navy. The first naval loft was at Portsmouth, and now there are two others. In the English Army the posts have been confined almost exclusively to the Cape, where the nature of the country makes the homing pigeon service of more value than in England. Published NY TIMES, June 16, 1901. __________________ But where our desires are and our hopes profound, Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight, To the innermost heart of their own land they are known As the stars are known to the Night Last edited by dbf; 03-06-2008 at 09:01 PM.