Few birds are as quintessentially British as the humble pigeon, but at best, they’re seen as comical, at worst, as vermin. But did you know that pigeons served as daring message carriers in the World Wars? In this episode, we’ll explore the contributions of these noble and under-appreciated birds who risked their lives to carry top-secret messages to the front-line in all weather conditions, frequently coming under fire.

Operation Turtle Dove: https://www.operationturtledove.org
Check out Penny's Pigeon Aid at https://www.pennyspigeonaid.com — a wonderful organisation dedicated to improving pigeon welfare through education and awareness. 

Music:

"March of the Spoons" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Sources:
https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/homing-pigeons-contributions-world-war-2 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-17138990 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-11400814 https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-incredible-carrier-pigeons-of-the-first-world-war https://www.rpra.org/pigeons-in-war/ https://www.rpra.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/national-pigeon-service.pdf https://www.pdsa.org.uk/what-we-do/animal-awards-programme/pdsa-dickin-medal/gi-joe https://backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com/poultry-101/heroic-pigeons-in-world-war-ii/ https://backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com/poultry-101/the-sport-of-racing-pigeons/ https://www.onekindplanet.org/animal/pigeon/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-62362307 https://www.gchq.gov.uk/information/pigeon-takes-secret-message-grave https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/british-army-entrusted-its-secrets-birdbrains   https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/past-times/1760047/winkie-broughty-ferry-homing-pigeon/ https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/british-army-entrusted-its-secrets-birdbrains “Birds”, Collins Gem British Birds: A Pocket Guide