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War Birds


By Jacob Westergaard Madsen

On 25th November 1944 Paddy was decorated for his effort in the war against Nazi Germany. In the service of Royal Air Force Paddy had achieved to get a message from Normandy to England in the shortest time: 4 hours and 50 minutes. When receiving his Order of Merit he was described as "exceptionally intelligent".


Paddy was one of several thousand carrier pigeons enrolled in the British military during the Second World War. The sophisticated code machines of the war are known to many, but other – much more simple – communication forms were also used.

Military Messengers in the Air
Carrier Pigeons have certain advantages. They make it possible to operate behind enemy lines with the purpose of spying as they can be sent home with important information. They also represent an alternative to radio communication if you want to make absolutely sure that the enemy is not listening in. Moreover, they are useful in connection with military advances when often there is no time to establish telephone connections. A way for the English to use there carrier pigeons was to parachute them into occupied territories where the local population was known to be in opposition to the occupying power. A questionnaire was attached to the pigeons concerning the placing of enemy whereabouts and arms reserves in the area for the local population to fill in before sending back the pigeons with information for their allies.

Dangerous Winged Enemies
But the carrier pigeon soldiers suffered great losses. On the home front peregrine falcons would attach the pigeons in the air resulting in loss of important information from the continent. Consequently, the Air Ministry found it necessary to issue "The Destruction of Peregrine Falcons Order" (1941), a decree with the aim to wipe out peregrine falcons from the areas to which the pigeons were supposed to return.

It was even worse, however, that the enemy could also put an end to the expedition of the carrier pigeons. The Germans were not only trying to shoot down suspiciously-looking pigeons. They were also breeding hawks to chase the English pigeons. On the other hand, the English bred falcons to take care of German carrier pigeons which were given official POW status when caught!

After the war all pigeons were returned, and it was decided that it was not necessary to use the captured German carrier pigeons for breeding purposes. But carrier pigeons were kept in the readiness for several years after the war. This is also known in Denmark: Until 1999 Danish carrier pigeons were liable to compulsory military service and the supreme commander of the Home Guard was automatically chairman of the Danish Carrier Pigeon Associations, too.


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