Messages from Occupied Europe

 

 

Sadly, the Record Copying Department at The National Archives, Kew remains closed.  This prompted me to go through all of files from the past five years.  Bit by bit, some of the Columba messages from those files will be posted here.

The Columba messages were the messages delivered by the pigeons who participated in Operation Columba, the British effort to collect intelligence from occupied Europe.  Pigeons in small cages attached to small parachutes were dropped into France, Holland, and Belgium.  It was hoped that people would find the pigeons and send back answers to the questions on the questionnaire, even though, under the German occupation, sending a message with a pigeon was a crime punishable by death.  In the fourth message posted, you will see a reference to that danger.  The British are asked by the message writer not to drop pigeons in thickly populated areas.  People were afraid to be seen picking up a pigeon.  The British learned that it was more expeditious to drop the pigeons in the countryside.

A few weeks ago I bought a pigeon calendar for 2021.  It includes a photo of the lovely African Green Pigeon.  Some photos of the African Green Pigeon are posted to provide a bit of beauty after the emotions and circumstances described in the messages.

 

(c) Crown copyright images reproduced by courtesy of The National Archives, Kew, UK

Catalog numbers:  WO208/3560  #5, #6, #7, #12, #13, #16, #17

 

You can use the scroll bar at the bottom of the page to scroll left-right for the messages which exceed the frame.

 

 

Special podcast about The Battle of Britain and How did the Blitz influence the use of pigeons in WWII?

     On Tuesday, September 15, the National Archives, Kew will present a special podcast commemorating The Battle of Britain.  I know this because I subscribe to their newsletter.  You should too!  Below is the write up from the newsletter and the link to listen to the trailer.    

 

Coming 15 September

To mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, we have joined forces with the Royal Air Force and the RAF Museum to share some lesser-known stories of Britain’s great defence of our skies, in a special On the Record podcast.

Listen to the trailer

 https://pod.link/1460242815/episode/ZTc5ZmIwMmMtMjE3OS00ZDVkLWFkNzEtNDU0ZjVmMjZmNDIz?utm_source=emailmarketing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly_mailer__10_september_2020&utm_content=2020-09-12

How did the Blitz influence the use of pigeons in WWII?

 

     The British created Operation Columba in the wake of the Blitz.  Pigeons donated by pigeon fanciers were placed in small cages or containers attached to small parachutes and dropped into occupied Europe by RAF aircraft.  The British hoped that people would find the pigeon and send their answers to the questions in the questionnaire off with the pigeon.  The pigeon would return to its home loft with this valuable intelligence. 

     Without contemplating what it was like to endure the Blitz, Operation Columba might seem like a silly and desperate attempt to gather intelligence.  Life in 2020 doesn’t allow for a lot of extra time to think.  But if you can, stop and think for just a few moments about hundreds of planes darkening the sky and bombs destroying everything from your house, to the building where you work, to the towers which make the internet and telephones possible, to docks, to churches, to factories, to parks, to hospitals, to fire stations, to roads and freeways, and to all of the stores which have the things which you and your family need.  Think about being kept up all night by the deafening, crazy making noise of the bombs falling and the destruction they caused and then think about trying to function at work the next day, if you still have a job to go to.  How would you keep up a brave face for the kids?  Then think about the fact that the Blitz lasted for 57 days.

     During this time, Britain stood alone against Germany.  The destruction of British shipping by the U-boats put the country in danger of starvation.  The German naval Enigma code had not yet been broken.  During the Battle of Britain people were sure an invasion of Britain was coming.

     One of the questions on the questionnaire dropped with the pigeons was, I’m paraphrasing, what do you hear about plans for an invasion of England?  This was one of the biggest reasons why the pigeons were dropped into occupied Europe.  Anything and everything had to be done to find out what ever could be found out about the invasion which almost everyone believed was inevitable. 

     For all of these reasons, pigeon fanciers eagerly gave up their pigeons for the war effort, but it wasn’t easy.  It was a financial and emotional sacrifice and that sacrifice is one of the overlooked and underappreciated sacrifices made during the war.  These pigeons were champion birds, bred over generations to enhance their stamina, speed, navigation ability and that intangible quality possessed by the best racing pigeons: the desire to home.  The pigeon fanciers lost a valuable asset, in financial terms. They lost birds who were the best of the best.  It was like donating champion racehorses to the army.

     On top of that, there was the emotional pain.  Please don’t underestimate the pain of losing a pigeon.  I know what it’s like.  The pain is real.  A pigeon you spend time with will know when you aren’t feeling well.  He or she will do their utmost to cheer you up.  I’ve read countless times about how devastating it is for those who keep pigeons to lose them for any reason.  The World War II pigeon fanciers saw their birds loaded into vans and then waited for them to return.  Almost 17,000 pigeons were dropped during Operation Columba.  Only about 1100 returned.  Many lofts once full of beautiful, intelligent pigeons became empty.  The pigeon fanciers had to stand in those lofts.