A photograph of Commando from the Imperial War Museum archives.
Commando was a
pigeon used in service with the
British armed forces
The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...
during the
Second World War to carry crucial intelligence. The pigeon carried out more than ninety missions during the war, and received the
Dickin Medal
The PDSA Dickin Medal was instituted in 1943 in the United Kingdom by Maria Dickin to honour the work of animals in World War II. It is a bronze medallion, bearing the words "For Gallantry" and "We Also Serve" within a laurel wreath, carried o ...
(the animal equivalent of the
Victoria Cross) for three particularly notable missions, in 1945. The medal was later sold at an auction for £9,200.
Early life
Commando, a red chequer bird, was bred in
Haywards Heath
Haywards Heath is a town in West Sussex, England, south of London, north of Brighton, south of Gatwick Airport and northeast of the county town, Chichester. Nearby towns include Burgess Hill to the southwest, Horsham to the northwest, Crawl ...
,
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
in the
United Kingdom by Sid Moon. Moon was a pigeon fancier who had served with the
Army Pigeon Service
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
during the
First World War. With the outbreak of the
Second World War, Moon offered the service of his pigeons to the war effort in 1939.
Commando was one of the pigeons taken into military service.
Military career
Pigeons were used where radio communications and had become highly dangerous.
A small canister was attached to the pigeon's leg, which contained the information that was being sent. Fewer than one in eight of the pigeons were able to conclude their missions successfully. Most fell victim to the
marksmen and
falconers that German troops used to intercept these birds along the French coast, while others were killed through bad weather, exhaustion, or by wild birds of prey.
Serving with the
National Pigeon Service (NPS) during the Second World War, Commando had been given the identification code ''N.U.R.P.38.EGU.242''.
During his career, Commando made more than ninety trips into and out of
German occupied France, carrying confidential messages. Messenger pigeons were carried into the war zones by British
paratroopers, and released as needed with messages attached to fly home.
He was noted for three particular missions carried out in 1942—one in June, another in August, and the third in September—in which he carried crucial intelligence to Britain from agents in France.
This vital information included the location of German troops, industrial sites and injured British soldiers.
Recognition
For these three missions that Commando conducted, he received the
PDSA Dickin Medal
The PDSA Dickin Medal was instituted in 1943 in the United Kingdom by Maria Dickin to honour the work of animals in World War II. It is a bronze medallion, bearing the words "For Gallantry" and "We Also Serve" within a laurel wreath, carried o ...
, which is considered to be the animals' medal equivalent to the
Victoria Cross, the highest military award for bravery in the UK.
He received the award along with
Royal Blue, the King's pigeon from the Royal Lofts at Sandringham. They were both presented their awards on 12 April 1945 in London by Rear Admiral
R. M. Bellairs.
The citation for the award that Commando received is as follows.
The medal was auctioned by Valerie Theobold, Moon's grand daughter, in 2004. It was bought by a British collector for £9,200.
It had been valued in a range between £5,000 to £7,000.
Post-military life
After the war, Commando enjoyed a somewhat celebrity-like status. He also participated in an exhibition of wartime homing pigeons.
See also
*
List of individual birds
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Commando (Pigeon)
Individual domesticated pigeons
Recipients of the Dickin Medal
