THE PIGEON AT WAR.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 187, 7 August 1918, Page 8

THE PIGEON AT WAR.

MOST RELIABLE MESSENGERS. BRITAIN'S BIRD SERVICE. INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT HOMING BIRDS. "On the British front when I left, towards the end of last year, there were considerably more than 60,000 pigeons Used as messengers, and now there must be very nearly 100,000 of the birds on duty there." The remark was made by StarT-Sergeant F. K. J. Hiddlestone, of Australia, who, having returned after I three years' service on the western front, | recently called at Auckland on his way hack to England. He is described now as, "Pigeon Expert, Military District No. 2 (New South Wales). Australia," and he I is in charge of a detachment of 1,200 pigeons for the British lighting line in J Europe. This will be the second Hock of I birds sent from Australia for message tarrying on different Allied fronts, and a •ic-w birds already have been dispatched from New Zealand.

ADVANTAGES OF THE PIGEONS.

What this bird-faxcier sergeant has laid about the pigeon service of the Sritish forces at war is very interesting, And he speaks from knowledge, as he has spent much time with these war birds :u France already. The advantages of the feathered messengers over all other means of communication between the firing line and headquarters are many, he says. Wireless cannot be used while heavy artillery is at work, because the waves set up by the concussion effectually irown the wireless waves. Pigeons in their flights are not effected by the bombardments, as they fly far out of range of fragments and shells, except for the fractional times of their swoops up and down when released and when coming to their lofts. Also, he says gas does not affect them, though this is probably because they fly above the low gas clouds, and dash through their fringes very fast. Therefore, they are of mo-re regular use tha runners in the battle areas, and they "an accomplish their journeys in a very small portion of the time taken by human runners, who have to go by devious ways through mud, ruins, entanglements, shell holes, barrages, and gas clouds, with no very great chances even then of reaching destinations alive. ON LAND AND SEA. The sergeant illustrates these things with practical examples from his own experience. ''One night out in No Man's Land," he says, "a party of us were in an isolated position, practically surrounded by the enemy, and we had no means of getting word back detailing our position other than by pigeon. This bird we liberated, and it had to fly an airline distance of about 11 miles. Seventeen minutes after we sent the pigeon away a barrage was put across in our front, our rear, an,d on both sides. This demonstrates the accuracy of the artillery, too, for not a man of the party was injured ■jy the barrage, and the enemy -was driven away." Later on. he continued, I went personally to inquire how the batteries received instructions for this barrage at 6.12. I was shown the entry in one battery book. It gave time and range as per "phone from battery headquarters, with the remark in message column, "Received by pigeon." "Pigeon services are used by the Germans, too," the sergeant said. "We have often captured hampers of the birds from the enemy." And it is interesting also 1,0 note that the British Navy in the North Sea has a complete pigeon service .'t was there long before the war, but seems to have been disbanded about five rears ago, though now it is in full operation again. Pigeons seem to have been mtployed successfully as message carriers luring the Boer war, for it has been •stated that to King Edward, then Prince -if Wales, a birthday message was sent from Ladvsmith. then under siege, to Durban, thence by cable to the Prince. The battleships of Britain have each its own pigeon loft. To most of these are attached hydroplanes, and each of these living craft carries a pigeon or two, to send a message to the parent ship if anything should go wrong. So that it will So understood readily that the birds save many lives, both on land and water. THE SUPPLY AND TRAINING. Sergt. lliddlestoue goes into detail ibout°thc lofts in which the pigeons are Kept. Many of them are stationary, and might be "termed base lofts, but the majority are mobile, mounted at the top of motor-cars. These mobile lofts are coloured differently, so that the birds can and their own especial houses. This is rather important, too. for the birds working over each different sector have their messages sent in different code, this being probably a measure of safety, to stop possible leakages. But it means that the pigeons must be trained till they are absolutely familiar with their present locations! for if they stray the message is useless, as it could not be deciphered. Therefore the system of training the birds is as complete us possible. The same man is always in charge of the same lofts, whieb are. open at the sides so that when they move forward or backward the birds "inside win see where they are going, and this helps a little to locate themselves. But it is a matter of a couple of days before the messengers know a new position, and so it will be seen that in case of a rapid retirement the pigeons working in the area lost are of no further use, at least for some time, and new. ones have to replace them. This is also true in the case of a rapid advance, for there are many complexities in the conditions under which the birds must work, and their reliability must be absolute. Therefore they are kept in the same area as much as is possible, ami when the lines advance another relay of new birds is pushed forward. So it will be seen that there must be a continual supply of young new birds sent to the different fronts if the service shall '.)<■ kept up to strength. That is why Australia and New Zealand are likely to be asked for greater and greater supplies of the homing -birds, for it is necessary to have the stream of birds coming along regularly. So the pigeons from the Antipodes are needed during the off-season of English breeding. The system of identification and registration for the birds used as war messengers is very complete, and it admits of no mistake. If any birds supplied by English breeders put up performances that are better than ordinary, the owners ire advised about them. England now is the land of rations, and those fanciers who breed birds for military purposes are supplied with extra com as feed. As regards the actual losses through birds being lost and not arriving with then- messages, pergt. Hiddlestone state* with authority that more than 90 per =ent of the messages get there. Scarcely I per cent of the birds never come back, though occasionally a bird will return »■ 'U...1.-I. "V ' there is not „,„„,, d ._»£ >r them tins score. T ' H " V are small II ||y swiftly, they are not exposed flv'i'i^h"^."^ 1 ".""'" W ° rkin - and they "J high, ,ar beyond the reach of missiles!