Somewhere in southern England, the servicemen of the British Army were in training. Tirelessly they fired at paper targets, practised orientation in the wilderness, pored over maps, crawled over obstacle courses, and learned to communicate and synchronise their movements. They could not know what the beaches of Normandy held in store. People said Hitler was invincible, and that Normandy was barricaded behind a wall of machine guns. People said the devil would not stop until all of Europe was under his boot, but Winston Churchill would not be cowed. Soon, an operation of vast scope would take shape: the landings in France. In training, James and Matthew were now well-skilled in communicating with their squad-mates on the other side of the field. They had no radios or telephones, no couriers or transmitters, but they had Fuki – their ally in the victory the United Kingdom so yearned for. Fuki the carrier pigeon left James’ hands and took flight. He disappeared into the sky, following a trajectory etched into his memory. His sense of direction was unrivalled, and he all but blended into the grey skies above. He was invisible, invincible, and no machine of war could keep him in its sights for long. The battle pigeon was carrying a short message to inform the allied forces of the enemy position: pigeon post, they called it. Fuki arrived from the other side of the field, into the hands of a reservist who peeled the capsule from the bird’s leg. He unfurled the paper, which read: “We have victory!” Of course, this was just an exercise. James and Matthew were satisfied. Fuki returned, beating his wings hard. His masters stroked the bird’s plumage. “Operation successful. Well done, mate.” Fuki was now an expert carrier, though it had taken time for James and Matthew to train their beloved bird. The task had not been easy. First they had built him a nest with a feeder, then they sent him slightly further away each time, encouraging him to return.
In the First World War, pigeons had been crucial auxiliaries for transmitting information; over three hundred thousand of them had served the Allied and enemy armies. In France, the most famous of these was carrier 787-15, known to the men as Vaillant. On 4 June 1916, as the Battle of Verdun was raging, a French captain named Raynal, who had been under siege in the Fort de Vaux for four days, sent a message via his last pigeon. “We are holding, but are under heavy attack from gas. The fumes are deadly. Relief is imperative. Tell Souville to send us a visual signal, as they are not responding to our calls. This is my last pigeon. Raynal.” Artillery fire blazed in all directions, and French soldiers were struck down by gas. Raynal’s pigeon completed its mission in spite of the carnage, and arrived dying and in anguish at the Verdun command post. Sadly, having run out of drinking water and not seeing how his position could be liberated, on June 7 Raynal surrendered with 250 survivors, thirsty and exhausted after a seven-day siege. Vaillant, having completed his mission, would be awarded the Ring of Honour, and have his name listed in the Order of the Nation. He was also decorated with the 14-18 War Cross. A commemorative plaque was later erected at Fort de Vaux, in homage to the bird and its fellows.
And who knew – perhaps Fuki would one day fly to such heights, or even deliver Churchill’s V for victory?
Alan Alfredo Geday