KING'S PIGEONS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 3, Issue 213, 16 September 1940, Page 3

KING'S PIGEONS

USED FOR POSTAL SERVICE Pigeons from the King's loft at Sandringham have been added to a pigeon post organised to operate in the event of a national emergency in Great Britain, The pigeon post was inaugurated in July last year by the Duchess of Kent when she visited Fort Dunlop and released the first llock of pigeons from their baskets. On the eve of the outbreak of war a pair of blue checks arrived from Mr E. W. Stgele, the King's pigeon keeper. They are long distance birds, four or five years old, of the stock which has won the big raccs from Lerwick in Shetland and Bordeaux. To-day they have four young ones less than a month old, all at present being trained by Mr Harry Collins, a fancier who has charge of the loft of fifty birds. Two of the Royal birds, all blue checks like their parents, are being trained to fly thirty miles away to the company's war-time headquarters. The other two will make the return journey. "They will do almost a mile a minute, except in a side wind," said Mr Collins. "They can't fly at night. I have never known any homers trained for night flying. They come down to sleep and they will go two days without food." In addition to the pigeon loft at headquarters, lofts are being opened up in other parts of the country for the service, which is the only ; organised civilian pigeon post in Great Britain. By reducing message to fascimil'c on a special thin film the birds can take 35,000 words in an aluminium carrier fixed to their legs. Each centre has apparatus for reducing the messages and for magnifying them to a readable script when received.