Hello all -
Happy Sunday!
Eighty years ago on Thursday, 19 September 1944, was a day to remember for William of Orange. William of Orange the pigeon, that is. Let’s rewind a little first…
I used to think that a pigeon’s only role was to poop over my car, for me to then clean off each weekend. But it turns out they can be quite heroic and valuable.
The National Pigeon Service, formed in 1939, thought so too. Its role was to support military communications through the impending World War II by way of carrier pigeons... the original airmail service.
200,000 pigeons served, first under the wing of the RAF but subsequently stationed across all the military branches.
Pigeons have extraordinary homing powers. They combine visual cues with magnetoreception, using the Earth’s magnetic field to guide them. Further, they can use the sun as a compass and star patterns at night to navigate. For this reason, they make excellent message carriers, particularly in times of war.
Pigeons in war zones would sit tight in their cages day after day, munching on a carefully prepared mix of seeds selected for peak health and fitness.
Then, without a moment’s notice, they were released into the void with vital messages bound to their ankles. The pigeons' homing senses would guide them back to their lofts and pigeon houses in England, sometimes hundreds of miles away. The messages were then retrieved and circulated.
To help the success of these mercy flights, birds of prey were culled along the English coastline to stop the pigeons from being eaten on their way home.
Despite the cull, very few pigeons would complete their journey. Enemy soldiers realised the importance of these pigeons and fired shotguns to bring them down.
If the birds weren’t peppered with shot early in their journey, they then had to survive general artillery fire, trained intercept predators such as Peregrine falcons and harsh weather conditions, particularly through the winter months.
I first encountered these extraordinary war pigeon exploits during a recent visit to Bletchley Park, home of the German Enigma machine code breakers. Bletchley Park had its own classified MI6 pigeon loft, the site of many successful message retrievals and pigeon home-comings during the war.
Sir William Proctor Smith bred the hapless William of Orange in 1942 in Knutsford, Cheshire. During training with MI14, he was earmarked for his speed - the pigeon, that is, not William Proctor Smith.
William of Orange was selected to join the 2nd Parachute Battalion in September 1944, posted close to the Rhine Bridge near Arnhem.
Although he didn't know it, William was now part of Operation Market Garden, a major offensive during the war to breach lines in German-occupied Netherlands and gain quick access into Germany through the back door.
On 19 September, William’s battalion hit double trouble. The Germans had surrounded the 2nd at the same time that its radio equipment had failed. An alternative method of communication was needed to relay a message home requesting help.
Primed with a few slurps of his favourite beer, William of Orange was released by the British soldiers, carrying the critical news of their predicament around his leg.
Flying in the face of danger, William dodged enemy shotgun fire to reach the English Channel. From there, he contended with the unbridled force of the Channel winds but flapped on regardless towards his humble loft in Knutsford. Four hours and 250 miles later, he arrived.
The message was passed to the British High Command, who were unaware of the dire situation in Arnhem. A full-scale withdrawal was ordered, saving many lives. Unfortunately, the message arrived too late to help William's battalion. Of the 750 men in the battalion, only 100 survived.
Following in the illustrious wing flaps of White Vision, Winkie and Tyke, William of Orange received the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross. The Dickin Medal was awarded for his gallantry, devotion to duty and presumably for not ruffling too many feathers along the way.
Podcast episode... a look back
Episode 32. Parachute Roulette
Tuesday is Australian Citizenship Day, first observed on 17 September 2001. This day commemorates the name change of the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 to the Australian Citizenship Act 1948. The name change itself was forgettable, but the symbolism wasn't.
Australians could then officially refer to themselves as Australian Citizens. Prior to that they had been British subjects ever since Arthur Phillip landed with the First Fleet at Botany Bay in 1788.
I remember the wording in my father's updated Australian passport referring to 'Australian citizen' in place of the previous 'British subject'... a significant moment.
That then is this week’s tenuous link with a past podcast episode, introducing a very likeable Aussie who had a most remarkable escape back in 2013.
Brad Guy was experiencing his first - and last - parachute jump, a gift from his family. Unfortunately for Brad, both parachutes failed to open. Fortunately for Brad, he miraculously survived to share his story with me.
Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music or just about any other podcast player of your choice. Check out the show notes for the links and transcript to learn more.
My favourite quote from the episode...
(referring to the size of the plane)
It could only fit maybe two or three people in the back of it. It's basically just like a bunch of steel welded together, and I'm used to the bigger planes where there's crackers, and they give you a drink, and you can have the exit row……
(After the reserve parachute failed to open)
I could feel my instructor flailing and there's a lot of arms going on behind me. And there felt like there was a bit of panic. It didn't feel like falling at that point. Felt like we were actually just like plummeting.
(moments before impact)
I fully had accepted death in that moment. I knew that we were in a bad situation, and I knew that what was gonna come on the other side of it was the end of my life.
Dates with History...
Thursday - the death of two war heroes...
19 September 1944 marks the death of two heroic RAF pilots killed in action that day, both posthumously to receive the Victoria Cross for valour.
On the same day that William of Orange was flying over the Battle of Arnhem, Flight Lieutenant David Lord was piloting his Dakota transport plane over the very same war zone.
Approaching the drop-off, his plane was hit by German fire, with one engine catching fire and a wing badly damaged. Despite this, he made two passes over the drop zone to ensure the supplies reached the troops on the ground.
He then insisted that his crew bail out while he held the plane straight. Only one crew member had managed to exit the aircraft before it hit the ground in flames, a certain Flight Lieutenant Harold King.
King survived the war, so he was able to report the heroism shown by David Lord that day, leading to the Victoria Cross award. Without King, Lord’s heroism may never have seen daylight.
About the same time as Lord’s plane was shot down, Wing Commander Guy Gibson was also flying over the Netherlands in his Mosquito. He was returning from a successful bombing mission when his plane apparently ran out of fuel and crashed. Gibson was killed instantly.
However, it wan’t this raid that earned Gibson the Victoria Cross. That came the previous year for his valour leading his squadron through Operation Chastise.
The objective was to breach three German dams, the Möhne, Sorpe and Eder. Today we know the story as the Dambusters Raid. Gibson was 24 years old at the time.
By the way...
Back in 1986 having just left school, I was lucky enough to take part in a rugby tour to Zimbabwe. The rugby was awesome, we remained unbeaten, and the memories are still strong from 38 years ago.
Beyond the rugby, we met wonderful people and were lucky enough to take time out to visit some of the breathtaking scenery of the country.
Nothing more breathtaking than the Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River, along the border with Zambia.
On 15 September 1989, 35 years ago today, the Victoria Falls was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site*, often referred to as one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
From the lower viewing points, the sound is deafening. 3,250 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water cascading every second, with spray rebounding higher than the Eiffel Tower. Exhilarating.
From the higher viewpoints - equally exhilarating, as you can see below.
*UNESCO = United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Question of the week...
The composer Gustav Holst was born 150 years ago next Saturday, 21 September 1874. His most famous work is The Planets, featured in many films, adverts and TV shows.
Perhaps most famously, the section, “Jupiter” was adapted into the the British patriotic hymn, “I Vow to Thee, My Country”, played notably at the funerals of Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher and Queen Elizabeth II.
What nationality was Gustav Holst?
(answer at bottom of newsletter)
And finally...
You may remember the Italian actress, Sophia Loren, one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Friday will be Loren’s 90th birthday, born on 20 September 1934.
In the days of only three TV channels, a film broadcast with Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn or Grace Kelly was a treat not to miss.
Sophia Loren will remember another important event in her life this week: her first marriage to Carlo Ponti on 17 September 1957. Neither Loren nor Ponti showed up to their marriage in Mexico - male attornies represented both parties.
I am disappointed to report that the two male attornies were not made to walk down the aisle and vicariously express their love for each other at the altar. The ‘marriage’ was a legal process carried out between the two attornies.
Ponti was still married to his first wife in Italy; the Mexican marriage was an attempt to circumnavigate Italian law.
The sham wedding was not accepted as legal in Italy, so the couple annulled the marriage in 1962. In 1966, Loren and Conti re-tied the knot in person in France.
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Thank you for joining me. Have a great week!
Steve
HOST & CHIEF STORY HUNTER
P:S: Incidentally, I am always keen to receive your feedback to help me continuously improve this newsletter and the podcast. Just hit reply to this email and...... let it rip! I respond to every email that I receive.
Answer to Question of the week: Gustav Holst was English. He was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Holst had some German ancestry but changed his name from Gustav von Holst during World War I due to anti-German sentiment.
NEXT WEEK'S BREEZER
Assassination nation
LAST WEEK'S BREEZER
Dodging the doodlebugs
Attribution for cover image: Carrier pigeons being used in World War I, 1917: Agence Rol, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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