Paddy the Pigeon and his award for bravery (8 photos + 1 video)

And the hare is capable of feats. What about pigeons - annoying birds - habitual inhabitants of city streets and parks?





There are heroes among the feathered brethren too. One of them is Paddy the Pigeon, who became the first bird to return to England with the important news of the Normandy landings on D-Day in June 1944.



Presentation of the award to the hero

Paddy the Pigeon was bred as a postal pigeon by Andrew Hughes from the village of Carnlough in County Antrim. During World War II, thousands of trained homing pigeons were used by the Royal Air Force to assist servicemen by delivering secret coded messages between allies.





Paddy the Pigeon was trained at an Air Force base where officers were impressed by his abilities during air-sea rescue missions. Paddy was later used by the US First Army during covert missions as part of the Normandy landings.



Illustration from the children's book Paddy the Pigeon by Gail Seekamp

During the operation, Paddy was to transmit coded information about the Allied advance in Normandy to the British in Hampshire. During the flight, Paddy had to not only dodge anti-aircraft fire, but also dodge hawks specially trained by the Nazis, trained to destroy carrier pigeons. But he managed to fly all the way from Normandy to his base in Hampshire in four hours and 50 minutes, which became a record for homing pigeons during the Normandy landings.



Carnlaw

On 1 September 1944, Paddy was awarded the Dickin Medal, which is awarded for devotion to duty during military conflicts and is often called the Animal Victoria Cross.



Memorial plaque

Eventually Paddy the pigeon returned to his home in Carnlough with Andrew Hughes. He lived until 1954 and died at the age of 11. In 2019, a memorial plaque was unveiled in Carnlaw in his memory.