| Places | |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | RELAWM30791 |
| Collection type | Heraldry |
| Object type | Heraldry |
| Physical description | Aluminium, Animal hide, Feathers, Keratin |
| Place made | New Guinea1: Papua New Guinea, Morobe Province, Lae |
| Date made | 1944 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
Australian carrier pigeon : Blue Bar cock No. 167
Description
Mounted skin of a carrier pigeon, a blue bar cock with an aluminium leg ring impressed '167 D[broad arrow symbol]D 44'.
History / Summary
This bird was bred by 1 Pigeon Section (Type B) at Lae in November 1944. During his working life he made 25 operational flights over a distance of 346 miles.
The details of the message he successfully carried on his most notable flight are as follows.
Location of Detachment at time of message flight: Detachment 7 Pigeon Section (Type A), attached to Signals 3 Division, Toko, Bougainville;
Copy of message: From "D" Company 47 Battalion. To HQ 47 Battalion. Date 3 July 45. Attacked by stray enemy party at 0700 hours. Own casualties - 1 killed, 4 wounded. Communications OUT request reinforcements urgently; Distance message carried and time: 22 miles in heavy tropical rainstorm with bad visibility in 4 hours. This bird was fired on by 60-70 Japs after release;
Result of message: Reinforcements were despatched, arriving in time to repel enemy and save the company.