World War II Carrier Pigeon With Coded Message Found In England

He had survived the perilous flight back from Nazi-occupied territory hundreds of miles away.

Exhausted, the British ‘spy’ pigeon swooped down on a chimney in Surrey for a rest.

And there, sadly, he fell off his perch. Perhaps overcome by fumes from the fire below, he died – with a vital coded message in a tiny capsule still strapped to his leg.
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~n/t~ said:

Wow. They even have a picture of the bird's skeletal foot holding the message. :what:

Do you think the story is true or a hoax?

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Kimster said:

David Martin, 74, found the bird's remains while renovating a unused fireplace at his Surrey home not far from the wartime headquarters of Gen. Bernard Montgomery, the Daily Mail writes. The British commander planned the D-Day invasion at a hotel in nearby Reigate.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/01/world-war-ii-carrier-pigeon-surrey_n_2057149.html

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lizzybeth said:

It still amazes me that pigeons were trusted with these top secret missions. And this one would have probably finished his mission if not overcome with fumes. What brave birds. They must be more intelligent then most people give them credit for.

When I was young we would go downtown and I loved to watch the pigeons walk along the sidewalk. I still think they're beautiful birds. Of course I don't have to clean up after them.

Thanks for posting this. I'm anxious to find out what the coded message is.

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What was originally thought to be an unbreakable code has now been partially cracked using a First World War artillery code book.

Weston resident Mr Neville Walbridge said: “I thought someone would come up with it sooner or later.

“After the war all the code books at Bletchley Park and the computers had to be destroyed. We accepted that. But I thought there would be a way to do it.”
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