William of Orange was a name of a male pigeon soldier from MID the 14 (secret service of the Britain pigeons). It became a hero, rewarded with Dickin Medal, when it made it possible by his courage to deliver a message from the Arnhem Airborne Operation. This message saved more than 2000 soldiers combined at the time of the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944. Its official name in military record is NPS.42.NS.15125. It received the medal in May 1945.[1] It was the 21st recipient of the medal. Communications in that battle were a problem for the Allied units; German troops had surrounded the airborne forces and the few radio sets present malfunctioned. William of Orange was released by British soldiers at 10:30 on September 19, 1944 and arrived at its nest box in England at 14:55. It flew over 250 miles and the message it carried was one of few messages to make their way back to United Kingdom. William of Orange was bred by Sir William Proctor Smith of Cheshire and trained by the Army Pigeon Service of the Royal Signals. Sir Smith bought it out of service for £185 and ten years later Sir Smith reported that William was "the grandfather of many outstanding racing pigeons".[2]
References
- ^ http://www.pdsa.org.uk/page309_3.html Record of Dickin Medal recipients
- ^ http://www.army.mod.uk/royalsignalsmuseum/relatedsites/recent_articles.htm UK Royal Signals website
