Birds of war

SIR – Along with the MI5 unit responsible for taking down peregrine falcons on the coast (report, June 1), the Royal Observer Corps was officially involved in monitoring wartime carrier pigeons. Its Operation Order No 33, dated July 1943, tasked the corps with reporting all carrier pigeons leaving our shores. In this way, their points of origin and hopefully the German agents dispatching them could traced.

This order, finally withdrawn in December 1944, specified that each report of a carrier pigeon was to include a grid reference, the direction of flight, the number of pigeons and their height above sea. A report headed “carrier pigeon doubtful” could be submitted where the bird’s identity was not certain.

Neville Cullingford

Eastleigh, Hampshire