Dickin Medal Recipient. Mary was hatched in Exeter, just after the beginning of the Second World War, a carrier pigeon owned by Charlie Brewer, a shoemaker and pigeon fancier, who maintained a coop above his home behind the city wall. Mary joined the National Pigeon Service in 1940, service number 40.WCE.249, and was used to fly top secret information between London and Plymouth as well as from London to France. On one such mission, Mary escaped France with her neck and breast severely wounded after having been savaged by the hawks the Germans kept in the Pas de Calais for the purpose of intercepting carrier pigeons. She received 22 stitches upon her return and was back in action two months later. She delivered one message with one wing partly shot away and underwent a major operation to remove three pellets from her body upon her return home. In all she made four flights to occupied France, returning seriously injured each time. On her last return, shrapnel had damaged her neck muscles, but her owner made her a leather collar which held her head up and allowed her to function normally. At war's end Mary became one of 32 pigeons to receive the Dickin Medal for gallantry, also known as the VC for animals. On 20 November 1945 Mary received her medal from Sir James Ross of the Air Ministry "...for outstanding endurance on war service in spite of wounds." In 2003 The Lord Mayor of Exeter unveiled a plaque in Mary's honor at Exeter's Northernhay Gardens.
Dickin Medal Recipient. Mary was hatched in Exeter, just after the beginning of the Second World War, a carrier pigeon owned by Charlie Brewer, a shoemaker and pigeon fancier, who maintained a coop above his home behind the city wall. Mary joined the National Pigeon Service in 1940, service number 40.WCE.249, and was used to fly top secret information between London and Plymouth as well as from London to France. On one such mission, Mary escaped France with her neck and breast severely wounded after having been savaged by the hawks the Germans kept in the Pas de Calais for the purpose of intercepting carrier pigeons. She received 22 stitches upon her return and was back in action two months later. She delivered one message with one wing partly shot away and underwent a major operation to remove three pellets from her body upon her return home. In all she made four flights to occupied France, returning seriously injured each time. On her last return, shrapnel had damaged her neck muscles, but her owner made her a leather collar which held her head up and allowed her to function normally. At war's end Mary became one of 32 pigeons to receive the Dickin Medal for gallantry, also known as the VC for animals. On 20 November 1945 Mary received her medal from Sir James Ross of the Air Ministry "...for outstanding endurance on war service in spite of wounds." In 2003 The Lord Mayor of Exeter unveiled a plaque in Mary's honor at Exeter's Northernhay Gardens.
Inscription
Mary of Exeter
Awarded Dickin Medal
For Outstanding War Service
1940 - 1945
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
