William of Orange was a male war pigeon of British military intelligence service MI14. He was awarded the 21st Dickin Medal for delivering a message from the Arnhem Airborne Operation. This message saved more than 2000 soldiers at the time of the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944. His official name in military record is NPS.42.NS.15125. He received the Dickin Medal in May 1945.[1]
Pigeon William of Orange
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 19 September 1944 and arrived at his nest box in England at 14:55. He flew over 400 km (250 mi) and the message he carried was one of few to make their way back to the 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. Smith bought him out of service for £185 and ten years later reported that William was "the grandfather of many outstanding racing pigeons".[2]
william, orange, pigeon, william, orange, male, pigeon, british, military, intelligence, service, mi14, awarded, 21st, dickin, medal, delivering, message, from, arnhem, airborne, operation, this, message, saved, more, than, 2000, soldiers, time, battle, arnhem. William of Orange was a male war pigeon of British military intelligence service MI14 He was awarded the 21st Dickin Medal for delivering a message from the Arnhem Airborne Operation This message saved more than 2000 soldiers at the time of the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944 His official name in military record is NPS 42 NS 15125 He received the Dickin Medal in May 1945 1 Pigeon William of Orange 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 19 September 1944 and arrived at his nest box in England at 14 55 He flew over 400 km 250 mi and the message he carried was one of few to make their way back to the 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 Smith bought him out of service for 185 and ten years later reported that William was the grandfather of many outstanding racing pigeons 2 See also EditList of individual birdsReferences Edit Record of Dickin Medal recipients People s Dispensary for Sick Animals 2008 01 09 Archived from the original on 2008 04 11 Retrieved 2008 07 15 How pigeon William of Orange won the animal VC 2004 08 08 Archived from the original on 2009 07 07 Retrieved 2008 07 15 This Columbiformes related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William of Orange pigeon amp oldid 1125795784, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
