A carrier pigeon being released from a port-hole in the side of a tank near Albert, 9 August 1918. It’s a Mark V tank of the 10th Battalion, Tank Corps attached to the III Corps during the Battle of Amiens. #CarrierPigeons #BirdofPeaceCarrier pigeons were used extensively during the First World War to relay messages over distances at relative speed and astonishing reliability.Man-made communication devices were still largely un-reliable and crude at the time and as a result the duty of delivering news was pasted down to message runners, dogs and pigeons.Pigeons excelled were runners could not. The job of a runner during the First World War was exceptionally dangerous as it required the soldier to leave his cover and run, often completely exposed to the enemy lines, between trenches. The fatality rates of runners were extremely high and there was little guarantee of messages reaching their intended destinations or knowing if they had if they did.The small size of pigeons combined with their fast speed made them almost impossible for marksmen to shoot out of the sky, as a result birds of prey were often fielded by the enemy forces who let nature play out between the two.After the introduction of tanks in the First World War, crews were equipped with a number of carrier pigeons as a means of keeping in touch with the outside world and relaying their position to friendly forces.(Source – © IWM Q 9247)(Colourised by Joshua Barrett from the UK)https://www.facebook.com/pages/Painting-The-Past/891949734182777?fref=ts
