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Pigeons used in wars

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Animals in War

  • By Jilly Cooper
  • 2002  ISBN 1 58574 729 7
From ancient time's right up to today, all sorts of brave animals, including pigeons, have been drawn into the service of armed forces. Some are skilled specialists, such as homing pigeons, and mine sniffing dogs, while other has been our beasts of burden. They have all shown their incredible resilience. Jilly Cooper notes that this is not a pretty story, and how can it be. But yet her pages are filled with both sweet and comic stories of one who has true affection for all we have pressed into unthinkable service. This copy even brings us up to date informing us of the efforts dogs made in our behalf during the rescue work at the World Trade Center. Jilly tells their story.
$10 US  2002 printing 222pp Mint paperback no jacket. ISBN 1-58574-729-7
2000 English printed version
$11 Mint paperback no jacket, ISBN 0-552-99091-4

Cher Ami

  • By Marion Cothren
Now Cher Ami is a little pigeon in a big museum. Now this little gray pigeon with black-and-gray checkered wings stands all by himself in a tall, glass case in the National Museum in Washington. Surrounded by huge guns and war tanks, he looks strangely out of place, very, very small, and a bit pathetic too. One leg is gone and in the middle of the rumpled feathers on his breast there is a tiny wound. Yet his bright eyes, which day after day gaze out through his glass home, make you understand that once he winged his way, ever so swiftly and gaily, over the hilltops and through the valleys, quite close to the blue sky and feathery clouds. But you also know that he did much more than that. Cher Ami is there in the Museum because he is one of America's heroes, and this is his story
$85 First Edition 1934, excellent hardback without jacket.
$60 First Edition 1934, very good hardback without jacket.

Pigeon Heroes

  • By Marion Cothren
Pigeon Heroes cover Click to enlarge. Pigeon Heroes, Pigeons ready to deliver film. Click to enlarge. Pigeon Heroes, Frence Soldier with pigeon. Click to enlarge. Pigeon Heroes, Japanese Soldier with pigeon. space
This nice hardback copy of Pigeon Heroes is very nice for its age.  While hardback it is not an ex library copy, or at least if it was, there are no markings of any kind. The pages have started to tan somewhat due to age, but not foxing rips or tears.  A very nice copy of this difficult to find book
$90 Hardback,  very good but no jacket

Cher Ami

  • By Harry Webb Farrington
Click to enlarge. Cher Ami Harry Webb Farrington cover Click to enlarge. Cher Ami while yet alive There is another book with the title of Cher Ami that is not at all like Cothren's book and predates her book by that title by several years. Cher Ami must have been popular during the post war period. This is a book of poems that, of course, includes one of our favorite WWI pigeon Hero. In the authors own words "The majority of the poems in this collection have been published heretofore under the title of "Poems from France." The popularity of the carrier pigeon has led me to change the title and give it the new name of "Cher Ami."

This special and limited edition has been printed because both the fourth edition illustrated, and the "Selections" from it, have been exhausted. This collection contains a revision of some of the original poems, and the addition of several new ones.

It has been a source of deep gratification to know, after having addressed over a million and a half of the children of America in about four-fifths of the |: states, that many of these poems have found acceptance for their moral, spiritual, and patriotic values. Interesting to note, how little the "definition" of patriotism has changed so little over the ensuing years.

$20 Very good hardback without jacket. 1926 1st illustrated edition.

Airlift 1870

  • By John Fisher
Click to enlarge. Airlift 1870 Jacket Click to enlarge. Airlift hard cover Click to enlarge. Airlift Magic Latern Click to enlarge. Fisher balloon with pigeons It is ironic that in the first war in which the commander-in-chief of one side used mass propaganda as a serious weapon, Paris the capital of the opposing country was completely cut off from communication with the outside world.  But using an age old method of communications, the pigeon, married with the cutting edge technology developed there from the need, Paris found a way to communicate with the outside world.  
For almost four months from September 1870 to January 1871 during which Paris was besieged by the Prussian army, and Bismarck and his aides poured out misleading information to lower the morale of Frenchmen, a small band of men were able to use what had till then been a hobby or a means of entertainment in the service of their country.

Had it not been for the promptness of the balloonists of Paris to realize that they alone had the sure means to escape from the besieged city, and to put themselves at the disposal of the Government, the break in communication with the rest of France - and in particular with those responsible for the remaining war effort -would have been complete. Soon, however, balloonists were leaving almost daily, carrying over the very heads of the Prussian army not only passengers - some of them very important - and letters but also the racing pigeons which were to supply the vital link in the return direction.

The intriguing story of the balloon and pigeon post in the siege of Paris is graphically related here and gives a fascinating insight into an unusual aspect of nineteenth-century warfare.

 $15 1965 1st Edition excellent hardback with good jacket

From Pigeons to People

  • By Elizabeth Hall
So you thought pigeons were dumb?  Elizabeth Hall, author of the highly successful Why We Do What We Do, has written a lucid, lively introduction to the subject of behavior modification. Taking a balanced approach to a controversial area of psychology, she explains its history, development, and application.  She covers how pigeons were taught to identify imperfect pill better than people, and through the book we learn just how much we learned about us from pigeons and other animals. She covers the beginning with B. F. Skinner's now famous experiments with pigeons, she shows how pigeons were trained by instant reward, or positive reinforcement, to guide missiles before the invention of radar. She tells of dozens of fascinating experiments where the principles of behavior modification have been used to effect a variety of changes from curing pets of their bad habits to helping children get better reactions from their teachers. She even shows how individuals can apply these principles to themselves, thus getting rid of their own bad habits - such as smoking or overeating -or developing good ones-such as learning how to concentrate or to study.  I can't verify this personally because there are no bad habits I wish to rid myself of.

From Pigeons to People displays the same clarity of thinking, readability, and accuracy that caused Why We Do What We Do to receive an Honorable Mention in the book' category of the 1974 National Media Awards of The American Psychological Foundation. 1974 National Media Awards of the American Psychological Foundation, Honorable Mention. "A straightforward, holding introduction to areas studied in modern psychology." Booklist "A very good overview of psychological processes and animal behavior clarified by descriptions of experimental research . . . includes chapters on motivation, emotions, learning, memory, thinking, and personality."

"Lively, lucid, and learnable." Journal of Biological Psychology.

$10 1975 Very good hardback, no dust jacket. ISBN 0-395-21894-2

Pigeon to Packhorse

  • By Alan Harfield
Click to enlarge. Pigeon to Packhorse cover Click to enlarge. Harfield horse drawn pigeon loft Click to enlarge. Click to enlarge. Harfield William of Orange The story of the the use of animals in the British & Indian Armies in signals & communications. Information drawn from the archives of the Royal Signals Museum on the Telegraph Troop, camels & communications, messenger dogs, the pigeon service, mules, elephants & horses. Contains some line drawings from the 1937 Manual of Horsemastership, Equitation & Animal Transport, & some others from the Manual of Instruction for the use of homing pigeons in India & S E Asia. (Published: 1989) (Publisher: Picton Publishing Ltd.) (ISBN: 0948251425) (Pagination: viii + 114pp, 107 photos and line drawings etc, 3 maps and diagrams
$42 Mint hardback 1st 1989, no jacket

Feathered Heroes

  • By Walter Harter
Click to enlarge. Feathered Heroes jacket cover. Click to enlarge. Feathered Heroes Frence mobile loft. Click to enlarge. Feathered Heroes GI Joe. Click to enlarge. Feathered Heroes Caesar. Feather Heroes is the story of pigeons from the time of the Egyptian empire up to the present. Well ,WWII. The first edition was published in 1968 as a hard back with 127pp. But it covers more than just military aspects of these feathered athletes, proving insight into the sport pigeon racing as well as the hobby of pigeon breeding and showing.
 $31 First edition, very good hardback with good jacket.  Does have library discard stamps.

The Pigeons that went to War

  • By Gordon Hayes
Picture not yet available
Looking for a copy. Do you have one you can let go?

Silent Heroes: The Bravery & Devotion of Animals in War

  • By Evelyn Le Chene
Click to enlarge. Silent Heroes Jacket Click to enlarge. Silent Heroes cover Click to enlarge. Silent Heroes Carrier Baskets Click to enlarge. Silent Heroes Winke We learn about Winke and Cologne along with many other animals man has taken to war. These courageous animals are just some of the many commemorated in this warm and moving tribute to their outstanding bravery in action. Heedless of their own danger, they went beyond the bounds of training and duty to display selfless acts of devotion in wars that were not of their own making.
Evelyn Le Chene has delved deeply into the often elusive source material and where possible has talked to eyewitnesses to reveal many previously unrecorded details about these silent heroes of human wars over 140 years. Through diligent research she has unraveled the mystery of Rob, the collie who served with the SAS in North Africa and Italy and was awarded the Dickin Medal for bravery, but whose deeds are recorded only in his citation; and she was given exclusive access to classified intelligence service files, enabling her to reveal for the first time the key role played by pigeons in communication between Allied agents and French resistance workers.

The book places each animal's heroic deeds in the context of the battle or campaign concerned, and includes maps and a wealth of often rare archive photographs, many of which are published for the first

$48 Mint hardback with mint jacket.1997 edition

They Had No Choice: Racing Pigeons At War

  • By Gary McCafferty
Click to enlarge. They Had No Choice, cover. During both of the world wars of the last century, many unsung animal heroes played their unique part in the defense of their countries, despite having no choice in doing so. Pigeons were used for vital communications, to carry messages across Europe and the Middle East, in both of the conflicts. Indeed, over thirty of these remarkable birds were actually awarded what is considered the "Animal VC", the Dicken Medal.

This is a rousing history of pigeon fancying, and of the ware effort of the birds and their handlers. It is a beautifully illustrated work, with over fifty illustrations, from both professional archives and personal collections. The book features such inspiring stories as that of White Vision, a remarkable bird that flew for nine hours through a storm, from a ditched Coastal Command Catalina, carrying the location of its stranded crew back to its loft and ensuring the crew's safety.

$80 Excellent paperback with the exception that the corners have been bumped.

Courageous Couriers

  • By Jerome J. Pratt Lieutenant Colonel U.S.A. retired
Click to enlarge. Courageous Couriers, cover Click to enlarge. Courageous Couriers, author guarding loft.
$120 Very good paperback 136pp.  Would be excellent except for a couple of previous owner's signatures, and corners have been bumped a little

Animal Heroes

  • By Ernest Thompson Seton
Click to enlarge. Animal Heroes, cover. Click to enlarge. Animal Heroes, The Pirates in Ambush This first edition printed in 1905 is in very good condition.  There are no owner's inscriptions or similar marks.  The cover has faded with age some and the pages have started to tan. The pages were of the "uncut" variety so they are a bit rough on the side and bottom. The pigeon story is that of Arnaux. From the author's own words  "Arnaux is so nearly historical that several who knew the bird have supplied additional items of information.  The nest of the destroying Peregrines, with its owners and their young, is now to be seen in the American Museum of Natural History of New York. The Museum authorities inform me that Pigeon badges with the following numbers were found in the nest: 9970-8, 1696, u- 63, 77, J. F. 52, Ex. 705, 6-1894, C 20900. Perhaps some Pigeon-lover may learn from these lines the fate of one or other wonderful flier that has long been recorded " never returned."
$30 Hard back in very good condition without jacket.
Click to enlarge. Animal Heroes paperback reprint
$18 1987 paperback reprint in near excellent condition, but only very good because covers are scuffed

Signal Corps, U.S. Army Message Book M-210

From the first page of this original and mint message book for its age we find the following instructions.
  • 1. Preparation of at least two carbon copies is required, the original and one carbon. Copy to be delivered to the message center and the other carbon copy to be retained in the book (or writer's file.
  • 2. Print plainly. Print proper names (except signature and grade of writer) and code or cipher groups in CAPITALS.
  • 3. Write the message in as few words as possible. If the writer desires punctuation marks transmitted they must be spelled out, otherwise they will not be sent.
  • 4. Use only authorized abbreviations.
  • 5. If a classification in speed 01 handling other than routine is desired, print in CAPITALS the desired classification in the space indicated (examples: PRIORITY or URGENT).
  • 6. "No."-Enter the serial number given the message by the writer.
  • 7. "Date."-enter the date in the following order: Day, month, year (example:
  • 23 Feb42).
  • 8. "To."-Enter the official designation of the person addressed (example: CO 1st Inf). Add his actual location only when necessary to insure delivery. Do not use the telephone directory designations as addresses.
  • 9. "Official designation of sender."-Enter the official capacity in which the writer is serving (examples: "CO 1st Bn 1st Inf" or "Leader, Patrol No. 1").
  • 10. "Time signed."-must always be filled in as: for the 24-hour time system, 0135 or for the old 12-hour time system, 1:35 AM and for the 24-hour time system, 1445 or for the old 12-hour time system, 2:45 PM.
  • 11. In time of war or emergency, all messages to be transmitted by radio, or by other means when danger of hostile interception exists, are cryptographed unless authority to send in clear is given by the CO or his authorized representative. This authority must be indicated in lower left corner.
  • 12. "Signature and grade of writer."-Enter the personal signature of the writer of the message or of the person who may be authorized to write the message for him.
  • 13. There are in the back of this book tissue sheets for pigeon messages and tracing paper for sketches or tracings. 
$25 Mint for its age.  Complete, but the staples have rusted a bit.

Heroic Pigeons

  • By Arch Whitehouse
  • Published 1965
The sleek fighter planes of modern times are today's warriors with wings. While the electronic age has grounded the homing pigeon, the story of these undaunted couriers remains a part of our military history. Mission after mission these winged messengers have doggedly flown to their home base, sometimes responsible for the rescue of whole battalions.

Arch Whitehouse tells the story of the famous pigeon heroes-from GI Joe who saved the lives of 1,000 British troops at Colvi Vecchia to Cher Ami, famed World War I pigeon who rescued the Lost Battalion on October 4, 1918.

Decorated for their loyal and invaluable service, pigeons have received Purple Hearts and Croix de Guerre. As Arch Whitehouse weaves their flight history, the homing pigeons of yesterday become gallant birds, heroes in every meaning of the word.

$15 Very good hardback with  mylar jacket.  Has library stamps but not abused in any other way.

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