Secret pigeon service : Operation Columba, resistance and the struggle to liberate occupied Europe

Columba is an original piece of investigation, bringing a brand new meaning to 'air force'. Corera uses declassified files with original reporting from across Europe and pays homage to the families of those who risked their lives to send back messages, melding the human stories with the wider story of the war. Everyone has heard of MI5 and MI6. Some may even have heard of MI9 which helped downed airmen escape in World War II. But few will know of MI14(d) – the 'Special Pigeon Service'. From 1941 though 1944, sixteen thousand pigeons were dropped in an arc from Bordeaux in Southern France to Copenhagen in Denmark as part of 'Columba' – a secret British operation to bring back intelligence from those living under Nazi occupation. In a war that began with Blitzkrieg and ended with the atom bomb, pigeons had a unique place in intelligence. Long before Twitter, social media and modern communications technology, the near-miraculous ability of trained pigeons to return to their home loft... Between 1941 And 1944, Sixteen Thousand Pigeons Were Dropped In An Arc From Bordeaux To Copenhagen As Part Of 'columba' - A Secret British Operation To Bring Back Intelligence From Those Living Under Nazi Occupation. The Messages Flooded Back Written On Tiny Pieces Of Rice Paper Tucked Into A Canister And Tied To The Legs Of The Birds - Authentic Voices From Rural France, Holland, Belgium - Sometimes Comic, Often Tragic And Occasionally Invaluable With Details Of German Troop Movements And Fortifications, New Nazi Weapons, Radar Systems Or The Deployment Of The V-1 And V-2 Rockets That Terrorized London. Who Were The People Who Provided This Rich Seam Of Intelligence? Many Were Not Trained Agents Nor People With Experience Of Spying. At The Centre Of This Book Is The 'leopold Vindictive' Network - A Small Group Of Belgian Villagers Prepared To Take Huge Risks. They Were Led By An Extraordinary Priest, Josef Raskin - A Man Connected To Royalty And Whose Intelligence Was So Valuable It Was Shown To Churchill, Leading Mi6 To Parachute Agents To Assist Him. A Powerful And Tragic Tale Of Espionage, The Book Brings Together The British And Belgian Sides Of Leopold Vindictive's Story And Reveals For The First Time The Wider History Of A Quirky, Quarrelsome Band Of Spy Masters And Their Special Wartime Operations As Well As How Bitter Rivalries In London Placed The Lives Of Secret Agents At Risk. It Is A Book Not So Much About Pigeons As The Remarkable People Living Trapped In Occupied Europe Who Were Faced With The Choice Of How To Respond To A Call For Help, And Took The Decision To Resist -- Prologue -- Introduction -- 1. Birth -- 2. The Special Pigeon Service -- 3. Leopold Vindictive -- 4. Arrival -- 5. Listening -- 6. Battle Of The Skies -- 7. Reaching Out -- 8. Resistance -- 9. Secret Agents -- 10. Undercover -- 11. Battle Of The Skies Ii -- 12. Capture -- 13. Interrogation And Infiltration -- 14. The Viscount -- 15. Trials And Tribulations -- 16. Deceptioon -- 17. The Americans Are Coming -- 18 Fates. Gordon Corera. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 289-311) And Index. Gordon Corera uses declassified documents and extensive original research to tell the story of MI14(d) and the Secret Pigeon Service for the first time. 'This is an amazing story' Simon Mayo, BBC Radio 2 Between 1941 and 1944, sixteen thousand plucky homing pigeons were dropped in an arc from Bordeaux to Copenhagen as part of 'Columba' – a secret British operation to bring back intelligence from those living under Nazi occupation. The messages flooded back written on tiny pieces of rice paper tucked into canisters and tied to the legs of the birds. Authentic voices from rural France, the Netherlands and Belgium – they were sometimes comic, often tragic and occasionally invaluable with details of German troop movements and fortifications, new Nazi weapons, radar system or the deployment of the feared V-1 and V-2 rockets that terrorized London. Who were the people who provided this rich seam of intelligence? Many were not trained agents nor, with a few exceptions, people with any experience of spying. At the centre of this book is the 'Leopold Vindictive' network – a small group of Belgian villagers prepared to take huge risks. They were led by an extraordinary priest, Joseph Raskin – a man connected to royalty and whose intelligence was so valuable it was shown to Churchill, leading MI6 to parachute agents in to assist him. A powerful and tragic tale of wartime espionage, the book brings together the British and Belgian sides of the Leopold Vindictive's story and reveals for the first time the wider history of a quirky, quarrelsome band of spy masters and their special wartime operations, as well as how bitter rivalries in London placed the lives of secret agents at risk. It is a book not so much about pigeons as the remarkable people living in occupied Europe who were faced with the choice of how to respond to a call for help, and took the decision to resist. Between 1941 and 1944, sixteen thousand pigeons were dropped in an arc from Bordeaux to Copenhagen as part of 'Columba' - a secret British operation to bring back intelligence from those living under Nazi occupation. The messages flooded back written on tiny pieces of rice paper tucked into a canister and tied to the legs of the birds - authentic voices from rural France, Holland, Belgium - sometimes comic, often tragic and occasionally invaluable with details of German troop movements and fortifications, new Nazi weapons, radar systems or the deployment of the V-1 and V-2 rockets that terrorized London. Who were the people who provided this rich seam of intelligence? Many were not trained agents nor people with experience of spying. At the centre of this book is the 'Leopold Vindictive' network - a small group of Belgian villagers prepared to take huge risks. They were led by an extraordinary priest, Josef Raskin - a man connected to royalty and whose intelligence was so valuable it was shown to Churchill, leading MI6 to parachute agents to assist him. A powerful and tragic tale of espionage, the book brings together the British and Belgian sides of Leopold Vindictive's story and reveals for the first time the wider history of a quirky, quarrelsome band of spy masters and their special wartime operations as well as how bitter rivalries in London placed the lives of secret agents at risk. It is a book not so much about pigeons as the remarkable people living trapped in occupied Europe who were faced with the choice of how to respond to a call for help, and took the decision to resist -- Source other than Library of Congress