Secret Pigeon Service: Operation Columba, Resistance and the Struggle to Liberate Europe

by Gordon Corera

Pigeons were still in use during the Second World War to carry messages from planes and battlefields but Operation Columba set them to work in a more ambitious project gathering intelligence across Nazi-occupied Europe. BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera tells the recently declassified story of the thousands of birds released over Holland, Belgium and France and assesses the value of the information they brought home.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Birds, War, Audiobook, Military Fiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published February 22, 2018

About the author

Gordon Corera is a British journalist. He is the Security Correspondent for the BBC.

Reviews

[☮Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The secret pigeon service used during WWII was something I had heard very little about. But I was keen to know more, for sure. I found these little guys amazing, how you can carry them blindfolded hundreds of miles from their home, and they will find their way back, quickly and efficiently.

They were used successfully in WWI to carry messages, and it was decided to try them again in Nazi occupied Belgium. Air dropped with little parachutes attached, they would float down to farm fields and meadows, to be found by civilians and then hopefully set off home again with some sort of secret message attached to the legs, attached by a citizen willing to risk his or her life by providing information about the Germans that they might have learned by chance.

So the birds could not have done what they did without the people, and some of the people turned themselves into amateur spies for the resistance. They made a choice to act when faced with tyranny. Many did not; some actually turned the pigeons in to the Germans, or ate them for dinner. It was quite fascinating. But only for awhile. Unfortunately, way too many people were introduced and lots of facts. When the pigeons were no longer center stage, my interest waned.

An ARC from LibraryThing.

[Christine Barth · Rating 3 out of 5]

What?! Using pigeons as spies, how could you not read this? But seriously, this is something I never would have picked up without working in a public library, where people ask for all kinds of things. Corera does an excellent job of providing excellent history with a specific personal story intertwined. Funny, tragic and shocking. I didn't really need to know this much about pigeons but I am glad I picked up the book.

[Harry Buckle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Given the passing of the years, the thousands of books, films and TV coverage devoted to the Second World War it is quite surprising that Gordon Corera has come up with a new fact filled book on a less than well known aspect of the conflict. Not only that but it's (generally) a 'ripping yarn.' As ever his immaculate reportage clear and concise. Now and again it 'goes on a bit' with considerable 'background' and 'situation at the time', but whereas I therefor skimmed through a few pages of that detail, for those who know less than I about the overall conflict, on checking through this evening , I think they are well placed and vital to the overall picture. Highly recommended- as a good read, and with it's Carera quality research, source notes and indexing it's a valuable contribution to the record of the times. In the kindle version - where illustrations are not usually a strong point, even the map and photo's were reasonably useful / clear...and they were much needed as part of the story had focussed so much on the personalities and participants. For them, not did we benefit from their bravery but also their skill in micro design and writing so that the Pigeons could carry vital news or information back to their home bases - often, huge distances through inclement weather and all the enemy could throw at them. I did note in the long list of 'thanks' credits, information received, a Mr Pidgeon was listed. Hope he got a free copy.

[Rachel Merryweather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not going to say I was on the edge of my seat or anything (turns out there’s quite a lot of *waiting* in espionage and resistance) but I did come away with a fondness for pigeons I wasn’t expecting.

The middle part was pretty dry, but the first and last thirds were fantastic. So much heart and humor!

[Channing Brooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was incredibly informative. The first half of the book was absolutely gripping and action packed. I couldn’t put it down. Unfortunately the suspense ended and I struggled to push through the remaining 185 pages. They were just as well written as the first half of the book, but they were also quite dense. I would recommend it as it really does explore a little known element of world war 2 espionage, but if you’re looking for a thrilling page turner you might be better to put this one to the side for another day and time.

[Debbi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew nothing about this, and appreciated how thorough this was. It got bogged down at times though. I did learn a lot about this and grew to admire the pigeons and people who risked so much to help in the war.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not enough pigeons.

[J.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the British had been run off the continent in the early part of WWII, they feared a cross-channel invasion by the Germans. But they had no spies in place and no way to know what was going on or where the Germans might be massing troops. An idea was tried where planes dropped pigeons in Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. Locals who found the pigeons were asked to report the observations to a series of question, attached the message to a container on the pigeon's leg, and release it. And some of those birds that made it back to England had useful information - some even had very detailed and essential information that helped the British know where to drop bombs.

Although a lot of pigeons were eaten by the starving people or turned over to the Germans by those too afraid to risk their own safety, one who risked everything was a Catholic priest named Joseph Raskin. He and several friends compiled very detailed information showing locations of troops and radar installations, then using a magnifying glass they crammed as much information onto the tiny sheets of rice paper as they could manage. They called themselves Leopold Vindictive, and begged for more birds.

This is a very interesting story of Operation Columba, the attempt to use homing pigeons to gather information behind German lines. It covers the development of MI14(d) and the branches who attempted to use pigeons in such a service, as well as the Leopold Vindictive network and a few others. The operation wasn't a massive success - over 17,000 pigeons were used, and not all of the 1,000 messages that were sent back were useful - but it did help to direct the British in their efforts, not all of which were successful or helpful. And unfortunately, some who dared to send back information paid with their lives for their acts of resistance. The story is interesting, although it begins to lag somewhat towards the end, but I thought it was a worthwhile read. (I rec'd an advance copy from the publisher.)

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating look into a little known part of WW2! Additionally it's such a broad scope of personal stories, resistance, global politics, animal history, and just generally accessible and narrative writing. Such a pleasure!

[anklecemetery · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to find new approaches to WWII nonfiction, but this is spectacular (I listened to the audiobook, which I highly recommend, but make sure to check the print copy so you can see the pictures). I was amazed and enthralled--it's a delightful mix of "ridiculous hobbies that have a brief tenure of importance" and "deeply human attempts to fix what is unfixable." I liked this book so much that I created an impromptu discussion club by making both of my parents read it. It was poignant and made me wonder about how the course of the war could have changed...if only there had been more pigeons.

[Jeimy · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I saw this book a few months ago at the National Army Museum in London, I had not idea that I would become so engrossed in the central narrative that I would forget that it was a school night and blew past my bedtime, finishing the book in one sitting.

As a young girl, my cousin and his friends tried their hand at raising homing pigeons and since then I have been fascinated by not just homing pigeons, but racing pigeons as well. However, I was not aware of the missive that inspired the author to research this story which is why I found it riveting.

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrilling and appropriately reverent. I am glad to have had this corner of history so illumined.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The racing of pigeons started in the early 1800's in Belgium and with the selective breeding of fanciers, the range increased from 40 miles to eventually nearly 600 miles.

Operation Columba (which is the genus name for a number of pigeon species) was active from April 1941 through September 1944 and utilized 16, 554 birds supplied by pigeon breeders and racers throughout England. Some were lost when the planes transporting them went down. The parachuted cages that kept them together during their drop may have never been found. Some were exchanged for a Nazi reward or even became dinner for starving locals. Yet some were found and released and never made it home - crossing the channel, storms, predatory hawks or even shot down by Nazi snipers.

But some did make it 'home' with their messages. Of Nazi plans. Of weapons emplacements, from crashed pilots to merely providing unique insight into the reality of life in Nazi occupied Belgium, France and Netherlands.

There is a great deal of focus on message 37 from Leopold Vindictive 200 in Belgium - the people involved, their continued attempts to get more pigeons - to relay massive amounts of information- their attempts at name changes to protect their ruler, and eventually the captive of several members as well as members from other espionage groups and their fates.

Then there is the infighting between the Air Ministry, Columba, the NPS (National Pigeon Service, MI5, MI6, MI14(d), SOE (Special Operations Executive). It's amazing that anything actually got done as departments vied for control as well as restricting any information discovered. Then there were the bird fanciers groups that were upset by the massive losses they suffered as many of their birds never returned and more kept being requested.

It really was an interesting page in World War II that doesn't get much notice. Pigeons were later used for communication in Italy and North Africa as the Allies worked to reclaim Europe from the Axis powers.

For the devotee of the second world war, especially the European theater, it's a definite read as pigeons managed to play a significant role.

2022-065

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fascinating story, and something I knew very little about. I would imagine that anyone who grew up with James bond stories or movies, or any espionage stories, would enjoy reading about the true-life espionage efforts during WWII using pigeons to glean information on enemy positions, tactics, progress, morale, etc. Columba was in operation for almost four years, using over 16,000 pigeons. The story was fascinating - and besides the information obtained, it was also interesting to note all the opportunities missed! Backbiting between different "secret" departments was amazing. And it really makes a person appreciate the sacrifice various people in the resistance made to actually gather information and send it back on the legs of pigeons! As the author stated, "The campaign encouraged ordinary people to feel they could resist, even if only in a small way."
Only 1/10 birds sent out made it back alive. At times the information was repetitious, but to me, the overall effect was so good that I overlooked that. I appreciated the photos used, too!

[Jo-Ann Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fascinating but sad story. I had NO IDEA pigeons had played a role in World War II or other war for that matter. In all the books and films I have seen animals have rarely been mentioned and never pigeons.

The risks people in war are willing to take is inspiring. The detail Leopold Vindictive was able to cram into such a small space is amazing and the failure of government departments who are more interested in ego than their country's well being is disgusting.

Using pigeons to transmit intelligence about troop movements and enemy operations is definitely a subject that should receive more coverage.

This is a well written narrative that really draws the reader in. The question at the end about whether the cost of the choices made to both the animals and humans was worth it is easy to answer when looking at the world view but harder to answer at a personal level.

[Melinda Borda · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are so many books written about WWII, and it's not often that a book about WWII keeps my attention. Yet this one was so interesting!

I had no idea that carrier pigeons were used during the second world war. During the war, the British intelligence agencies dropped carrier pigeons in Nazi occupied companies along with sheets of small rice paper so that people could send important information back to the Allies. This book follows the heroic actions of the men and women on the ground who spied on the Nazi occupiers and risked their lives to send intelligence back to the Allies.

This book is a fascinating look into a lesser known piece of history.

[Al Berry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book on the uses of pigeons by the allies to Communicate with resistance forces during world war 2, my favorite anecdote was that they had to stop using Australian pilots from dropping off the pigeons over occupied territory as the Australians kept eating some of the Cargo.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who knew pigeons were used so extensively throughout WWII by both sides and in so many countries!

[Liam Ragan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Came in with mid expectations and was really impressed. Thoroughly researched and well grounded in the lives of the people who lived through the war. Ended up being surprisingly emotional towards the end. Would highly recommend.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gordon Corera, a BBC correspondent, happened upon a trove of World War II-era files that detailed a relatively unknown pigeon service that relied on the homing ability of the birds to carry messages from occupied Europe back to Britain. Operation Columba is the result of his find, and subsequent research.

Essentially, the British security (espionage) services, devised a plan to drop pigeons into Europe and then request those who found the birds to complete surveys about the German occupation, clarity of BBC reception, and a host of other factors and then release the pigeons for the return to Britain.If only it were that easy. The bird might not survive the initial drop, or might be turned into the Germans, or might be devoured by the starving populace, or might become a hawk's dinner on the return flight to Britain. And even if it made it, the intelligence might be worthless, or might have fallen out along the way, or, or, or. Yet, one of these messages returned such a trove of intelligence as to be shown to Churchill himself.

I found the most troublesome aspect of the history to be the hope that it inspired in the Belgians, particular those whose christened themselves the Leopold Vindictive, which simply could not be realized. As Corera explains, it wasn't as simple as being able to deliver a pigeon on command (see the reasons above!), but the Belgians could not know that and some risked - and lost - everything in a desperate bid to contact London. Whether the British had considered such possibilities is unknown and unknowable, but I couldn't help but feel that to a certain extent the British were "using" those in occupied Europe, even if their intentions were noble.

Operation Columba: The Secret Pigeon Service is not at all a bad book. It simply suffers from being of the exact same genre as The Winter Fortress and, in comparison, pales a bit. The action wasn't quite as fast, and the intrigue wasn't quite as high.

[Julian Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A supremely oddball slice of the war - perhaps more obvious when you look back on it, but highly speculative at the time.

Masterfully told, from top secret files, this tale reveals the history of one of the stranger elements of Military Intelligence, the characters involved and the heroic acts of bravery which the service inspired from those under occupation.

A superb read.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess closer to 2.5 - I'm on the line between "it's okay" and thinking it deserves more because I probably learned something.

I suppose it's hard to discuss the pigeon service without explaining the intertwining of the various MIs and projects but the result is an awful lot more about the resistance and strategy than about the pigeon service. It starts out strong but really bogs down in the middle with a lot of minutiae - names and dates seem to take up pages before they connect.

There's a lot of research here and this is probably a great read for historians interested in WW2 and looking for less-known details and stories but I found it a little dry.

[Ann Frost · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting but not what I imagined it to be. There were not nearly enough pigeon flights in it to warrant the title, I didn't think. There was a very important briefing that got sent out from Belgium by pigeon to Britain and that was cool. But then all the Belgians who were involved get captured and killed. And very few pigeons after that get through back to Britain. So it was kind of a bummer. But there was interesting stuff about the resistance in Belgium during this period, which I knew nothing about before.

[Jennifer Shapiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

At times I was tempted to only give 2 stars - fascinating part of history I had no idea about and maybe even more so the counter intelligence and counter counter intelligence involved with the use of pigeons on both sides of war between the British the Germans and those in occupied France and Belgium and then even the US when it joined in. Think I was hoping for/would have enjoyed more if more of a historical fiction - but after the first 50 pages or so - too much of it read like a random list of regurgitated details that didn’t flow or connect and became hard to follow.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out interestingly, but then dissolve into a confusing string of names and events.

[Ken Childress · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book, but I had a hard time finishing it.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een fascinerend verhaal over het gebruik van postduiven tijdens WOII. Engelse postduiven werden over the Lage Landen en Frankrijk gedropt, in de hoop dat locale verzetslieden ze zouden vinden en de vragenlijst die in het potenkokertje verstopt zat, zouden invullen, alvorens de duiven terug los te laten en naar hun til in Engeland te laten vliegen. Het rendement van deze benadering van het probleem van locale spionage was laag, omwille van het gevaar van het losdroppen, de honger van de locale bevolking die wel eens een duifje in de pot wou steken, de vrees voor de bezetter, en de natuurlijke vijanden van de duif (nl. havikken). Maar af en toe kwam er toch een duifje terug met kersverse informatie. In een geval was de toevallige vondst van zo'n duif zelfs de aanstoot voor de vorming van een verzetskring. De boer die in Lichtervelde een duifje vond en ze naar de locale duivenmelker bracht, zette een ketting van acties en reacties in gang die jaren later tragisch zou aflopen. De duivenmelker, Michael Debaillie, haalde er een familievriend bij, de priester Joseph Raskin. Diens ervaring als tekenaar, en zijn vrije bewegingsmogelijkheid in het bezette Belgie, maakten van hem een ideale spion. Een eerste berichtje, met nauwgezette tekeningen en uitleg, kwam zonder probleem in Engeland toe. Maar ondanks herhaalde verzoeken, werden er geen nieuwe duiven afgezet, en ten einde raad moest de kersverse spionagering beroep doen op veel meer riskante communicatiemiddelen zoals radio-signalen en koeriers. En na verraad van een collaborateur is het voor de betrokkenen zeer tragisch afgelopen....


Het is een boeiend verhaal dat inzicht geeft in de vele manieren waarop de Geallieerden probeerden informatie uit de bezette gebieden te bekomen en hun invalsplannen voor te bereiden. Het verhaal van de families Raskin, Debaillie en Joyce illustreert ten overmate het gevaar dat alle dagen de bevolking van Belgie (en Nederland, and Frankrijk...) bedreigde.

Ik moet wel zeggen dat het boek slordig vertaald en getypografeerd is. Bv. "de laden van de barmeid"is waarschijnlijk een vertaling van " the bar maid's drawers", what m.i. eerder een allusie was op de "onderbroek" van de barmeid. En het woord "racket" werd vertaald als "raket" (als in V1), maar zou best kunnen gebruikt geweest zijn als "bedriegerij". De punctuatie is ook vreemd en het boek staat vol typfouten. Jammer!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really excited to read this book, because I've always been interested in the use of pigeons in the world wars. You can certainly learn a lot about pigeons in war from this book, and it is packed with lots of interesting facts - about pigeon politics, about the difference uses of pigeons by the British army and the Nazis. It's also well-written and does a good job of balancing the sometimes absurdity of pigeon intelligence with the very real human cost of the war and intelligence operations.

However, I don't think the author really wanted to write a book about pigeons! I think he wanted to write a book about Joseph Raskin and Leopold Vindictive, the group of friends who collected intelligence in Belgium. I understand the impulse - their story is compelling, and heart-breaking, and Joseph Raskin as clearly a fascinating figure. But I felt like the book went very off track its central story in the middle, leaving pigeons behind to exclusively focus on Leopold Vindictive and in the process kind of sacrificing a lot of opportunities to flesh out the story of M14d, pigeon politics and the civilian pigeon keepers. Which was a shame! I left the book wanting to know so much more about the average men and women who supplied their pigeons without even knowing what they were used for; and the women who took over their husbands' lofts while their husbands went to fight; and Melland and Sanderson in M14D.

It could also be very hard to keep track of everyone with so many people and agencies involved! There's a Page AND a Lepage. It would have been really helpful to have some kind of schematic laying out who was involved with which agency when.

Overall, this is a solid book but I think meant more for people interested in secret service nitty-gritty politics and the story of Leopold Vindictive/the Belgium resistance, rather than someone looking for a book on pigeons and their people.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

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 center 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. It is a book about standing for freedom.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating narrative! I received a copy of the book Operation Columba from my daughter. Otherwise, I would not have known about this incredible piece of WII history. But my daughter knew of my keen interest in WWII history, in animals in general, and in birds in particular. This book combined them all, grabbed my attention from the outset, and never let go until the final page (including Acknowledgements).
The only criticism I have is on the word-smithing front: the author, a journalist, used “most” instead of “almost” (e.g., most everyone in the town knew …). He also used “material” in place of “materiel” to describe military supplies. Neither is a big deal, but I would have expected a journalist to know the difference in both usages, and for his editor to catch the errors if the author did not. These issues might only detract from the book when read by a “grammar nerd.” Nonetheless, they appeared often enough that I found them distracting.
Otherwise, the book is an outstanding read: educational, certainly; entertaining; fascinating; infuriating (the politics involved in the program that hindered its success); heartwarming, as common citizens risked all for their country; and heartbreaking in the price some paid for their participation.
For those who want a fresh perspective on a familiar subject (WWII in Europe), this book is a must-read.