Pigeon Post's WW2 pigeon homework

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There is nothing better for cheering me up after a truly awful week than a stroke of luck - or was it merely a coincidence?

The reason I called this blog Pigeon Post is that during World War 2, a prize-winning pigeon loft at 18 Doods Road, Reigate was commandeered for the war effort. Reigate was the Battle HQ for South Eastern Command, headed by the military VIP, General Montgomery.

For my talks on Churchill's Secret Reigate, I always feature the role of these pigeons because it just goes to show how small creatures and small messages can make all the difference if they are delivered safely - and sometimes with great bravery. I have even suggested to the Council of the Reigate Society that they should be commemorated somehow locally, but they seemed to think it was a silly idea. Oh well it's their loss - our next-door ancient market town, Dorking, commemorates a flipping chicken on its main Deepdene roundabout, just where Churchill used to stay as a teenager.

I knew that the Dickin Medal had been awarded to at least one of Mr Blasby's Reigate pigeons. This is the equivalent of a Victoria Cross for animals! In total, 32 pigeons were awarded the Dickin Medal for their magnificent wartime work. Oh, how I would have liked to find out more - like their specific names, and which one did what. I guess that they had a key role in the D Day landings since these were secretly planned by Monty's army staff on a massive scale. I think it is an inspiring story.

So it was a great delight to go to Bletchley Park on Sunday - my birthday - and at the last minute to find a whole roomful of exhibits in code-breaker Alan Turing's Hut 8 - devoted to the role of pigeons in war! I shall have to go again sometime in warmer weather, and allocate an hour or so to view those exhibits in detail.

How strange that this morning, only 6 days later, when Dave my window cleaner and his friend Malcolm turned up about some household repairs - what should the guttering man do as a hobby but breed racing pigeons! So he is going to lend me a book.

And just as a bit of light relief from the ugliness and deceptions of this corrupt, sad world, I am now eagerly awaiting a DVD called "Valiant". It has only cost me one penny and it's the story of one of those splendid D Day pigeons - as a British-made cartoon. I hope that will be fun.

PS It was. I recommend it to schoolchildren needing to learn about World War 2 without any books or study skills.

Churchill's Secret Reigate photobook

I am getting ready for my 2nd lecture about 'Churchill's Secret Reigate' next Saturday. Over 100 people have reserved free virtual tickets and there are limited spaces with good visibility.
This will be videoed fortunately, since publishing any research is a challenge. A few notable Churchillians, friends and military historians have seen the potential and are offering great support.

Would you like to view my souvenir photobook free of charge? Please scroll down to see the link. It's of little consequence compared with the material I'm able to share in my talk. If you'd actually like to purchase it, then I will send £4 for each copy to CHASE Children's Hospice, since I gather the small amount of Govt. funding has just been cancelled.

It was a treat this week to hear from Eric Sykes' agent regarding my research. His message is that Churchill was always his hero and I am very welcome to include an extract from his autobiography about his experience of Reigate during WW2. Certainly, it is an honour to do so. Eric Sykes was in the RAF stationed at Gatton Park. His book recounts how he was in radio signals and barely saw any aircraft, let alone women, but describes beautifully, the day he first walked all the way down the hill to Reigate and saw the Canadian effect of their troops that were over here. I think that all this time, he didn't realise that Reigate Hill was actually the HQ of South Eastern Command and exactly where Monty was in charge. It says a lot for the disguise techniques that I describe in my lecture. Eric Sykes has also documented his experience of D-Day after leaving Gatton, and later on, years later, meeting up with a fellow Canadian and introducing him to Vera Lynn. The message to me was that he was "thrilled"about my news.

So do take a look. On page 25, right at the end, is a poem by a good friend of mine who has a knack of encapsulating a great story, in a nutshell. The previous pictures have no caption so you can make up your own story if you are inspired to do so. Please notice Winnie the Pooh on page 2.

D-DAY 65th anniversary

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Members of the Royal Family who are unable to make it to the Memorial event in Normandy would be very welcome instead to visit Reigate, Surrey where the D-Day landings were masterminded in utmost secrecy by Montgomery and his team! Perhaps the President of France didn't realise this when he was planning his own celebrations for 6th June this coming weekend.

It's such an exciting international story including the top-secret bunker mined deep into Reigate Hill via the old chalk quarry. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Churchill had first thought of it on one of his many visits, decades beforehand. I was up there this morning on a beautiful sunny June day and really, the view southwards across Surrey and Sussex towards France is fantastic. There are many links with the Royal Family in the town's history too, and this new research is all ready to be revealed.

So in the absence of any huge publishing deals, exclusive broadcasting rights and general razamatazz, I shall be giving an illustrated talk about "Churchill's Secret Reigate" on Sunday 15th November at 2pm for the Churchill Fellows Association (Surrey and W Sussex region) at the hotel which is right beside the chalk quarry and Monty's Battle HQ - I have copies of the War Office drawings with that very title BATTLE HQ to prove it.

The location is highly accessible - on the A217 just half a mile south of Junction 8 on the M25.

Churchill Fellows are invited to reserve a place for themselves and their named guests.
Tel: 01737 217013
Email: grace[at]relax-well.co.uk.
No Press please.

Do book early to avoid disappointment. There will be several treasured artefacts on display and key people to meet.

I shall be giving this talk free of charge, so it will be an opportunity for you to make a donation towards the research expenses and CHASE children's hospice.

Masters of disguise

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The next talk and slide show is booked for 18th March. The title is Reigate - secrets of the war years 1939-1945. It will be full of little snippets of information that have escaped the history books but noted for posterity - even in old exercise books, video and tape recordings.

One of my treasures for this is a German Air Force aerial reconnaissance photograph, issued to pilots, navigators and bomb-aimers in regional volumes with perforated 'tear out' pages. After 65 years it has only yellowed a bit with age. It is fascinating to compare with 21st century 'Google Earth' aerial photography of the town.

The Luftwaffe instructions were: "Zum Verbrauch! Mitnahme von Ausschnitten des Bildteiles zum Feindflug gestattet" which effectively translates as "To be used! You are allowed to take these photographs with you on raids".

Ha ha! In fact there were all sorts of things going on out of sight, underground, in old tunnels and new tunnels, under the trees, in grand old mansions and villas, in this deceptively quiet and countrified area 21 km from the Tower in London.

There was so much trickery! There was even an actor resembling Field Marshal Montgomery sent on a trip to Gibraltar to fool the enemy of his whereabouts just a few days before the D Day landings. The plans worked exceedingly well, thanks to secret intelligence and special agents.

There are more snippets emerging, of the pioneering film magnate and miller, J Arthur Rank who was superintendent of the Sunday School, and one of his pupils who went on to be a radio expert - very handy in wartime for keeping code-cracking wireless equipment in working order.

I'll stop for now, otherwise there will be no surprises for the Rotary talk!