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I've never seen that brooch before; thanks for sharing!

The attached postcard is a personal favorite of mine. Drawn by a French artist, it's clearly lampooning the British Army's use of pigeons by making them look like ducks/geese!

Neville, your bird travelled on and got a proper golden coat in the process...

EFV - thank you so much for your offer to provide me with high-definition versions of the pigeon messages. I've sent you a private message.

Hello All

Taken from The Journal of the Royal United Service Institution 1900-11: Vol 44 Issue 273













Regards

Everhard,

Regarding the Ladysmith carrier pigeons, today I stumbled across this brief piece, written by Master-at-Arms George Crowe, Naval HQ, Durban. Published in his 1903 volume, "The Commission of H.M.S. Terrible", p. 90.

A propos of the pigeon service, a few instances of their efficiency is worth recording. General White, wishing to send a plan of the situation at Ladysmith to General Buller, had it photographed down. Even then it was found too heavy, so it was cut into four sections, each of which was entrusted to a different bird. Presumably all four pigeons were despatched together, for they arrived at the commandant's office, Durban, with an interval of only 25 minutes between the first and last arrival. The distance was about 120 miles in direct line of flight; the time occupied during the passage averaged from six hours upwards.

Another bird brought the following message: –

"From General Sir George White to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales.
"The General Officer Commanding and the garrison of Ladysmith beg to congratulate Your Royal Highness on the anniversary of your birthday. A royal salute of 21 shells will be fired at the enemy at noon in honour of the occasion.
"Ladysmith, November 9th, 1899."

Ladysmith, like Paris during the Franco-Prussian War, owed much to the carrier-pigeon service.

..

Neville, thank you for the information. The pigeon mail maps in my possession (Boer Positions around Ladysmith and Potgieter Pass) were sent by two pigeons, although the Ladysmith map is clearly in 4 pieces.

For completeness of this thread, I hereby include the typewritten orders for the Battle of Colenso on December 15, 1899 issued by Bruce Hamilton on behalf of Lieut. General Sir Francis Clery, in command of the South Natal Field Force. These orders were typed up late (10 PM) on the eve of the battle and are almost verbatim copied from the handwritten orders presented in my earlier post. Please note that there are some time differences between the typed version and the original as well as that, in point 8, the handwritten orders mention “following the Fourth Brigade” which appears in the typed version as “Following the sixt Brigade”. I do not know whether this was a transcription error or intentional, and neither do I know whether the difference contributed to the dismal outcome of the battle for the British. Perhaps the forum members who are experts on this matter can fill us in. Also note that the typed orders are more extensive with the handwritten version lacking points 9 to 12.

For good order point 10 reads: The position of the General Officer Commanding will be near the 4.7 guns.