LesleyScoble.com

I was last week’s Poet of the Week for the W3 Weekly Poetry Prompt. All the 25 poems I read left me in awe of the talent in this poetic community.
I passed the PoW’s hat to Angela, for her observant and uplifting poem MY JACKDAW BAND.

Ange (poet A. J. Wilson) asks us to write ekphrastic poetry prompt . The photo she supplied inspired my poem WAR BIRD.

Ange’s prompt guidelines
•Write an ekphrastic poem of no more than 15 lines inspired by the photo below; 
•Include the word ‘wire’.

War Bird

WAR BIRD


Do re mi fa so la ti—like the notes in a song on a stave
War birds align,
in a rank of the brave,
ready for a signal,
 a message, a sign

Most valiant pigeons of two world wars
Airforce combatants in battle scar tours
Intelligence carriers throughout the day and the night,
through bullet-hail, bomb blasted barriers—they soar to the fight
Along, long miles of dysentery-ridden trenches
Over troops who line up for names on brass plaque benches
In dark smoke-filled skies, dodging, defying—flying into Hell 
Through blinding attack, shrapnel, smoke, shell, and enemy fire
They fly fast and determined—And
Close to the wire 


Lesley Scoble, June 2023

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The Magnificent Seven

Do you notice there are pigeons on the wire in Ange’s poetry prompt photo?
Did you know that Cher Ami was the only pigeon out of seven that survived artillery bombardment and achieve the delivery of a message to save a battalion? She was the only one to succeed.
Many pigeons in the first and second world wars received recognition for bravery. I shall name but seven pigeons on the following list.

ROLL OF HONOUR

Cher Ami 
Awarded the Croix de Guerre with a Palm Oak Leaf Cluster
On the 4th of October,1918 an American battalion in the Argonne Forest, was surrounded and trapped. They were under fierce artillery bombardment by their own men. Major Charles Whittlesey needed to send an urgent, life-saving message to their own command post to stop the attack on their own men. Six carrier pigeons were shot down trying to cross the battlefield. They were all seen to fall. Cher Ami was the seventh pigeon sent to deliver the urgent message. Seven times lucky. The gallant bird flew 25 miles in as many minutes to deliver the message and prevent the battalion from being wiped out. All previous six pigeons were gunned down and killed. Cher Ami got through despite shrapnel breaking her breastbone, blinded in one eye and her right leg shot away. This gallant bird saved what was left of the battalion from being wiped out. A victory in a battle that saw 192,000 American casualties and 26,277 lives lost. 

GI Joe 
Awarded the Dickin Medal
Pigeon GI Joe delivered a message against all odds and prevented an Italian village from being bombed by mistake. The village was a mistaken target by the Allied forces.

White Vision 
Awarded the Dickin Medal
White Vision served with the British Army during World War 1. The safe delivery of her message saved a British infantry battalion from a German encirclement.

William of Orange
Awarded the Dickin Medal for bravery
William of Orange served with the National Pigeon Service of Great Britain during World War II. He delivered vital messages during the Battle of Arnhem, coordinating defences of the Allied Forces.

Gustav
Awarded the Iron Cross
Honoured for his service and gallantry, facing challenging conditions while under enemy fire. He delivered important messages from the Eastern Front.

Paddy
Awarded the Dickin Medal for Bravery in 1944
Paddy, a Royal Signals carrier pigeon, received recognition for his bravery in delivering an important message under extreme and dangerous conditions, despite being injured and flying 200 miles to complete the mission.

The bird’s brave flight through heavy gunfire from the besieged village of Calvi Vecchia helped coordinate the evacuation of civilians, and the defence of the village.

Commando
Awarded the Dickin Medal for his courageous actions
Commando served with the British Army during World War II, making ninety operational trips over enemy territory. One of which was delivering a message from a reconnaissance aircraft that had crashed in the North Sea, leading to the rescue of its crew. 

Cher Ami, Croix de Guerre

The vital message that Cher Ami delivered.

NOTES
The Dickin Medal
The Dickin Medal for gallantry is an award equivalent to the Victoria Cross for animals. 
Maria Dickin established the award in 1943, to recognise the exceptional contributions of animals during World War II.

Can pigeons fly at night?
In my poem, I wrote, “Intelligence carriers throughout the day and the night,”
Pigeons are diurnal but some remarkable birds did fly in the nighttime dark to deliver urgent life-saving messages in the two World Wars.

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The Pigeons of Trafalgar Square

I was very young when I first fell in love with the pigeon. It was when my parents took me to feed the pigeons in Trafalgar Square. I held a tin cup full of birdseed in my small hands. A pigeon stood on my head and a some stood on my shoulders. When the birds ate from my hand, it was thrilling. I wasn’t the only child who enjoyed days out to feed the pigeons in Trafalgar Square—and the birdseed vendors had a good trade.

When did the British people lose its compassion and love for the feral rock dove?

PIGEON REMOVALS
Trafalgar Square has been synonymous with pigeons. Until, a Mayor of London, Ken Livingston vilified them, and destroyed their rep by calling them “flying rats”. He brought in controls to discourage and remove them from the famous square.

This campaign harmed the rep of the pigeon. Too many people now regard the bird (incorrectly) as bothersome vermin. The square is emptied of its very soul.

These are tough times for the pigeon. They were hungry during covid because the office workers weren’t there to share their lunchtime sandwich crumbs.

Ever since I fed the pigeons in Trafalgar Square as a child, the pigeon is my friend and hero.

EMPTY STATUE PLINTH, TRAFALGAR SQUARE
Perhaps it is time to put the pigeon back on to its heroic plinth? There is an empty statue plinth in Trafalgar Square. I suggest it is the perfect site for a gigantic statue of the war pigeon.

I’d love to carve such a sculpture…

…and place a tiny figure (resembling Ken Livingston) on the top of the statue’s head.

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Thanks and Acknowledgment

MY THANKS to resources: The British Newspaper Archive (BNA) British Library and to We Are The Mighty for the photo of Cher Ami. 

The Prompt Photo Credit: Osman SRAN

Pigeon Message Resource 

Special thanks to Ange for her ekphrastic poetry prompt and to David, W3 Weekly Prompt. I thank you both for encouraging and inspiring my poem, War Bird.

If you like poems about birds on wires—you may like to read another poem I wrote called BIRD ON THE WIRE.

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Lesley lives in the City of London Square Mile. An artist, actor and sculptor (her first ceramic sculpture won the V&A inspired by… Award). Scenic artist & book illustrator, playwright, (her musical play, Rapscallion performed in schools); TV dancer; Animator and illustrator for TV production. Set up Pinecone Studios Ltd and IIMSI Ltd drama and filmmaking workshops in London – producing award-winning films made by children.