Wigan Album

I suspect pigeons can be a pest if people next to your house have them.

No one suspects that pigeons can be pests.

Pigeons are a nuisance, don't feed them in town.

Pigeons are just flying rats.

More respect for the pigeons please.
These lads helped us win the 1st World War.

Spot on lads, so are Seagulls.

First world war????? I don't think so. These chaps wern't around then 1914-1918. But not talking about these two gents, it's the pigeons that's awful.

They have as much right to here as you lot have !

The pigeons carried messages over the Trenches when communications broke down- caused by the shells! They were awarded 'medals' equivalent to VC's. Do you ever read about History - it can be very illuminating!

Can anyone confirm that pigeons were most definitely around between 1914_18.

More than a 100,000 pigeons were responsible for sending Rescue messages back and forth from Soldiers to their bases with a 95% success rate.they were awarded The Dickin medals equivalent to the VC. Of he 63 awarded to animals (and dogs) 32 were awarded to pigeons.

There was once a question on a RSH exam paper: What is Pigeon Milk.?

The answer is quite simple when you think about it.

that,s true ozzy & gents they were both.

I don't think any of the pigeon haters read any History books Veronica..what is it with them..we were walking past a poor pigeon that just lay down and died..a ruddy stupid woman just looked and said "that's another one art o road"I could have clouted her" ..all the lives that they saved,to be called sky rats..shame on anyone that calls them that...the word soulless comes to mind.

Yes Veronica I remember Dick Dastardley awarding a medal to Muttey the dog, in catch the pigeon.

Oh I see, Poet calls the pigeons "LADS"...and yes pigeons were around then.

Never thought I'd ever see these words together in one sentence, but Howard's perfectly correct actually. I know from experience that pigeons can be a damn nuisance if the bloke next door keeps them in his back yard.
These lads however, and several other pigeon fanciers of my acquaintance had purpose built cotes erected on allotments which were situated far enough away from other people's properties as to cause little, if any inconvenience to the general populace. Furthermore, when it comes to turning this planet into a cesspit, I'm inclined to believe that Homo sapiens is far more culpable in that respect than either pigeons, seagulls, rats, ferrets, or any other species of wildlife you can name. There used to be a great many pigeon fanciers in this area when I was growing up, although the only ones that I know personally nowadays are a couple of lads that live in Clifton Junction, the Alker brothers. No doubt someone will tell me they still exist in droves, but I have my doubts. I think that the keeping and racing of pigeons is far less popular a hobby today than it was say, 20 or 30 years ago.

They wouldn't flock around half as much if people didn't drop food! Yes it can be disconcerting when they fly at you but stop dropping food and perhaps they will fly off up to Haigh Hall and the woods!

Let's get real ! What is it about pigeons. My aunt lives in a wooded area the wood pigeons crap everywhere , she accepts that. Pigeons, will only gather, with the knowledge of free food provided. Seagulls now are provided for.. by humans. Take away the food source and they will go elsewhere..

I suspect there's a big difference in racing/homing pigeons than stray pigeons. Thank you Ozy for your kind words.

Veronica is absolutely correct with her last comment, 10/10.

They fly drones these days, not pigeons, as far as I can see. Even telly has gone , watch it on a mobile . Not sure if it's good or bad .. I feel I am out of date, every day..don't know about you , can't keep up.

It would appear then, that we all seem to be of a similar opinion with regard to pigeons and other airborne opportunists. I've been saying for many years that there are often more seagulls in evidence on Wigan lane, than you'd see on a busy day on the promenade in Blackpool, but it isn't the seagulls that I hold responsible.

Never mind the pigeons - what happened to the Mk 1 Landrover?

Never mind the Land Rover, what happened to Dicky's bike?

I blame all the junk food outlet in our high streets and towns. Drunken younger people mainly throwing food about.

If the Land rover reg is 108ATD it's no longer about, according to GOV.UK.

If anyone on Wigan World knows Ray Winstanley, then like me,you would say the man on the left,the taller of the two, is a dead ringer for Ray.

Frank Houlton worked underground at Stones and Dickie Birchall AKA as Sonny was on the surface there. His brother Tom was washery manager when I was there.

Don't be arguing over pigeons guys.
Pigeons had to be around in WW1 as In the BBC TV series Blackadder Goes Forth, Capt Edmund Blackadder shot General Melchit's favourite carrier pigeon (Called Speckled Jim).
Blackadder ate Speckled Jim for his dinner & got a court martial.

Joking aside, & on a very serious note, on the 3rd October 1918 a WW1 carrier pigeon named Cher Ami (meaning Dear Friend in French) was actually awarded the Croix De Guerre for her heroism in WW1 at Verdun.

Under the command of Major Charles White-Whittlesey more than 500 allied soldiers were trapped & pinned down in a small depression of land behind a hill near Verdun & behind enemy lines, low on food ammunition & water they were being shelled by both the Germans & the allies (friendly fire).

Previous carrier pigeons had been released but the enemy just kept shooting them down the second that they were released.

Cher Ami was their last & only hope (as she was the last remaining pigeon) after all others had been shot down by the Germans.
She was released & almost immediately she too flew into a hail of multiple German heavy machine gunfire & was shot down & severely injured, but against the odds she managed to get airborne again & flew through sporadic gunfire & shellfire some 25 miles back to her loft at divisional HQ.
She covered the distance flying at roughly at a mile a minute, & she successfully delivered her message.
Her actions helped to save the lives of more than 195 surviving men who were still trapped & pinned down & being shelled by both the Germans & the allies in a friendly fire scenario.

Cher Ami was so badly injured, as on arrival at Divsional HQ it was found that she was in a bad way having been shot through the breast, burned, blinded permanently in one eye, covered in blood, & one of her legs almost shot clean off & just hanging by a thin tendon (her leg was later amputated)
For her act of heroism at Verdun she was awarded the Croix De Guerre (with a palm oak leaf cluster).

She never fully recovered from the injuries that received in battle & she later died as a result of her injuries on the 13th June 1919.