Mary of Exeter was a

carrier pigeon The homing pigeon, also called the mail pigeon or messenger pigeon, is a variety of domestic pigeons (''Columba livia domestica'') derived from the wild rock dove, selectively bred for its ability to find its way home over extremely long distan ...

who flew many military missions with the

National Pigeon Service The National Pigeon Service (NPS) was a volunteer civilian organization formed in Britain in 1938 as result of representations made to the Committee of Imperial Defence and the British Government by Major W. H. Osman. During 1939-45 over 200,000 you ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, transporting important messages across the English Channel back to her loft in

Exeter, England Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

. She was awarded the

Dickin Medal The PDSA Dickin Medal was instituted in 1943 in the United Kingdom by Maria Dickin to honour the work of animals in World War II. It is a bronze medallion, bearing the words "For Gallantry" and "We Also Serve" within a laurel wreath, carried o ...

in November 1945 for showing endurance on war service despite being injured on three occasions and emerging uninjured when her loft was bombed. Mary of Exeter was owned by Cecil ‘Charlie’ Brewer, a bootmaker from

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

. She served with the National Pigeon Service between 1940 and 1945 carrying top secret messages. Mary made four trips from France to England. She died in 1950 and is buried in

Ilford Animal Cemetery Ilford Animal Cemetery is an animal cemetery in Ilford in London, England, United Kingdom that contains over three thousand burials. It was founded in the 1920s and is operated by the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals. The cemetery was clo ...

Attacks survived

Mary completed many missions, including three in which she was wounded by enemy attacks, requiring a total of 22 stitches. In addition, she survived a Luftwaffe bomber attack on her Exeter pigeon loft.

Attacked by German war hawk

On one occasion she was attacked by German-kept

hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...

s stationed in

Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...

returning home with her neck and right breast ripped savagely open. She recovered sufficiently and was put back in service two months later.

Shot

On another occasion, Mary returned with the tip of one wing shot off and three pellets were removed from her body. She recovered, passed flight tests, and was returned to service despite the shortened wing.

Hit by shrapnel

During her final trip her neck muscles were damaged by

shrapnel Shrapnel may refer to: Military * Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use * Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material Popular culture * ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics) * ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...

. Her owner made her a leather collar to hold her head up, and took her out of service.

Exeter pigeon loft bombed

Mary's loft, located at the Exeter home of a shoemaker named Charlie Brewer who had become a loft keeper and intelligence agent during the war, was damaged during the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

's 1942 raids on Exeter, killing many of the pigeons housed there. Mary, however, survived.

Exeter Civic Society Blue Plaque

A blue plaque was unveiled at 6 West Street, Exeter, EX1 1BA, the site of Charlie Brewer's home and shoemaker's shop for 63 years. His pigeon loft was also at these premises. The unveiling took place on 20 January 2018, followed by a celebration and refreshments at the nearby Picturehouse Cinema.

References

{{War pigeons Individual domesticated pigeons 1950 animal deaths Recipients of the Dickin Medal Military animals