Why is "catch that pigeon" running through my head?! "The heroic story of a First World War carrier pigeon that delivered a vital message despite being mortally wounded by a German sniper has come to light 100 years since its death. Previously unseen papers found in a house clearance document how the plucky pigeon earned the name 'The VC Pigeon' after the gallant but fatal feat. The bird had been given an important message to take nine miles back to Divisional Headquarters from the frontline at the Battle of Passchendaele in October 1917. It is a flight that should have taken no more than 25 minutes but the carrier, identified then as 'Pigeon 2709', took 21 hours to complete the mission. So revered was the brave bird by the loftsmen of the Western Front they had him stuffed. After the war the dead bird was donated Royal Signals Museum in Blandford, Dorset, which has put him on display in a glass case. The museum has also received the recently-discovered first hand account of the last moments of the pigeon which they have also displayed. " Secret files reveal WWI carrier pigeon's bravery | Daily Mail Online
