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Voice 1

Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Mike Procter.

Voice 2

And I'm Anne Muir. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 1

It was October of 1943, four years into World War Two. A messenger named GI Joe was carrying an important message to army leaders. GI Joe had to deliver the message – it was urgent. The lives of over one hundred men depended on it. The men were a group of British army soldiers. Their fighting had gone well for them that day. And they had arrived early in this particular town in Italy.

Voice 2

But then, they remembered something! Being early could be deadly. American airplanes were coming to bomb the town. The air strike had been ordered while the town was still controlled by the enemy. The airmen did not know the British soldiers were now there. And during the fighting the British had lost their radio communication. GI Joe had to reach the army leaders quickly to stop the air raid.

Voice 1

GI Joe delivered the message only just before the airplanes arrived. The airplanes turned back and the soldiers were saved. GI Joe was a hero. Three years later, he received an award for this act. The Lord Mayor of London gave GI Joe a war medal. Was GI Joe proud of this award? No-one really knows. You see, GI Joe was a bird! He was a pigeon.

Today's Spotlight tells the amazing story of carrier pigeons during World War Two.

Voice 2

Many birds are able to find their way across huge distances, but pigeons offer a striking example. A pigeon is very good at finding its way back home after being released in a strange place – even a place several hundred kilometres away. No one fully understands how pigeons do this. However, experts believe that pigeons use the sun as a guide. They also believe that pigeons use the earth's magnetic field to establish direction – much like a sailor's compass. When pigeons get nearer to home they use their eyes to identify where they are going. Some experts believe pigeons also use their sense of smell.

Voice 1

Many people are amazed by pigeons' natural skill for finding their way home. Because of this, people in many parts of the world raise and race pigeons for sport. Pigeon owners keep their pigeons in small buildings called 'lofts'. The owners organise races and release their pigeons hundreds of kilometres away from home. The pigeon that returns to its loft at the highest speed wins the race.

Voice 2

At the beginning of World War Two, seven thousand of Britain's pigeon owners gave their pigeons to help in the war effort. The pigeons were message carriers. During World War Two, British forces used nearly a quarter of a million [250,000] birds in this way. British airplanes flying over enemy territory would carry pigeons with them. If the airplane was shot down, the crew would release the pigeon with a message to let the British air force know what had happened.

Voice 1

In February 1942, a British war plane was on its way home from Europe. It had been badly damaged by enemy gun fire over Norway. Finally it crashed into the cold winter sea. It was about two hundred kilometres from home. The crew struggled in the freezing water. They did not know exactly where they were, but they had a pigeon with them. When they released the bird, it was covered in sea-water, and oil from the damaged airplane. However, it still managed to fly away. The British air force searched for the missing crew that day. But, they could find nothing in the cold, dark sea.

The following morning, the pigeon arrived at its owner's home in Scotland. It was very, very tired and dirty. The bird was safe at home, but where was the crew? A pigeon expert examined the bird carefully. He knew the time the airplane had crashed, and the time the bird had arrived. He used information about the wind and weather to estimate how far the bird could have flown. The air force used this information to establish where to launch a new search. This time, they found the crew in just fifteen minutes! The bird had saved the lives of four men. The men later honoured the pigeon at a dinner party. And they named the pigeon 'Winkie'.

Voice 2

Winkie was the first of 32 pigeons from World War Two to earn an award called the Dickin Medal. The medal is for animals that have served humans in a special way during times of need or conflict. The Dickin Medal is named after Maria Dickin. Almost one hundred years ago, Maria started an organisation called the PDSA. This organization provides health care for sick animals belonging to needy people. In 1943, Maria established the Dickin Medal.

Voice 1

Altogether, PDSA has awarded 63 Dickin Medals to animals for their brave service during war. Winkie the pigeon was the first - and GI Joe's award was also a Dickin Medal. In recent years, most medals have been awarded to dogs. The latest animal to receive it was a dog called Treo - for finding hidden bombs in Afghanistan.

Voice 2

It is hard to imagine that any animal could understand the idea of a medal. Can a pigeon know that it is receiving an award for 'being brave'? A pigeon flies home because that is what pigeons do. In this way, it may seem strange to give an award to a pigeon. But the Dickin Medal serves an important purpose. It helps humans to remember that they depend on many other animals for life. Humans may be the planet's most complex, powerful and spiritual animal, but that makes us especially responsible to care for and respect other animals. Thanking animals for helping humans may not be as strange as it seems!