London May 14.
Britain's 500,000 homing pigeons are to be conscripted at the outbreak of war for emergency communications by the Navy, Army and Air Force.
The Air Ministry is preparing a national register of pigeon breeders and fanciers, on which the National Pigeon Service will be based. Members will have a special badge.
Thousands of breeders and fanciers offered their services to the government during the September crisis and then the Air Ministry began a national register. Now a detailed scheme has been worked out.
Although the Air Ministry has not yet made any announcement, it is understood that pigeon breeders who volunteer will be divided into three groups—those prepared to serve in war, those who will breed birds in wartime and those who will lend pigeons in peace-time as well as in emergency.
The Air Ministry will stimulate the breeding of pigeons in order to maintain the full strength of the pigeon corps. The scheme is being prepared on the basis of the calculation that a pigeon czn fly non-stop up to 600 miles at 30 to 40 miles an hour.
The Royal Air Force has maintained a small pigeon service since the war, with two lofts in Britain for training and breeding and two more abroad.
During the frontier campaign in India, a detachment of Waziristan Scouts were trapped by native forces last summer. A pigeon carrying an S.O.S. brought Royal Air Force planes to the rescue—United Press.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.