In honor of the premier of the final season of Game of Thrones I thought we would look into the history of having birds deliver important messages. In the show (and the books) there is a lot of talk about sending ravens to deliver messages of war. However, ravens (from what I have read) were not used to deliver such messages no matter how badly fiction wants it to be true.
Pictured above is by far the most famous homing pigeon Cher Ami. She is famous for delivering a message from an encircled battalion even though she was quite wounded during WWI. You can see in the photo above that she is missing her right leg. She was also shot through the breast and blinded in one of her eyes. Yet she still managed to deliver her message:
"We are along the road paralell to 276.4. Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us. For heavens sake stop it."
Seems she followed the motto "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" a bit more seriously than most.
While most pigeon post went out of fashion shortly after the first world war it is said that some pigeons are still being used for sneakernet purposes. But that is surely a post for another time.
If you're a Game of Thrones fan I will be curious to know what you think of tonight's premiere. Leave me a comment below, but be mindful of not spoiling it for anyone else.
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