On 22nd May 1944, a 16-year-old carrier pigeon known as “Old Billy,” travelling at around 60mph, flew into Solihull bearing a cheque for £1,000. The pigeon, owned by Albert James Wager (1880-1947) of Blossomfield Road, was one of the “heroes” of Solihull’s “Salute the Soldier” week, part of a national savings campaign to raise money for field hospitals and military equipment.
According to the Birmingham Daily Gazette 21st December 1939, Billy had been something of a misfit among a number of pigeons housed at the Solihull depot of Birmingham Electric Supply Department. Often crowded out by his fellows, the bird would seek a night’s rest on the roof of the Public Hall in Poplar Road, Solihull.
Mr Wager, an electrical engineer with Birmingham Corporation, and a keen pigeon fancier, noticed the bird’s intelligence, and asked for the pigeon from Mr E. J. Taylor, Birmingham Corporation District Electrical Engineer for Solihull Rural District. Before long, Billy was launched on a “long and honourable career.”
In 1939, Albert Wager, who was a member of the Central Counties Flying Club, was appointed technical consultant to the National Pigeon Service Committee, working in association with the Air Ministry. Billy was one of 50 pigeons owned by Mr Wager, who had been keeping pigeons since the age of two and had collected birds from all over the country for a Solihull ARP pigeon service.
Old Billy was described in newspaper reports as “the only British pigeon ever to take a photograph,” having been trained to fly with a miniature camera strapped to his chest.
The £1,000 cheque was sent by Mr Charles Gordon Thomason (1884-1956) of 514 Streetsbrook Road, with instructions that it was to be made out in War Bonds for his daughter, Kathleen (1908-2001). The picture at the top of the page shows Mr Thomason holding Billy whilst the cheque is inserted into the canister on the pigeon’s back.
Billy then flew to Solihull town centre, to be met on arrival by a welcoming committee including the Police Superintendent, the Council Treasurer, and the pigeon’s owner.
Salute the Soldier Week
Solihull’s Salute the Soldier campaign began on Friday 19th May 1944 with a military parade followed by a mass meeting in Malvern Park. There was an Army Exhibition in the Council car park during the week at which Billy, when not on duty, was on display.
Solihull’s target was to raise £600,000 during the week, the same target it had exceeded during the previous year’s Wings for Victory campaign to raise funds for the Royal Air Force. The cheque flown in by Billy just three days after the campaign’s launch, took the amount raised to £176,260.
In total, the Solihull Urban District Savings Committee raised an astonishing £747,091 during the week.
If you have any further information about the work of the National Pigeon Service in Solihull, please let us know.
Tracey
Library Specialist: Heritage & Local Studies
email: heritage@solihull.gov.uk
© Solihull Council, 2024.
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