Winkie - DM 1

Date of Award: 2 December 1943

"For delivering a message under exceptionally difficult conditions and so contributing to the rescue on an Air Crew while serving with the RAF in February, 1942."

Winkie's Story

Carrier pigeon, Winkie, received the first PDSA Dickin Medal from Maria Dickin on 2 December 1943 for the heroic role she played in saving the lives of a downed air crew.

The four-man crew's Beaufort Bomber ditched in the sea more than 100 miles from base after coming under enemy fire during a mission over Norway. Unable to radio the plane's position, they released Winkie and despite horrendous weather and being covered in oil, she made it home to raise the alarm.

Home for Winkie was more than 120 miles from the downed aircraft. Her owner, George Ross, discovered her and contacted RAF Leuchars in Fife to raise the alarm.

Although it had no accurate position for the downed crew, the RAF managed to calculate its position, using the time between the plane crashing and Winkie’s return, the wind direction and likely effect of the oil on her flight speed. They launched a rescue operation within 15 minutes of her return home.

Following the successful rescue, the crew held a celebration dinner in honour of Winkie’s achievement and she reportedly ‘basked in her cage’ as she was toasted by the officers. Winkie received her PDSA Dickin Medal a year later. The citation read: “For delivering a message under exceptionally difficult conditions and so contributing to the rescue of an aircrew while serving with the RAF in February 1942.”

Following her death, her PDSA Dickin Medal was donated to Dundee Art Galleries and Museums by her owner.