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The marble memorial to Paddy the Pigeon at Carnlough harbour was torn from its mount and smashed some time overnight between Saturday, June 8 and Sunday, June 9 . Paddy, who was born and trained in the village and loaned to the RAF during the war, was the first pigeon to bring back a message to an RAF base in England following the D-Day landings. Advertisement Advertisement Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to NorthernIrelandWorld, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you.

Wartime NI, a digital platform hosting a range of articles related to WWII in Northern Ireland, shared Paddy’s story on https://wartimeni.com/ The brave pigeon’s journey took place 80 years ago, on June 12, 1944, when he flew back to the RAF base in a record 4 hours and 50 minutes, the site notes. He faced facing a host of dangers along the way, from the usual aerial threats of wartime to hawks in the hands of German units, who had the sole purpose of taking down Paddy and his comrades.



For his efforts he received the Dickin Medal - the highest accolade afforded to animals in military service, and often described as the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross. Advertisement Advertisement Mary Watson from Community Association said that people in the village were shocked that the plaque had been vandalised - particularly as only two days previously, on Thursday, June 6, children from both local primary schools had gathered at the site for a commemoration ceremony. "The chi.

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