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Lady Dilhorne, 93, Who Trained War Pigeons, Dies
AP / NYTimes ^
| April 2, 2004
| AP
Posted on 04/05/2004 8:17:54 AM PDT by paulklenk
LONDON, April 1 — The dowager Viscountess Dilhorne, who trained pigeons to carry secret communications from Europe in World War II, died on March 25. She was 93.
Her son, John, Viscount Dilhorne, told of her death, at her home in Northamptonshire, in central England.
In World War II, Mary Manningham-Buller — as she was known before her husband was given a title — trained carrier pigeons in a small village in Oxfordshire, west of London.
Secret agents and resistance fighters in Europe used them to communicate with London. The birds flew back to Mrs. Manningham-Buller with coded messages strapped to their legs.
She became the dowager viscountess upon the death of her husband, Reginald Manningham-Buller, who was made the first Viscount Dilhorne. He was lord chancellor, or England's chief legal officer, from 1962 to 1964. Her daughter, Eliza Manningham-Buller, has been director general of the Security Service since 2002.
Originally Mary Lilian Lindsay, Lady Dilhorne was the fourth of six daughters of Lord Balcarres, a lawmaker whose many public titles included president of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries and minister of transport.
She is survived by her four children.
TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: deadpigeons; death; dying
She is survived by twelve pigeons.
1
posted on
04/05/2004 8:17:56 AM PDT
by
paulklenk
To: paulklenk
Mourners tied messages of condolence to her ankles.
2
posted on
04/05/2004 8:18:51 AM PDT
by
paulklenk
(FOUR MORE WARS!)
To: All
3
posted on
04/05/2004 8:20:07 AM PDT
by
Support Free Republic
(Freepers post from sun to sun, but a fundraiser bot's work is never done.)
To: Support Free Republic
Throw another dead pigeon in the water tank.
4
posted on
04/05/2004 8:22:01 AM PDT
by
paulklenk
(FOUR MORE WARS!)
To: paulklenk
...To honor her, a marble statue has been placed at her gravesite...
To: paulklenk
R.I.P., Lady Dilhorne.
I wonder if she knew what the airspeed velocity of a fully-laden war pigeon was?
6
posted on
04/05/2004 8:24:25 AM PDT
by
Constitution Day
(Become a Monthly Donor... I did!)
To: paulklenk
Another great obit from the world's #1 English language paper for death notices.
It's probably the world's #1 without exception but I'm mono-lingual so I won't make that claim.
To: Constitution Day
....Can't .... help ... myself ...
African or European?
To: G L Tirebiter
The original obit I refer to was in The Telegraph - not the NY Times.
Sorry...
To: freedomlover
European, naturally. ;^)
10
posted on
04/05/2004 8:27:09 AM PDT
by
Constitution Day
(Become a Monthly Donor... I did!)
To: Constitution Day
You must be a King :)
To: freedomlover
How do you know that?
12
posted on
04/05/2004 9:35:25 AM PDT
by
thulldud
(It's bad luck to be superstitious.)
To: thulldud
...and by extension, the statute will NOT be a king.
13
posted on
04/05/2004 10:27:12 AM PDT
by
Ronly Bonly Jones
(killing innocent people is not a hobby that anyone should take up)
To: Ronly Bonly Jones; thulldud
sorry, not statute, statue
been lawyering too long i guess
14
posted on
04/05/2004 10:28:55 AM PDT
by
Ronly Bonly Jones
(killing innocent people is not a hobby that anyone should take up)
To: Support Free Republic
Your comments are being given due consideration.
15
posted on
05/02/2004 11:14:38 AM PDT
by
paulklenk
(FOUR MORE WARS!)
To: Ronly Bonly Jones
Your comments are being given due consideration.
16
posted on
05/02/2004 11:14:56 AM PDT
by
paulklenk
(FOUR MORE WARS!)
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