The story of Australian Army signaling commenced in the Australian colonies during the 1800’s, and later in the Australian Army engineers during the First World War. The Corps was established by Army Order 71 on the 14th February 1925.
During the Second World War, the Corps embraced wireless technologies, establishing the Special Wireless Group and laying the foundation for the Australian Signals Directorate of today. In recognition of its distinguished wartime service, the Corps was conferred the “Royal” title on the 10th of November 1948 by His Majesty King George VI.
On the 10th of September 1980, approval was given by Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, Colonel-in Chief of the Corps, to carry a banner bearing her cipher. The banner to be known as “The Princess Anne Banner”. This banner being presented at a parade in 1986 at Simpson Barracks in Melbourne Victoria.
(The above being just a brief history of the Royal Aust. Corps of Signals)
As part of the 2025 Centenary Celebrations, the ANRPB was invited to participate in the celebrations that was conducted at the Victoria Barracks in Sydney. As a point of interest Victoria Barracks is the home of the Australian Army having been established in 1841.
The Centenary Parade was to take place on the 9th November 2025, and was attended by Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, the Colonel-in-Chief of the Australian Corps of Signals in company with the Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia, Her Excellency the Honourable Sam Mostyn AC.
As messenger pigeons were recognised as playing an integral part in communications used by the Australian Army in Papua New Guinea during WW2, a pigeon release was seen to be a fitting inclusion in helping to celebrate this auspicious occasion. As a result, Stephen Shears, Vice President of the ANRPB, was contacted to help plan and to organise having a team of pigeons there on the day. Along with the pigeons taken there by Stephen Shears, he also was able to organise having the Carrier Pigeon Service Banner, used by returning members of the Aust. Signal Corps during the Sydney ANZAC Day Marches that has been in the care of the late Keith Wrightson’s family since his passing on the 15th November 2018 aged 95yrs. Keith was regarded as being the last surviving member of the Carrier Pigeon Service – Australian Corps of Pigeons.
Along with the pigeons and the banner, Stephen Shears had with him an old wicker cane basket that he brought the pigeons in to the ceremony, one that was used by Australian troops in PNG that was gifted to him by the well-known former Sydney fancier (now retired) Steve Bond, a basket brought back from PNG by his father the late Alan Edward Bond (Refer to attachment, re a copy of his War Pigeons Certificate dated the 1st March 1946). Also refer to the photo attached of three aluminium Dept. of Defence pigeon life rings numbered: D/D-43-W803, D/D-43-W829, D/D-43-N788 and one Sydney Federation life ring, FRP-37-15151 (this last ring was possibly from a pigeon donated by a civilian fancier and was probably used as a stock/breeding bird), with the other rings being used to band birds bred by the Signal Corps Unit). These rings are now in the safe keeping of the Bond Family.
The Military Master of Ceremonies on the day did a wonderful job, with regards outlining the history of the Signal Corps and the proceedings for the day, along with mentioning the role played by messenger pigeons, especially those that were used in PNG during WW2, with a special mention given to the two Dickin Medal recipient’s, the cane wicker basket and the “old” Carrier Pigeon Banner that was proudly carried by three Signal Corps soldiers.
Recognition by Her Royal Highness Princess Anne was not something that we expected, because as Her Royal Highness was returning to one of the official buildings she happened to pass by us just a couple of metres away, pausing for a moment and commenting to us that we had done a good job, and that the birds had performed admirably as well, having cleared quickly once released.
Once the official part of the day’s ceremony was over it was surprising how many people came up and talked to us about pigeons, and thought the presentation of the banner and release of the pigeons was one of the highlights of the day, with one elderly gentleman stopping to have a lengthy conversation regarding that he can remember when as a young man in England where he use to live nearly every second house had a pigeon loft in the backyard including his father, and he can still remember his dad riding his bicycle with a small basket connected to the local railway station for a training flight saying that seeing the pigeons released today brought back many fond memories.
All round I thought it was a great day, not only for the Royal Australian Corps of Signals celebrating their centenary year, but also for the positive exposure and recognition given to our homing pigeons that played their part all those years ago during WW2.
In closing this article, I am going to use what I think is a fitting quote by William Shakespeare:
“Praising what is lost makes the remembrance dear”
Paul Gibbs