Photograph details

© Transport for London
Collection of London Transport Museum
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LGOC B-type bus (B2132) converted into a pigeon loft (for carrier pigeons) during the First World War. Three soldiers (a Private, a CSM and a Captain) stand in front of the bus, posing for the photograph. A driver in military uniform sits in the drivers cab. A bicycle is propped against the side of the bus.

Unknown photographer, 1914 - 1918

Image no: Ukn

Inventory no: 1999/20005

20th Century London caption: This London General Omnibus Company B.-type bus has been converted into a pigeon loft for carrier pigeons during the First World War. The pigeons would carry messages to and from the Front. Three soldiers stand in front of the bus posing for the photo while a driver in military uniform sits in the cab. The soldier with three pips on his uniform is a captain. In the absence of more sophisticated communications such as radio, pigeons were vital in relaying messages, both critical and routine. The bicycle in the shot represented another important means of getting messages from one point to another.

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