Adrian Beckingham
WAR PIGEONS: WP & Me: A London boy and his war pigeon in World War I.
language
(Movement Books Nov. 11, 2018)
, 1 edition
WAR PIGEONS: 'WP & Me' is a story calling for peace told through the eyes of war children.
Two London based teenage brothers try to sign up to join 'Kitchener's Army' in 1914. They are underage, but want to join 'the big adventure' and fight for England on The Western Front. Everyone knew the war would be over by Christmas.
The older brother Tommy gets through, just one of 250,000 child soldiers who joined the British Army during World War I. Tommy's war letters to home depict the initial excitement then desperate fight for survival in the trenches.
The younger brother, nicknamed Pigeon, is at first turned away by the army. Pigeon watches as London life begins to alter. Army trucks and marching soldiers often fill the streets, there are long queues for buying anything, even the games played in his schoolyard have been changed by the war. Deadly 'Taube' – dreaded German bombers – fill the skies. London becomes a very different place to the home he knew before.
His family have somehow changed too. His Suffragette mother and younger sister become Canary Girls, while his dad must join the No-Conscription Fellowship to try to avoid the Draft. Tommy's seat at the kitchen table always stands empty.
Pigeon goes on to train homing pigeons from a loft in his garden - but this is against war regulations. Will he be arrested as a spy?
Pigeon finds himself travelling across submarine endangered waters to France, serving as another underage soldier. Can his carrier pigeons make a difference to the outcome of the war? Will Pigeon ever find his older brother Tommy, who has gone Missing In Action?
Only by living through the reality of war, has Pigeon been able to understand the importance of peace.
REVIEW: “This author really brought The Great War alive in a meaningful way. For example the truce in the trenches over Christmas 1914 has been an event so often described, but for me the passage in this novel was the most meaningful.” Maureen Street, President, South Somerset Mind.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Adrian Beckingham, aka The Man from Story Mountain, is a storyteller, environmental activist and youth worker. He is most famed for enchanting audiences as a storyteller at every Glastonbury Festival since 1993. A previous national coordinator at Greenpeace Australia, Adrian's stories work relentlessly on the world stage to harness a strong awareness of self awareness, mutual respect and global peace. This is his fifth published book.
Two London based teenage brothers try to sign up to join 'Kitchener's Army' in 1914. They are underage, but want to join 'the big adventure' and fight for England on The Western Front. Everyone knew the war would be over by Christmas.
The older brother Tommy gets through, just one of 250,000 child soldiers who joined the British Army during World War I. Tommy's war letters to home depict the initial excitement then desperate fight for survival in the trenches.
The younger brother, nicknamed Pigeon, is at first turned away by the army. Pigeon watches as London life begins to alter. Army trucks and marching soldiers often fill the streets, there are long queues for buying anything, even the games played in his schoolyard have been changed by the war. Deadly 'Taube' – dreaded German bombers – fill the skies. London becomes a very different place to the home he knew before.
His family have somehow changed too. His Suffragette mother and younger sister become Canary Girls, while his dad must join the No-Conscription Fellowship to try to avoid the Draft. Tommy's seat at the kitchen table always stands empty.
Pigeon goes on to train homing pigeons from a loft in his garden - but this is against war regulations. Will he be arrested as a spy?
Pigeon finds himself travelling across submarine endangered waters to France, serving as another underage soldier. Can his carrier pigeons make a difference to the outcome of the war? Will Pigeon ever find his older brother Tommy, who has gone Missing In Action?
Only by living through the reality of war, has Pigeon been able to understand the importance of peace.
REVIEW: “This author really brought The Great War alive in a meaningful way. For example the truce in the trenches over Christmas 1914 has been an event so often described, but for me the passage in this novel was the most meaningful.” Maureen Street, President, South Somerset Mind.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Adrian Beckingham, aka The Man from Story Mountain, is a storyteller, environmental activist and youth worker. He is most famed for enchanting audiences as a storyteller at every Glastonbury Festival since 1993. A previous national coordinator at Greenpeace Australia, Adrian's stories work relentlessly on the world stage to harness a strong awareness of self awareness, mutual respect and global peace. This is his fifth published book.
- Pages
- 213
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