Winkie

Commissioned by Dundee City Council as part of the Percent for Art component of the Broughty Ferry Flood Defence scheme.

Info from the Courier: "Winkie the Pigeon, who was one of the first recipients of the the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross, has been commemorated with a bronze casting at the flood gates in Beach Crescent. She was awarded the Dickin Medal in December 1943 for her role in the rescue of an aircrew following a crash into the North Sea a year before. The carrier pigeon flew over 100 miles home to the Ferry to raise the alarm for the four crew members of the Beaufort bomber, which had been returning from a mission over Norway. The aircraft had experienced a sudden explosion, which blew apart the port engine, about an hour into the flight. And although the pigeon was not carrying a message, the RAF were able to calculate the position of the downed aircraft using the time difference between the plane’s ditching and the arrival of the bird – taking into account the wind direction and even the impact of the oil on Winkie’s feathers to her flight speed. The men were found within 15 minutes of the rescue mission being launched."