2015 Unlikely Heroes Great and Small - DD.43.Q.879 Blue Chequer Cock One Dollar ($1) Uncirculated Australian Decimal Coin

As Australia continues to commemorate the Centenary of Anzac, it is not just our diggers whom we remember. Australian heroes came in all different shapes, sizes… and species. Creatures great and small who contributed their strength, energy and lives to the Australian Imperial Forces and the Australian Defence Force helped to define the spirit of our great nation.

Pigeons are misunderstood birds with a number of hidden talents: speed, endurance, homing instincts and eyesight that can detect more colours than humans can. They have been unsung heroes of many conflicts, carrying messages across battlefields when aeroplanes, radios and human feet would have been too easily detected by the enemy.

During World War II, when Australia was fighting alongside the USA, the Japanese attacked a US Marine patrol on Manus Island. The soldiers needed help, but their radio had failed. With pigeon power as their only hope, DD.43.Q.879 had to face the danger when two other pigeons had already been shot down. Against the odds, he reached HQ with this important message, and help was dispatched to save the patrol.

‘Q’ served with the Australian Army in 1944, and was awarded the Dickin Medal for “conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty”.