Will they stop the Pigeon?

A play created to help children learn about and understand the centenary of the First World War will be staged in Lancashire later this month.

Pigeon, at the Dukes Theatre in Lancaster on Monday October 27, has been created for children aged six upwards and their families, offering an inventive, creative and inspiring theatre experience.

Audiences will travel back 100 years to the battlefields of the war, when carrier pigeons saved countless lives by flying vital messages behind enemy lines.

The play tells the true story of one of the pigeons, who became known as Cher Ami.

Cher Ami (French for ‘dear friend’) was donated to the war effort by the pigeon fanciers of Britain for use by the US Army Signal Corps in France during World War One.

On October 3, 1918, during the the Battle of the Argonne, Major Charles Whittlesey and more than 500 men were trapped behind enemy lines with no food or ammunition. They were also under fire from allied troops who did not know their location.

Surrounded by Germans, by the second day only around 180 were still alive.

Pigeons asking for help carrying messages were sent, but both shot within sight of the trapped men. Soon only one pigeon was left.

Cher Ami. As she took flight the Germans saw her rise from the brush and opened fire. For a moment Cher Ami flew through the hail of bullets but then she too was hit and fell to Earth.

The men were doomed. Only somehow, someway, Cher Ami managed to take flight again...

Find out how this unique story ends when Lunabug Theatre brings Pigeon to The Dukes on October 27, from 2pm. Tickets £5-£7, call 01524 598500 or visit www.dukes-lancaster.org/.