BOOK REVIEW: THE ROLE OF BIRDS IN WORLD WAR TWO - HOW ORNITHOLOGY HELPED TO WIN THE WAR

Did studying birds really help us to win the 1939-45 war?

It seems a fanciful thought, but author Nicholas Milton makes an excellent proposition for it in a new book, his second, which has just been published.

He looks favourably, for instance, on the theory that R.J. Mitchell's design of the Spitfire fighter aircraft was inspired by his observations of the wings of gulls and gannets and their effortless mode of flight.

Milton also recounts entertainingly - and in considerable  depth - the role of homing pigeons in delivering crucial messages, sometimes from servicemen in life-threateningly dangerous situations.

The book's title is The Role of Birds in World War Two - How Ornithology Helped to Win The War.

It includes a fascinating early chapter in which he assesses the morale-raising significance of certain popular wartime songs, particularly those with the lyrics  There'll Be Bluebirds Over The White Cliffs of Dover and A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.

In truth, the author does not have sufficient material to stay on message for the whole book, so he supplements his narrative with accounts of prominent wartime ornithologists.

The contributions of some, such as Peter Scott and photographer Eric Hosking, have lived on long after their lives ended, but he 'rescues' the ornithological legacies of many others whose work has largely been forgotten.

Into the latter category falls Viscount Alanbrooke whose brilliant strategic input proved famously invaluable to Winston Churchill throughout the war.

At times  of extreme mental stress, Alanbrooke ensured he retained his mental equilibrium by studying and cine-filming birds such as hobbies, hawfinches and marsh tits whenever the opportunity arose.

As he described birdwatching  in his diary: "It was like rubbing Aladdin's lamp - I was transported to a fairyland and returned infinitely refreshed and recreated."  

A word, too, for the book's excellent illustrations and the superb jacket design by Paul Wilkinson.

The Role of Birds in World War Two is published at £25 by Pen and Sword and is available wherever books are sold.

Jim Wright