The Spy Ring: Not The work Of An Ordinary Boy by Victoria L. Humphreys

Pigeons have long been regarded as pests, culled from Trafalgar Square at least once I believe, and regularly shooed from my garden when I have put out bread to attract an array of garden birds (I particularly like robins, blue tits, blackbirds, and am delighted when I see the occasional redwing or goldfinch) only to watch the pigeons try to hoover it all up before anyone else gets a chance. Jack Duckworth (showing my age here!), however, loved his pigeons so, obviously, not everyone thinks like I do. I did know about pigeon post as it was used during world war two, and I have to admit, somewhat grudgingly, that the pigeon corps served us well and deserved recognition and respect. And, if you look closely, their colouring can actually be quite beautiful.

So, back to the book, which was inspired by the discovery of the remains of a pigeon, its ‘suitcase’ still attached to its leg, in a Surrey chimney in 1982. Ethelred the Unready, known to his friends as Ethel – or, later, Kenneth - was one of an elite group of pigeons, trained to carry information between France and England, during the German occupation of France, where to be found in possession of a pigeon was punishable by death.

This unusual novel requires mental gymnastics since the narrative is delivered through a variety of sources. To mix my metaphors, the reader needs to be alert if they are to keep all the juggling balls in the air and follow events. The sources of information are varied: ‘transcribed interviews, carrier pigeon messages, interrogations, cartoons, Morse code, prose poetry, anecdotes, antidotes and more’, but each contributes colour to the kaleidoscope of action that together, create an amazing jigsaw – there I go again, mixing my metaphors, but read the novel and you may understand why. So many jumbled pieces need to be fitted together for there to be any understanding.

To mix my metaphors, the reader needs to be alert if they are to keep all the juggling balls in the air and follow events.There are three children: Konstantin, the only son of the German Commander of Operations in France, during the Occupation; Dottie, the young daughter of the Head of Counter Espionage in Britain, and Rose, a little girl who suffers at the hands of an abusive father while trying to look after her sick mother. They unite to help the allied war effort although they are not aware of just how helpful they have been. Not James Bond, more ‘Basildon Bond’ – I kid you not.

Konstantin has seen his best friend, indeed his only friend, executed on the orders of his father because he was caught with a pigeon. His father’s cruelty and the loss of his friend causes Konstantin huge grief and he wants the war to end so they can go home and be reunited with his mother. When he finds a pigeon with a case attached to its leg, he reads the contents and replies. The girls, each other’s only friend, find the pigeon quite by chance, feed it, look after it and let it go, sending a reply to the note they find in the casing attached to the pigeon’s leg. Dottie sends the original note they receive to the head of Counter Intelligence, in case it might be important, but even though he is her father, she does so anonymously which causes some wry humour for the reader as he tries to determine the source of the letters. When the pigeon returns, as it has been trained to do, more notes are exchanged and an odd line of communication is set up by pen friends who do not know each other. The information gathered is extremely useful to the allied cause, coming as it does from the desk in the study of Konstantin’s father even though the British spy masters are at a loss to identify the agents involved.

I loved it and wanted to read on - and on.This fictional novel is peppered with reality. The redacting of files was real, the experimental use of pigeons was real, the coded messages sent across the radio waves were real and remind us that fighting the war wasn’t just guns blazing; it was a war where spies and informants played a vital part. Skilfully written, there is wit, humour and pathos (not least when Rose experiences the worst day of her life and the best, within the same twenty four hours). There is insight into how children deal with tragedy and it reminds us, almost as an aside, that children suffered during the war, too, as they dealt with psychological trauma. Konstantin’s strength of character is to be admired – he may well make an excellent spy for real, when he grows up.

I found that once I had overcome the lack of a linear narrative approach and embraced the unusual style, I loved it and wanted to read on - and on.

Not the work of an Ordinary Boy is published by Stairwell Books

https://www.stairwellbooks.co.uk/