When HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh sadly passed and his funeral was arranged for Saturday 17th April RPRA member Catherine Cooper thought that releasing ten pigeons at a Cathedral, Church or other notable place in towns and cities across the UK would be a fitting tribute to the Duke. When at Sandringham he spent time in the Royal Loft with the loft manager and the birds.
Catherine contacted Richard Chambers who is the Development officer for the RPRA and he in turn contacted members who agreed to release ten birds at midday in a prominent location. The media was informed of this event and was well reported with many members giving interviews on all the news platforms, including BBC news.
This meant that many releases had members of the public watching and asking a lot of questions about the pigeons and their Royal connections.
Not only was this a fitting farewell to the Duke it also raised the profile of racing pigeons amongst the general public.
The RPRA made a video of some of the releases
