The Pigeon Ace

Originally written and illustrated by Enid Marx in 1943, The Pigeon Ace tells the tale of Coo-coo a brave pigeon called to serve during the war as a homing pigeon with his new wife Flutter-flutter. Coo-coo tackles sharply clawed cats and an immense hawk, before being baffled by giant deafening aeroplanes and fish-like barrage balloons at pigeon training. He then travels to Africa and meets foreign bird-cousins and monkeys crossing the desert, until one day, when without warning, he is stuck in the heart of the fighting and forced to make the perilous journey back. The Pigeon Ace is published, along with The Little White Bear and Fifty-four Conceits, to coincide with the exhibition 'Ravilious & Co: The Pattern of Friendship' at the Towner Art Gallery in Eastbourne, opening May 2017.