A BRAVERY medal awarded to a pigeon that was parachuted into occupied France with British secret agents during the Second World War - and brought back vital intelligence - went on show yesterday before its auction next week.

Commando the pigeon was awarded the Dickin Medal - the equivalent of the Victoria Cross for animals - in 1945 after completing three highly-dangerous missions.

Only 60 Dickin Medals have been awarded and Commando's is expected to make up to £10,000 when it is sold by Spink auctioneers, in London, on Tuesday.

The pigeon, a red chequer cock, was bred in a loft in Haywards Heath, West Sussex.

Its owner, Sid Moon, had served with the Army Pigeon Service during the First World War and immediately made his pigeons available again in 1939.

Commando went on to travel with the Special Operations Executive during 1942 and brought back information from France in metal canisters strapped to its legs.

They contained important intelligence that revealed where German troops, industrial sites and injured British soldiers could be found.

Despite a one-in-eight chance of survival, and having to face everything from German marksmen's bullets to exhaustion along the way, Commando survived all three missions.

The plucky bird was then awarded the medal, which recognises "conspicuous bravery and devotion", at the end of the war.

The bird also took part in a wartime homing exhibition before going to stud in the hope its bravery would pass down the generations.

The Dickin Medal, created in 1943, was named after Maria Dickin, who founded the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals.