LONDON (Reuters Life!) - They flew dangerous missions under fire, were masters of disguise and fearless in their determination to get to Britain from behind enemy lines. Now you can buy their pictures at auction this month.

Portraits of the elite pigeons sent to retrieve vital information from occupied Europe during World War Two by the British secret service will go under the hammer this month as part of an auction at Bonhams entitled: The Gentleman's Library.

Owner and champion pigeon breeder Jack Lovell is selling the portraits of birds which survived attacks by German-deployed falcons to bring back information crucial to operations such as D-Day and even film of German V1 bombers being built.