Animals in war

Petrova Nadezhda Ivanovna, teacher of English .

Millions of people have died in the two World Wars – but millions of animals have too.

Dogs served in both World Wars. They carried secret messages, laid telegraph wires, sniffed out mines, dug out bomb victims and even made parachute jumps! During the Blitz, dogs used to wake up their owners and take them to the shelters when they heard the sirens.

More than eight million horses died in the First World War alone . They carried men to war, delivered ammunition and equipment.

Mules were found to have tremendous stamina in extreme climates and over the most difficult terrain, serving courageously in the freezing mud on the Western Front and later at Monte Cassino in World War II. Equally they toiled unflinchingly in the oppressive heat of Burma, Eritrea and Tunisia.

Thousands of pigeons were used as carriers during the First and Second World Wars. They delivered important messages and also worked as “photographers”. Flying at a mile a minute, these brave birds saved countless lives.

Even Glow worms helped soldiers to read maps and letters in the dark trenches

Now these brave animals have a memorial. It is situated in London.

The memorial was opened in 2004.It is dedicated to the brave animal heroes

who have served and died in wars and conflicts

Designed by British sculptor David Backhouse, the Animals in War Memorial shows two mules, a horse and a dog, and remembers other animals – dolphins, pigeons, elephants… and even glow worms

The Animals in War Memorial pays special tribute to the 60 animals awarded the Dickin Medal.

A special animal medal. Between 1943 and 1949,

54 animals received the medal,

including 32 pigeons, 18 dogs and 3 horses.

The Dickin Medal:

The PDSA Dickin Medal - recognised as the animals' Victoria Cross - was named after Maria Dickin, the founder of the PDSA, formerly known as the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA).

The PDSA - People's Dispensary for Sick Animals –

is a charity providing free veterinary care for animals whose owners cannot afford private vets' fees.

The Animal Cemetery at Ilford in north-east London.

The PDSA (People's Dispensary for Sick Animals, one of Britain’s leading animal charities) was successful in obtaining a lottery grant of £50,000 (some 100,000 US dollars at the time) to refurbish and upgrade the Animal Cemetery at Ilford in north-east London. The work was carried out during 2007 and on 13 December that year there was an official opening ceremony.

Some of these heroes

Rob the para-dog

He was an ordinary farm dog but became a real hero during the Second World War. Rob served with the Special Air Service on top-secret missions in Africa and Italy. During his wartime career, he made more than 20 parachute jumps!

Judy the pointer

Judy served on a war ship in the Far East . When her ship was torpedoed , she saved her crew from thirst by finding fresh water . When they were captured , Judy spent two years as a prisoner of war in Sumatra. Judy saved the lives of several men by threatening Japanese guards when they tried to beat prisoners . She survived several attempts by the Japanese to shoot her and was liberated in 1945.

Sheepdog Sheila

The only “civilian” animal to be awarded a medal, Sheila , was a working dog . In December 1994, an American plane crashed in a snowstorm . Sheila found the survivors.

Beauty the terrier

Five search and rescue dogs were awarded the Dickin Medal for helping buildings . One dog got the medal for rescuing other animals .

This was Beauty , a wire-haired terrier belonging to Bill Barnet , who led an animal rescue squad in London . By the war’s end Beauty had found 63 animals ! Without Beauty they would have probably died , tapped in bombed buildings.

The only cat to get a medal was Simon , ship’s cat on HMS Amethyst . In April 1949 , the ship was held captive on the Yangtse River. For 100 days Simon the cat comforted the terrified young crew and entertained them with his amazing rat-catching skills .

Simon the cat

When the crew returned home , Simon became a celebrity , but never fully recovered from his wounds and sadly died a few month later.

Olga , Upstart and Regal

As bombs rained downed on London during the Blitz , these three police horses did their duty.

GI Joe, Pigeon

The citation reads: “This bird is credited with making the most outstanding flight by a USA Army Pigeon in World War II. Making the 20 mile flight from British 10th Army HQ, in the same number of minutes, it brought a message which arrived just in time to save the lives of at least 100 Allied soldiers from being bombed by their own planes.”

GI Joe, Pigeon USA43SC6390, was awarded the PDSA Dickin medal in August 1946.

New Heroes

The world is still a troubled place and animals continue to help us in times of conflict .

On September 11 th 2001 , just before the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre collapsed two guide dogs saved their owners’ lives . Riva and Salty made their way down from the 71 st floor . They guided their blind owners through crowded , smoke-filled stairs . After the tragedy more than 300 search and rescue dogs worked on the site.

Buster

The most recent award of the Dickin Medal was made in December 2003 . Buster , a six-year-old springer spaniel , discovered a stash of explosives in Iraq.

The inscription reads:

"Animals In War . . . They had no choice."

Thank you for attention!