ANIMALS
How many animals have been awarded medals?
Quite a few. In 1943, Maria Dickin, founder of the veterinary charity People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) introduced a medal to honour animals that displayed exceptional bravery in World War II. The Dickin Medal, a bronze disc bearing the words “For Gallantry” and “We Also Serve”, has been awarded 76 times, mostly in the 1940s. Recipients of what has been dubbed the “animals’ Victoria Cross” include 38 dogs, 32 messenger pigeons, four horses and a cat.
The first medals were awarded to pigeons White Vision and Tyke and Winkie, which delivered messages “under exceptionally difficult conditions”. Released from a bomber that crashed into the North Sea, Winkie flew 120 miles back to Britain, carrying an urgent request for aid.
More than a dozen dogs won the Dickin Medal for their deeds in World War II. Alsatians Jet and Irma helped rescue hundreds of people from blitzed buildings; Judy, a PoW pointer, tried to prevent human comrades from being beaten; Gander, a Newfie, saved Canadian infantrymen by picking up a live grenade in his jaws and running towards the enemy, killing himself as a result; and Brian the Alsatian actually parachuted into Normandy in 1944. The medal was most recently awarded in January 2023 to Bass, a Belgian Malinois of the US Marine Special Operation Command, “For his life-saving actions during a deployment in Afghanistan in 2019”.
How did giraffes get involved in World War I?
During World War I, a vast array of animals – including horses, dogs and pigeons (even elephants, according to Blackadder’s humorous sketch of enemy positions) – actively participated in the conflict on the western front. However, when the action reached Africa, giraffes proved rather less than helpful to British forces.
These towering creatures inadvertently caused disruptions when they brought down vital signalling cables routed through the treetops. On 8 June 1917, Lieutenant Colonel Hawtree reported from Lindi, in what’s now Tanzania, that giraffes had once again snagged communi
