Lions led by donkeys is phrase memorably used by English military historian Alan Clark to describe elements of the British forces in World War I.
What animals have played a part in British wars?
Clark was contrasting the bravery of rank and file soldiers with the incompetency of some of the officer class, but there were so many animals involved in the so-called Great War, that he could almost have been speaking literally – except for the fact that the real donkeys performed absolute heroics.
Of course, the use of animals during wartime by British forces didn’t start or end with the First World War – although many of the most astonishing stories do seem to stem from this era. Many species played an active and highly important role in World War II, and other conflicts too.
In 1943, the British charity PDSA even instituted the ‘Dickin Medal’ often called the animal V.C (Victoria Cross), which was the idea of animal welfare pioneer Maria Dickin. Issued to animals that had displayed great bravery and/or devotion during conflict, it has been awarded 74 times so far, to pigeons, dogs, horses and cats.
Here we play tribute to some genuine animal heroes.
British animal war heroes
Warrior – 'the horse the Germans couldn’t kill'
Horses have, of course, been used in battle for time immemorial, and mounted cavalry regiments still form part of Britain’s armed forces, albeit mainly in a ceremonial role now.
A conflict that took place as inventions such as machine guns were being rolled out – making soldiers on horseback both ineffective and very vulnerable, with tragic consequences – WWI was the last conflict to heavily feature horses in actual combat, but the war produced some incredible stories.
One horse, Warrior, went to France with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in 1914 and served throughout the bloody conflict with Captain Jack Seely. Both survived the carnage on the Somme and at Ypres to return back to Britain in the winter of 1918.
Branded 'the horse the Germans couldn’t kill' Warrior was awarded the Dickin Medal, but sadly not until 2014, when he was long dead.
Judy the P.O.W. dog
In World War II, lots of dogs became rightly famous for saving countless lives during the Blitz, locating and digging wounded civilians out from houses turned to rubble by Luftwaffe bombing raids. Some dogs, however, saw much more active service.
A purebred English pointer, Judy was adopted as a mascot by the crew of HMS Grasshopper during the Second World War. When the Grasshopper, was torpedoed, Judy was captured along with her crew mates, and imprisoned by the Japanese. Leading Aircraftsman Frank Williams adopted the dog, shared his meagre rations with her and even managed to get Judy officially registered as a POW (prisoner of war), which likely saved her life.
In return, Judy provided comfort, company and even protection to the men in the most awful conditions. She would apparently bark and growl to distract cruel guards who were beating the prisoners, and several times escaped the camp only to return bearing food for her fellow POWs.
Both Judy and Williams were liberated in 1945, and she was awarded the Dickin Medal in 1946 for 'magnificent courage and endurance in Japanese prison camps, which helped to maintain morale among her fellow prisoners and also for saving many lives through her intelligence and watchfulness'.
Simpson’s Donkeys
Despite lacking the speed and size of their larger equine cousins, horses – which have obviously been employed by fighting forces for millennia, dating back to at least the time of Genghis Khan – mules and donkeys have been used extensively during conflicts since ancient times, helping to transport food and equipment to and from the front lines and battlefields.
One particularly poignant story from the First World War involved a man called John Simpson Kirkpatrick and several plucky donkeys. An unlikely hero, British-born Simpson deserted from the merchant navy in 1910 while his ship was in port in Australia.
After the outbreak of war, he enlisted in theAustralian army (having dropped his surname to avoid complications) and found himself at ANZAC Cove on 25 April 1915, when the disastrous Gallipoli campaign began.
A stretcher-bearer with the 3rd Australian Field Ambulance, Simpson was charged with recovering wounded soldiers. He found himself a small donkey and began work, selflessly exposing himself and his trusty animal to incredible levels of danger, successfully saving hundreds of horribly injured men from the ferocious front line.
Although the story, which has become legendary (taught to children across Australia and New Zealand) typically speaks of Simpson and his donkey (singular), he actually used at least five animals, called Duffy (1 and 2), Murphy, Queen Elizabeth and Abdul, some of which were killed. After three and half weeks of heroism, Simpson was himself killed by machine gun fire.
Tirpitz the German pig
Originally kept on board the German cruiser SMS Dresden, and surely destined for the captain’s dinner table, Tirpitz was a large pig whose war experience took a dramatic turn when the Dresden was sunk in March 1915.
Abandoned by the crew, Tirpitz managed to get herself up on deck and was spotted frantically swimming away from the sinking vessel by a member of the crew of the HMS Glasgow, a British ship nearby.
Incredibly, the sailor jumped into the water to try and save her, and the panicking pig nearly drowned him. Both were rescued, however, and the German pigbecame HMS Glasgow’s beloved mascot – the British sailors even awarded her a fake Iron Cross (a German medal) – for staying on board the stricken Dresden longer than her German crew mates.
After spending a year on the Glasgow, Tirpitz was adopted by the Petty Officer who saved her and was transferred to Whale Island Gunnery School in Portsmouth. In a dark twist, however, she was subsequently auctioned off as pork in 1919 – although the sale did at least raise £1,785 for the British Red Cross.
Tirpitz's stuffed head and a pair of silver mounted carvers made from her trotters were donated to the Imperial War Museum and put on display.
Gustav the RAF carrier pigeon
When WWII broke out in 1939, thousands of homing pigeon owners donated their birds to the war effort, having heard stories about how effective the animals had been during WWI, and once again, pigeons proved themselves to be heroes during the conflict.
More pigeons have been awarded the Dickin Medal than any other animal, by a long shot, and there are lots of excellent stories about their exploits. One winged hero was Gustav, one of six RAF messenger pigeons provided to legendary Reuters news correspondent Montagu Taylor in the build up to Operation Overlord.
On 6 June 1944, D-Day, Gustav relayed the very first news back to Britain about the progress of the massive mission. In just five hours he flew 150 miles from Normandy on the north coast of France to his loft, just outside of Portsmouth, with the following message, which was relayed to the War Ministry and Cabinet: 'We are just 20 miles or so off the beaches. First assault troops landed 0750. Signal says no interference from enemy gunfire on beach...Steaming steadily in formation. Lightnings, typhoons, fortresses crossing since 0545. No enemy aircraft seen'. In September 1944, Gustav was awarded the Dickin Medal
Simon the courageous cat
The only cat to win the Dickin Medal was awarded the honour for actions during an incident after World War II had finished. Simon was a stray, found wandering the docks of Hong Kong in March 1948, when he was taken in by 17-year-old ordinary seaman George Hickinbottom and became ship's cat on the Royal Navy sloop-of-war HMS Amethyst.
A charismatic and cheeky animal, and a popular presence amongst the crew (especially Lieutenant Commander Bernard Skinner), Simon was regularlyfound sleeping in the captain’s hat and often left mice and rats in sailor’s bunks, as presents. In 1949, however, the ship was caught up in an international incident, when it was fired upon by the People’s Liberation Army of China while sailing up the Yangtze River.
Several rounds tore through the captain’s cabin, killing Lieutenant Commander Skinner and severely injuring Simon. The cat survived and quickly resumed active duty, waging a war against the rodents that threatened to overrun the ship while it was being repaired, and emerging victorious from claw-to-claw combat with an especially large and vicious rat known as Mao Tse-tung. After the ship’s escape, Simon’s story leaked and he became a celebrity.
As well as receiving the Dickin Medal, he was awarded a Blue Cross medal, the Amethyst campaign medal, and given the (admittedly made-up) rank of 'Able seacat’. He is buried at the PDSA Ilford Animal Cemetery in East London.
The Flying Fox
Many animals off all shapes and sizes were used as mascots by various regiment, units and companies of the armed services during the World War I and World War II (and indeed during conflicts and period of peace before and since).
For many men, especially those involved in active service during violent conflicts, these animals weren’t simply pets, they were a source of comfort, companionship and affection during an often-terrifying time.
One of the more unusual mascots seen in imagery from the First World War is the fox kept by Number 32 Squadron of the RAF. Little is known about how the fox came to join the Squadron, but the dashing animal has famously been pictured with a pilot at Humieres Airport, St Pol, France, in May 1918, and it is said to have enjoyed the odd spin in a fighter biplane.
