ANIMAL WAR HEROES RECOGNISED

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 45, 2 February 1945, Page 6

ANIMAL WAR HEROES RECOGNISED

TALES OF GALLANTRY UNFOLD In a cellar about. 13 feet square, . dark dingy, and in the noise and squalor of narrow streets in the East End of London, a woman sat down 27 j'ears ago to call to her the .sick animals of the world. She was Mrs M. E. Dickin writes Clarence Winchester. • ' In that eerie quarter —the cellai was lit by an oil lamp—-she founded the People's Dispensary for Sick ' Animals, hoav an international organisation. Mrs A. V. Alexander wife of tlie I First Lord of the Admiralty, will . be the hostess on Founders' Day ol I the P.D.S.A., and will introduce tc the guests '.'two heroes l'rom the Battle of Normandy " who are to receive tlie D.G.M, t or Dickin Medal for Gallantry. It is th c animals V.C. Hero No. 1 who will be "decorated" is Gustay. issued to a war cor- ' respondent for the invasion opera- , tions.. He was released with his first ■ dispatch from a ship approaching the beach. The weather was so bad that he. was 5 hours 16 minutes crossing the Channel, but he got home. The second hero is Paddy who is noted for his great intelligence. During the invasion he brought a message safelj' from Normandy in 4 hours 50 minutes, Hying t'ime. Parade for V.C. Pigeons seem to be the chief heroes ( of the war, although one dog has won the animals' V.C. He is "Bob,' Avho is in Italy awaiting a full regimental parade for the presentatior ' of his award.. t "Bob" left the Army Training School as a puppy to join the Roya ; West Kents as a messenger, and wor ; his "animals' V.C." in North Africa. As he was born white he liac i to be camouflaged. On one night patrol he advanced with his men towards enemy lines and suddenly gave the "near enemy' from his sense of smell. The patrol doubted hint, but he refused to budge an inch. And his obstinacy saved many' lives. The P.D.S.A. Allied Forces' Mascot Club receives hundreds of letters ■recounting the private anrj .Service lives of all kinds of animal pets. Death of Nelson Throughout the Empire and on the Seven Seas the most, diverse types of animals and birds belong to the club. From New Zealand comes the news of the death of 'Nelson.' He was shot "by some person or persons unknown." He was a one-eyed camp follower who presented himself confidently at mess parades and turned up to morning sick parade to the since he had a sore, eye and needed it dressed at the regimental akl post. During a visit to a grenade range he did wjiat all good retrievers would do. He went to retrieve— but was unfamiliar with the nature of a grenade. He was whistled off just in time. A piece of the exploding grenade Caught Nelson in the rear, and he at once streaked to the regimental aid post for first aid. There are many dramas within this animal club—and humorous, too. Thomas for is a cat. His enrolment card gives his address as. a warship and his kit as "one hammock, one bed, one bedone H.M.S. ribbon for Sundays, one rabbit's tail to'play with!" His service includes several convoy journeys to Russia, a raid on Norway and adventures for the duration of the beach offensive on

Normandy. And he still retains all of liis nine lives. A l'eline naval compatriot gave

birth to two kittens during the bombardment of Northern France "with magnificent, indifference to her sarroundings," as her record properly states. Not all tlie members are British. There is a growing "Nazi" membership, I l'ear > but these captives, soon experience a change of heart under the British flag. "Adelberg" is one, an ex-Nazi puppy. His British .sailor friend, proposing his membership, gave the assurance that "Adelberg" quickly became English in outlook and mentality and he was at once accepted as a reformed character. Rabbits Rank High "Tocra" is a dachshund with a dash of some other strain in her biood. She belonged to a Panzer D; v's ion an-! was found in Benghazi. Site Mi.sc came over to thu Hritish as her German overlords, did not take her with them when they got out. She has had six puppies a 1.1 good British national's now. Rabbits, hardly noted for their aggressive 'qualities, rank high in mem-

hers hi p. a rabbit mascot in a Canadian ship, saw eon- ' siderable action on 13-Day; that is when he wasn't munching his lood contentedly Avith stoical disregard for the distractions of war. There are several donkeys, too i to say nothing of a lioness (daughter of Air Churchill's lion and kept at homo at the Zoo ehimpanze (a London N.F.S. mascot) _ a pa : r_ goats, a budgerigar, geese—and a canary in a merchant ship. There Is no such cUih in Germany or Japan.