The Dickin Medal, awards to Animals

Discussion in 'General' started by Drew5233, Mar 7, 2009.

  1. izzy

    izzy Senior Member

    In Calderstones Park Liverpool there is a memorial to Jet a rescue dog who won the Dickin Medal. Jet is buried under the memorial.
     
  2. Scout Sniper

    Scout Sniper Senior Member

    Thank you Drew5233 and izzy.

    I read about Jet and his exploits.

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    Jet, an Alsatian from Liverpool, rescued fifty people and assisted in the rescue of 150 others trapped under blitzed buildings during WWII. He was awarded the Dickin Medal on 12 January 1945 as well as the Medallion of Valor for his efforts working with the Civil Defence Services of London. (Image via.)
     
  3. bern

    bern Senior Member

    Lovely stories, didn't some pigeons get a medal too?
     
  4. erding

    erding Member

    [​IMG]

    Antis with Václav Bozděch
     
  5. Philip Reinders

    Philip Reinders Very Senior Member

    Yes there was one for an 'Arnhem" Pigeon
     
  6. izzy

    izzy Senior Member

    Regarding the Ilford Cemetery i recall a copy of the magazine After the Battle had an article about the pet cemetery with pictures of headstones and a map of the cemetery.
     
  7. Jon Horley

    Jon Horley Member

    I was sent this link today regarding homing pigeons used in both world wars, and considered for further use postwar: Pigeons at War . Two Dickin Awards to two pigeons mentioned.
     
  8. bugleboy2323

    bugleboy2323 Senior Member

    dont know or not if this has been on before?I looked but couldn't find anything.
    Gander (dog)

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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    Gander was a Newfoundland dog posthumously awarded the Dickin Medal, the "animals' VC", in 2000 for his deeds in World War II,[1] the first such award in over 50 years.[2]
    Military service

    Gander, initially a family pet named Pal, accidentally scratched a child's face with his paw. Worried that he would be forced to have Pal put down, the original owner gave the large dog to the Royal Rifles, a regiment of the Canadian Army stationed at Gander International Airport, Newfoundland and Labrador. The soldiers quickly renamed him Gander and "promoted" him to sergeant. When the unit was shipped to Hong Kong in the fall of 1941, Gander went along.
    The Battle of Hong Kong began on December 8, 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Gander helped fight the Japanese invaders on three occasions. The last time, Gander picked up a thrown Japanese hand grenade and rushed with it toward the enemy, dying in the ensuing explosion, but saving the lives of several wounded Canadian soldiers.[3]
    After efforts by the Canadian War Museum, the Hong Kong Veterans Association, and the Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association [1], the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals awarded Gander the Dickin Medal on October 27, 2000, the first such award since 1949. The citation reads:
    For saving the lives of Canadian infantrymen during the Battle of Lye Mun on Hong Kong Island in December 1941. On three documented occasions, Gander, the Newfoundland mascot of the Royal Rifles of Canada, engaged the enemy as his regiment joined the Winnipeg Grenadiers, members of Battalion Headquarters "C" Force and other Commonwealth troops in their courageous defence of the island. Twice Gander's attacks halted the enemy's advance and protected groups of wounded soldiers. In a final act of bravery, the war dog was killed in action gathering a grenade. Without Gander's intervention, many more lives would have been lost in the assault.[1]

    At the insistence of survivors of the battle, his name was listed with those of 1975 men and two women on the Hong Kong Veterans Memorial Wall in Ottawa, Canada.[3][4]:unsure:
     
  9. gliderrider

    gliderrider Senior Member

    This book lists them all
    Animal Heroes: Inspiring true stories of courageous animals by David Long

    The first recipients of the Dickin Medal in December 1943 were three pigeons serving with the Royal Air Force, all of whom contributed to the recovery of aircrew from ditched aircraft. The most recent to be honoured is Treo, a black Labrador, awarded for his 'heroic actions as an arms and explosives search dog in Afghanistan'. These true tales of heartrending devotion and duty are told from first hand accounts and from the citations themselves. There's Rip the terrier who is credited with saving upwards of 100 lives sniffing out survivors buried after bombing raids in WWII. Judy the pointer, hero of a Japanese Prisoner of War Camp. Simon the ship's cat who, though injured, continued to stay with his crew under fire. G.I. Joe the pigeon who saved the inhabitants of a village in Italy when she flew twenty miles in twenty minutes with a message to evacuate prior to a bombing raid. There's Buster, a spaniel who located an arms cache in Afghanistan saving the lives of countless soldiers.
     
  10. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    Dusting off memories of Carnlough hero pigeon - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk
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    "Seven years ago Paddy was remembered with a race in his honour from St Mallow in France to Co Antrim lofts.

    It was a long-distance flypast celebrating the little bird’s original achievement, flying from the dangerous Normandy beachhead to a safe haven in Hampshire a few days after D-Day in 1944 with vital information about German gun emplacements.

    Now fanciers from clubs in Ballymena, Larne and Glenarm as well as members of Larne Historical Society think it is time there was another race to remember him.

    The Dickin Medal has been awarded only 63 times since it was introduced in the blackout days of 1943 and Paddy’s gong, which is now in the hands of a private collector, is valued at around £10,000.

    Paddy’s flight from the battlefield took four hours and 50 minutes those 73 years ago. His early training was at Ballykelly RAF base from where he took part in air-sea rescue dramas.

    Paddy, originally from the Moyleen loft of the late Carnlough fancier Andrew Hughes who presented him to the National Pigeon Service to be trained for military duty, never flew on another wartime mission.

    His code name was U2 and Paddy the pigeon was the only Irish animal of any kind to be decorated for bravery with a Dickin Medal, which had been introduced by animal lover Maria Dickin and granted official approval by Churchill and American commander Dwight Eisenhower."
     
    geoff501 likes this.
  11. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Update to thread.

    Pigeon's WW2 medal sells for £7,200

    A World War Two medal, which was awarded to a carrier pigeon, has fetched £7,200 at an auction.
    The People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) Dickin Medal was given to a pigeon that flew from the Greek island Crete to Alexandria, Egypt.
    The 406 mile (653km) flight took place in 1943 and the accolade was awarded to the bird called Princess in 1946.
    It was sold to an internet buyer by the family of the trainer at Holloway's Auctioneers, Banbury.
     
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  12. Deacs

    Deacs Well i am from Cumbria.

    Pigeon's WW2 medal sells for £7,200

    A World War Two medal, which was awarded to a carrier pigeon, has fetched £7,200 at an auction.

    The People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) Dickin Medal was given to a pigeon that flew from the Greek island Crete to Alexandria, Egypt.

    The 406 mile (653km) flight took place in 1943 and the accolade was awarded to the bird called Princess in 1946.
     
    bamboo43 and dbf like this.
  13. Deacs

    Deacs Well i am from Cumbria.

    Ha bugger I searched as well to see if this had been posted must really try harder next time!!!
     
  14. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    I'm saying nothing! :)
     
  15. Little Friend

    Little Friend Senior Member

  16. robin bird

    robin bird Well-Known Member

    Dad's cat Pyro was commended by the PDSA. It flew in Catalinas with Bob Bird and was probably the only flying cat of WW11
     
  17. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

    Witness - When Animals Go To War - BBC Sounds

    "In December 1943, a British charity created the Dickin Medal to honour the bravery of animals serving in war. The first medals went mainly to pigeons used in World War Two, although dogs and one cat were also among the winners. Simon Watts tells the story of the Dickin Medal using recordings from the BBC archive."
     
  18. timuk

    timuk Well-Known Member

    From mascot on a RN Yangtse gunboat to surviving Japanese POW camps.
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    Just finished reading this amazing story. Judy was awarded the Dickin Medal after the war.

    Tim
     
    riter likes this.
  19. zola1

    zola1 Member

    Hi ,

    I was in Northern Ireland in a little town up on the east Antrim coast and found this wonderful plaque ..

    It’s not the best photo.. brilliant sunny day and it was mounted high up on the quayside wall, I hope it’s readable .

    Derrick
     

    Attached Files:

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  20. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Thats some dog - Judy (dog) - Wikipedia

    TD
     
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