pets' names

[Kate Wills]

We have five cats. We didn't mean to have five but, well, a friend in need....

Anyway, three of them escaped our interest in the Great War when bestowing names, but I'm sure subliminal forces were at work for Dora and Jeremy (usually shortened to Jerry).

Any more furry or feathered examples out there?

[charlesmessenger]

Kate

One or two pets that did serve:

Dublin, a moggy acquired by 5 Bty RFA in Leeds in Nov 1914. Served throughout the war on the Western Front and was taken back to Ireland after the war by an Army Veterinary Corps Officer.

Poilu, the lion cub mascot of 19th Division, which used to ride round in the General's car with him. Ended his days in a zoo. The General was Tom Bridges and one of his ADCs had the priority job of keeping Poilu supplied with rations, usually dead horses.

Windy, a mongrel which served with 1st Lincolns. Earned two wound stripes for Gallipoli and a third at Third Ypres. His master was wounded in same action and eventually evacuated back to UK. Windy was left at a base hopsital in France and was not happy. Eventually shot by a Frenchman after biting him.

Others may know of other pets who served.

Charles

[Guest John Orfei]

Kate, One that comes to mind, would be the well-known "Cher Ami" the famous carrier pigeon which was awarded the French "Croix De Guerre with Palm" of the Argonne Forest fame. This pigeon carried a message to allied troops to stop an aerial bombardment upon the 1st Battalion, 308 Infantry, 77th Division AKA Lost Battalion.

Cher Ami can be viewed at the National Museum of American History in New York City.

Also a canine named "Stubby" which belonged to the U.S. 102nd Infantry Regiment which located injured troopers in battle was decorated for valor.

Regards, John

[jhill]

I am afraid I cannot resist the temptation to repeat the old, possibly apocryphal, story (I have forgotten the reference) of the pet mouser of a Canadian Infantry battalion. The story goes that the cat was discovered one morning watching calmly as an enormous rat was going through the men's packs. Henceforth, the cat was named "Wilson" as he was too proud to fight.

Of course, in general, Canadians and Americans got on extremely well together. In 1914-1918 many served in each others armies.

[CROONAERT]

How about the famous acting dog and forerunner of "Lassie", "Rin-tin-tin"?

This stray was picked up and befriended by a Doughboy in the Argonne or St.Mihiel area during the fighting of 1918,brought back to the States and became famous.

Or Hitler's terrier "Fuchsl", a British "deserter" that wandered into the German lines and had to be taught German. Fuchsl gets a mention in "Mein Kampf".

Dave.

[Andrew P]

A mate of mine named his dog Jacka after the Australian WW1 Victoria Cross winner.

A few of the South African units had mascots.

One of their battalions had a monkey named Jackie and another battalion had a sprinbok called Nancy and when she died in 1918 was buried with full military honours in a cemetery in Belguim.

Quite a different mascot was adopted by an Australian Flying Corps Squadron. A young child who was an orphan was adopted by this unit. One of the squadron members officially adopted this youngster who was brought back to Australia. I think there is a book that has been recently released about this.

Cheers

Andrew

[AndrewThornton]

Hello Kate

I do have a few examples of dogs who served with Staffordshire units for you:

1) Prince, a terrier who journeyed to France on his own and found his master, a Private Brown of the 1st North Staffords, in the line at Armentieres during the winter of 1914. Brown's wife had written to him to tell him that Prince was missing from home and somehow the dog managed to cross the Channel and find him. Private Brown was sent before his CO, Lt-Col. de Falbe, who was going to put him on a charge for smuggling his dog over with him but he eventually accepted Brown's explaination and the dog remained with the unit. There is a photo of Prince on display at the Stafford's Museum.

2) Belge - a terrier adopted by the Signal Section of 1/5th North Staffords in 1915. I have a copy of a pen sketch of him that Private Wilfred Sheard produced in late 1915 showing Belge sitting with a group of signallers in their billet.

3) Whizzbang - a scruffy mongrel adopted by the Drivers of 466th (1/2nd North Midland) Field Company R.E. When I started my research into the company, all of the relatives of the men who I went to visit produced the same photo of this little dog, sat on a pedistal in a photographer's studio somewhere in France. He must have been much loved by the Drivers if they splashed out on a photo of him to send home!

[Ron]

My father served in WW! and smuggled a puppy back from France in his greatcoat pocket that he named 'Mons'. I don't know how long he lived but I have a snap of him taken in 1921.

Ron

[michaeldr]

Hello Kate,

Dave's post about Hitler and the British (deserter) terrier reminded me of one dog who made the trip in the other direction

In reply to a letter from a school girl, Lt-Gen Sir John Monash wrote from France on 26th May1918

"The other day we took prisoner a beautiful German messenger dog. He is a beautiful Alsatian wolf-hound (sic) and is very friendly. He has learned to understand English, and is very faithful to us, and we all pet him."

from 'War Letters of General Monash' ed. F. M. Cutlack, Sydney 1934

best regards to you and Martin

Michael D. R.

[Bob Coulson]

Whiskey and Soda, lion cub mascots of Escadrille Lafayette.

[Andrew P]

Hello Kate,

Dave's post about Hitler and the British (deserter) terrier reminded me of one dog who made the trip in the other direction

In reply to a letter from a school girl, Lt-Gen Sir John Monash wrote from France on 26th May1918

"The other day we took prisoner a beautiful German messenger dog. He is a beautiful Alsatian wolf-hound (sic) and is very friendly. He has learned to understand English, and is very faithful to us, and we all pet him."

from 'War Letters of General Monash' ed. F. M. Cutlack, Sydney 1934

best regards to you and Martin

Michael D. R.

I believe that after this dog died he was stuffed and put onto display at the Australian War Memorial.

Cheers

Andrew

[michaeldr]

ANDREW, Thanks for the extra info: its nice to know that the dog made it through the war ok.

KATE,

General Monash seems to have been quite fond of animals, for in his letters he also refers to his favourite horses, TOM and TUBBY.

Tom was the horse which he rode past the Govenor General in December 1914 before he and his men sailed for Egypt. In late 1915 he sent one of Tom's shoes home to his wife for her to have specially mounted as a keepsake for him "in memory of a very fine faithfull animal, which has served me well." In 1916 he was parted from TOM, but the two old friends met up again in France in 1917. On 24 Sept 1917 Monash wrote to his wife that

"I recently got back from the 4th Brigade my old horse TOM..... He and Tubby my other favourite horse are both quite well."

While we're on about it, have you read Lt-Col J. H. Patterson's book "With the Zionists at Gallipoli"? He has a nice story about one of their mules which "...had the extraordinary cat-like faculty of being able to plant fore and hind feet into one's ribs practically simultaneously." They called the fellow

'Beelzebub' and Patterson says both Jew and Gentile prayed for a Turkish shell to take him away. Eventulally a chunk of shell "ricked" off his ribs and he was wounded and needed the VET. The VET sent him back after his treatment with a note to Patterson asking him to remember in future that "his hospital was for sick mules - not for Man-Eaters!"

(Patterson was the author of a book called"The Man-eaters of Tsavo" about Kenya)

Regards

Michael D. R. (who has no cats, but walks out with a Golden Retriever called FUDGE)

[Kate Wills]

Lovely to have your company again Michael.

I'm diverging from names here, but just to say that during our sojourns on Gallipoli, I often cadge meat from willing donors at the dinner table, to feed the cat and kittens in the Pension garage. I believe the owners think I have a particularly sensitive digestive system, judging by the number of times I disappear from the dinner table. My packed lunches are likewise often distributed to the stray dogs that cross my path. On one occasion I met one by an ice-cream stall, and gave a large friendly bitch a share of my cone. The proprietors, perhaps to curry favour with Western tourists, then proffered her a whole one while we bought ice-creams for the rest of the party.

Back on course: plenty for animal-lovers to enjoy here. I'm glad Mons retreated successfully to Blighty. As for Whizzbang, fancy having that called out at the vet's...

[Cliff. Hobson]

Kate,

I believe the Army had an affinity with animals, and this is not a tall story, a short while after the end of the 2nd War the Bn. I was with and incidentally our Div. Sign was a Black Cat with an arched back, A Company was adopted by a large amaciated dog of indeterminate breed, having an exaggerated imagination for naming dogs they called him Able.

After a diet of army biscuits, corn beef poured into a mess tin a mess tin and Machonicy's stew he thrived, unfortunately he took an instant dislike to any Burmese he saw and it was not an uncommon sight to see a poor Burmese fellow bolting down a track B. naked with Able following, with the fellows Laungi in his teeth.

This state of affairs could not continue, Able was put on a charge and brought up before an Officer known as Mad Mac. his sentence was 5 days tied to a stake outside the Signals, Basha plus 2 days for refusing to stand to attention. However the first section of troops that marched past Able joined them, stake and all.

Were we all mad. ! Cliff.

[Terry_Reeves]

Believe it or not, Winnie the Pooh had a lot of connections with WW1. A A Milne served for a while in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and Pooh's illustrator, EH Shepard, served with 24 Bde RGA and, I think, won an MC.

Winnie's story started in WW1 when a Canadian veterinary officer bought a bear cub off a trapper on his way to join the CEF forming up at at Valcartier. He was was adopted as a mascot (as apparently were a number of other bears) and came to the UK with the troops, to be stationed on Salisbury Plain.

When the unit was posted to France, the bear was placed in the care of London Zoo. The officer visited the bear several times and at the end of the war the zoo agreed to keep him.

In the 1920's, Milne took his son Christopher Robin to London Zoo and the bear became a favourite. So the story of Winnie the Pooh was born.

Terry Reeves

[Kate Wills]

Cliff -

Once again you have you have made me smile with one of your service stories. I do hope you are writing these down for posterity. When you publish, please put me down for a copy.

No, I don't think you were mad!! Personally, I think a love of animals is the mark of genuine humanity, civilisation even. I can't imagine Saddam nipping out for a flea collar or a bag of nuts for the birds, can you.

Terry -

Thankyou for this. My French friend Marie-Christine has a toddler who loves Pooh. Marie-Christine lives in Amiens and patiently suffers our fascination with WW1. At last!! Some common ground.

Back to topic - a friend had a Jack Russell called Digger, and I did suggest to friends moving out to the Somme that they call their new (French) cat Poilu.

[jhill]

We were always told that the "Winnie" in Winnie the Pooh is a diminutive for Winnipeg.

If we are extending the discussion to regimental mascots, I have to give a plug for "Lestock", the mascot of my home town unit, the 49th (Edmonton Overseas) Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force. Lestock was a coyote pup handed to the battalion near Lestock, Saskachewan while their train was heading East to the embarcation port (Halifax). The commanding officer thought this was a fitting mascot despite the coyote's "somewhat shady reputation". When the battalion cap badge was designed, Lestock's face was superimposed over the whole affair. Unfortunately, it was decided to get the approval of the College of Heralds (or some such), and since the coyote had no heraldic standing, Lestock ended up looking like a wolf.

At any rate, that is the way I understand the story.

[egbert]

How about "Kraut" and "Limey"

[Kate Wills]

Was Limey used in WW1? I thought that was a WW2 tag.

[egbert]

Kate ,

don't take it too serious - it was just an effort for international understanding

[david murdoch]

My Grandfather had a small monkey named "Jeannie" when he served in Mesopotamia, which travelled with him in his armoured car. My mother recalls seeing a photo of her sitting on his shoulder, but unfortunatly this is has not survived.

[CROONAERT]

Was Limey used in WW1? I thought that was a WW2 tag.

"Limey" is a name that's been used for nigh on 200 years now,though it was never used in "official" records for some reason.

Dave.

[Terry_Reeves]

"Limey" dates from the 19th century and was originally an American name aimed, tongue in cheek, at British sailors. Lime juice was discovered to be an antidote to scurvy and British war ships were stocked with the fruit as a preventative measure.

Terry Reeves

[CROONAERT]

How about the famous acting dog and forerunner of "Lassie", "Rin-tin-tin"?

This stray was picked up and befriended by a Doughboy in the Argonne or St.Mihiel area during the fighting of 1918,brought back to the States and became famous.

Just a few more stats on Rin tin tin.

The Alsatian puppy was befriended ,and taken back to the U.S. by Sgt.Lee Duncan and was found in the region of Metz. As well as becoming a Hollywood "star", Rin Tin Tin also made one "B" movie (documentary style,I think) about the war.

Dave.

[Julian Whippy]

Dont forget the big fat cat (no name) belonging to the German Officers hidden dug out. He came out every afternoon, having been fed scraps, and sunned himself on the parapet. That is until the sharp eyed British Scout Sniper observed him and called in artillery, on the cat !! There was indeed a dugout hidden beneath.

There is no mention of the moggy again.

(Hesketh Pritchard Sniping in France)