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Authors: Robyn Walker
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returning home. 1 Even glow-worms have served, providing light in the trenches during the First World War so that the soldiers could read.
British soldiers in line to register their mascots as members of the Allied Forces Mascot Club.
During the First World War one of the most famous working animals was Murphy, the donkey. In 1915, he was shipped to Turkey, where Australian and New Zealand troops were fighting Turkish and German forces at Gallipoli. Along with the other donkeys, Murphy carried supplies up and down the hills adjacent to the beach. One day, an Australian soldier named John Simpson Kirkpatrick (more commonly known as Simpson) saw Murphy carrying his load of supplies
and came up with another idea for the donkeyâs use. He threw a blanket over Murphyâs back to act as a saddle and rode the little donkey through the hills searching for injured soldiers. Simpson would put the injured men on Murphyâs back, and Murphy would carry them down to the medical unit. The idea worked well and each day Simpson and Murphy would set off in search of wounded, scouring the hills from dawn until dusk, always under threat of enemy fire. Their hard work resulted in the rescue of over 300 wounded men. On May 19, 1915,
Polish sailors and their shipsâ cats, 1940.
Convoy the shipâs cat of HMS Hermione , November 26, 1941.
while on one of their patrols, Simpson and Murphy came under heavy enemy fire, just after they placed a wounded man on the donkeyâs back. Simpson was killed. Legend has it that Murphy continued back to the army hospital with the injured man on his back and then led rescuers back to Simpsonâs body. Other sources claim that Murphy was killed in the initial gunfire barrage. Whatever the case, the Australians thought enough of the pairâs contributions to erect a statue of Simpson and Murphy outside the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
Shipâs mascot Ighty who was injured at Dieppe, Sepâtember 1942.
Humankindâs bond with animals fostered the need for many soldiers to bring mascots with them into battle, or to adopt an animal while serving in the military. A pet, something to love and care for, is often a welcome distraction from the horrors of war. During the Second World War the PDSA formed the Allied Forces Mascot Club to recognize the importance of animal mascots and the variety of roles that they played while serving with the armed forces. Hundreds of soldiers and sailors registered their mascots for membership in the club, and each animal
Eustace the mouse, on board LCT 947 , Normandy, June 6, 1944.
member received a certificate and a badge to recognize their wartime service. The mascots took on all shapes and sizes of many different animals.
In addition to Sergeant Gander, there are two other relatively well-known Canadian animals that set off to war with their masters. The first never actually made it to the battlefields, but is probably the most famous, being better known as the bear that inspired the creation of Winnie the Pooh. In 1914, just after the outbreak of the First World War, a young veterinarian from Winnipeg, Harry Colebourn, set off for the newly created army training camp at Valcartier, Quebec. At a train stop in White River, Ontario, Harry befriended a small black bear cub whose mother had been killed by a trapper. He paid twenty dollars for her and
Muncher, the rabâbit mascot of the HMCS Haida .
Winnie and Harry Colebourn.
named her Winnie (after his hometown of Winnipeg). Winnie became the mascot of Colebournâs infantry brigade. She sailed to England with her new friends and ended her journey at Englandâs Salisbury Plains, the principal training ground for British and Commonwealth troops during the war.
Winnie slept in Colebournâs tent (under his cot) and became like a pet to many of the men training there. She would follow them around, playing with them and entertaining them with her antics, and
British soldiers in line to register their mascots as members of the Allied Forces Mascot Club.
During the First World War one of the most famous working animals was Murphy, the donkey. In 1915, he was shipped to Turkey, where Australian and New Zealand troops were fighting Turkish and German forces at Gallipoli. Along with the other donkeys, Murphy carried supplies up and down the hills adjacent to the beach. One day, an Australian soldier named John Simpson Kirkpatrick (more commonly known as Simpson) saw Murphy carrying his load of supplies
and came up with another idea for the donkeyâs use. He threw a blanket over Murphyâs back to act as a saddle and rode the little donkey through the hills searching for injured soldiers. Simpson would put the injured men on Murphyâs back, and Murphy would carry them down to the medical unit. The idea worked well and each day Simpson and Murphy would set off in search of wounded, scouring the hills from dawn until dusk, always under threat of enemy fire. Their hard work resulted in the rescue of over 300 wounded men. On May 19, 1915,
Polish sailors and their shipsâ cats, 1940.
Convoy the shipâs cat of HMS Hermione , November 26, 1941.
while on one of their patrols, Simpson and Murphy came under heavy enemy fire, just after they placed a wounded man on the donkeyâs back. Simpson was killed. Legend has it that Murphy continued back to the army hospital with the injured man on his back and then led rescuers back to Simpsonâs body. Other sources claim that Murphy was killed in the initial gunfire barrage. Whatever the case, the Australians thought enough of the pairâs contributions to erect a statue of Simpson and Murphy outside the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
Shipâs mascot Ighty who was injured at Dieppe, Sepâtember 1942.
Humankindâs bond with animals fostered the need for many soldiers to bring mascots with them into battle, or to adopt an animal while serving in the military. A pet, something to love and care for, is often a welcome distraction from the horrors of war. During the Second World War the PDSA formed the Allied Forces Mascot Club to recognize the importance of animal mascots and the variety of roles that they played while serving with the armed forces. Hundreds of soldiers and sailors registered their mascots for membership in the club, and each animal
Eustace the mouse, on board LCT 947 , Normandy, June 6, 1944.
member received a certificate and a badge to recognize their wartime service. The mascots took on all shapes and sizes of many different animals.
In addition to Sergeant Gander, there are two other relatively well-known Canadian animals that set off to war with their masters. The first never actually made it to the battlefields, but is probably the most famous, being better known as the bear that inspired the creation of Winnie the Pooh. In 1914, just after the outbreak of the First World War, a young veterinarian from Winnipeg, Harry Colebourn, set off for the newly created army training camp at Valcartier, Quebec. At a train stop in White River, Ontario, Harry befriended a small black bear cub whose mother had been killed by a trapper. He paid twenty dollars for her and
Muncher, the rabâbit mascot of the HMCS Haida .
Winnie and Harry Colebourn.
named her Winnie (after his hometown of Winnipeg). Winnie became the mascot of Colebournâs infantry brigade. She sailed to England with her new friends and ended her journey at Englandâs Salisbury Plains, the principal training ground for British and Commonwealth troops during the war.
Winnie slept in Colebournâs tent (under his cot) and became like a pet to many of the men training there. She would follow them around, playing with them and entertaining them with her antics, and
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