April 2024 A to Z Challenge

Paddy

Image source

 This year my blog posts for the April 2024 Ato Z Challenge will be about the recipients of the Dickin Medal, which you can read about here. They are in alphabetical, not chronological order, within the different letters.

 

P

Paddy  1943-1954

Paddy was a most suitable name for this Irish pigeon. He was hatched and raised in Antrim in Ulster and was sent to RAF Hurn in Dorset (since 1969 known as Bournemouth Airport) for military training. He was seconded to the United States First Army and flew undercover operations during the 1944 Normandy landings. Paddy flew the 230 miles back to RAF Hurn in adverse weather conditions in 4 hours and 50 minutes, avoiding gun fire and evading German falcons sent to intercept him. His flight speed was 56 mph.

He was awarded the DM in 1944 and his citation ran, ‘For the best recorded time with a message from the Normandy Operations, while serving with the RAF in June, 1944.’

At the end of the war, Paddy returned to Ireland to live with his owner, Captain Andrew Hughes, dying in 1954 at the age of 11. There is a memorial in Carnlough Harbour commemorating this astonishing bird. He is the only Irish recipient of the Dickin Medal.

 

Peter   1941-1952

                                        Peter, after the war
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Peter was a collie born in 1941. He impressed his owner by destroying her house and ignoring every command she gave him. Apparently, he started fights with other dogs, too. 

He started training as a Rescue Dog with Air Ministry dog-handler Archie Knight and worked as a search and rescue dog in London. Writing a report on him, Archie Knight said, ’I think one of his finest jobs was on Monday. We were called 20 hours after the incident and after several hours of heavy rain. Three bodies were missing and he very quickly indicated in a most unlikely spot, but he was right, and they uncovered a man and a woman. The next day we were called to another job. There were so many calls for Peter that I worked him 10 hours and he never once refused to give all he had. All his marks revealed casualties. I hated to work him like this – but I also hated to refuse the rescue parties who were asking for him.’

On one occasion Peter found six people in a single incident. On another day, he indicated a victim that turned out to be a grey parrot! 

                        Peter receiving his Dickin Medal, 1945

                                                      Image source  

Peter received his DM in November, 1945, his citation reading, ‘For locating victims trapped under blitzed buildings while serving with the MAP attached to Civil Defence of London’. (I cannot discover what ’MAP attached to Civil Defence of London’ means, even though I’ve looked at lists of acronyms).

 Later Peter helped in teaching mountain rescue procedures to other rescue dogs and their handlers in training.

He died in 1952 and was buried at the PDSA cemetery in Ilford.

 

Princess

Princess was bred by the Middle East Pigeon Service and received her DM posthumously in 1946, after contracting a disease shortly after the end of the war.

In 1943, she flew 500 miles, mostly over sea, from Crete to her loft at RAF Alexandria. Her message carried details of enemy activity on the island of Crete. Her citation reveals, ‘For carrying valuable information 500 miles from Crete to Alexandria in April 1943. One of the finest performances in pigeon war service records.’

 

Punch and Judy

                                    Punch

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Punch and Judy were Bullmastiff litter mates and had been bred as Palestinian police dogs. They lived with their owners, British officers, in Jerusalem. 

One August evening in 1946, the two men prepared to retire to their separate quarters, first checking security around the property. In the garden lurked a terrorist with a machine gun aimed at the front door. As the men approached it, Punch and Judy leapt to their feet, barking and running out into the garden. Before the two officers could arm themselves and follow their dogs, there was a burst of gun fire.

There was no sign of the gunman but they found that Punch had been hit by four bullets and had lost a lot of blood. His sister, Judy, lying next to him, was also covered in blood.

When veterinary help arrived from the Jerusalem PDSA, the attending vet thought there was little chance of saving Punch, but the big dog responded well to treatment and eventually recovered. Judy had one long graze along her back from a bullet, but was otherwise unscathed. The assumption was that she had lain across Punch to protect him after the first bullets had hit him.

For bravery in saving their owners from assassination the dogs were each awarded the Dickin Medal in November 1946. The commendation states that they ‘saved the lives of two British Officers . . . by warning them of and attacking an armed terrorist who was stealing upon them unawares.’