O
Olga
Olga was a bay mare in the service of the police at a time when the Luftwaffe was engaged in endlessly launching doodlebugs on London. She was one of many horses working in difficult circumstances during the war.
She was working in London on 3rd
July, 1944, when a flying bomb detonated, less than 300 feet ahead of her, near
a railway line in Tooting. The blast killed four men and demolished four
buildings. The explosion and the shattering of a plate glass window directly in
front of her, startled her, causing her to bolt in panic. Her rider, P.C.
Thwaites, soon brought her under control and they quickly returned to the scene
of devastation to help survivors and deal with the traffic. From that point,
Olga was calm and controlled, executing her duty with remarkable composure.
She received the Dickin Medal in
April 1947. She was honoured for being, ’On duty when a flying bomb demolished
four houses in Tooting and a plate-glass window crashed immediately in front of
her. Olga, after bolting for 100 yards returned to the scene of the incident
and remained on duty with her rider, controlling traffic and assisting rescue
organisations.’
Olga lies buried at the Metropolitan Police Mounted
Training Establishment at Thames Ditton in Surrey.
Image source
Have you seen the play 'Warhorse'. Heartbreaker.
ReplyDeleteYes. I read the book then saw the play several years ago in London. I like Michael Morpurgo's books.
DeleteGetting caught up. This is a rather interesting topic! I am glad you are doing this.
ReplyDelete--
Tim Brannan
The Other Side: 2024 A to Z of Dungeons & Dragons.
It's rather sad at times . . .
DeleteWhat a beautiful creature. xx
ReplyDeleteWasn't she?
DeleteHorses and war went together, thankfully for horses not now. I am wondering if you have a Z up your sleeve to conclude the series. Zelda? Zeus?
ReplyDeleteWait and see (while I panic!)
DeleteShe's remembered in my forthcoming book on the doodlebug campaign. Such a brave horse!
ReplyDeleteNow that will be an interesting book. When will it be available?
DeleteIt's called "The V1 flying bomb campaign 1944-1945: the Doodlebug summer and after" by Jan Gore. Published by Pen & Sword, it should be out at the end of August this year.
DeleteI especially like the second picture showing P.C. Thwaites holding the little dog. Olga showed great courage.
ReplyDeleteI thought that was a lovely photograph, too.
DeleteAnother astonishing story.
ReplyDeleteThere must be hundreds more, untold.
DeleteMarvelous story of courage and bravery, loved the photo of P.C. Thwaites and Olga. The one of the little dog tugs at the heartstrings, the story too. I shall bookmark this for our son to read as he is very interested in that part of history, and I know he would want to read this. My Dad was a young constable (he was in the navy for a good part of WWII). Before he joined the services, he was sent to keep curious onlookers away from quite a large unexploded bomb sticking out of the ground, no more than a lad really. The bomb squad was busy that night and it took a while for them to arrive. An older lady came out of her house with a cup of tea for him. After he told her she should be somewhere safe like the air raid shelter, he always admired her reply, which was that she wasn't going to be driven out of her home with a few choice words afterwards. It's one of my favorite stories my mother told me from WWII. Dad never spoke about the war but mum knew more, and years later when my Dad met Gregg's Dad, they would tell each other a few stories, one navy man to another. So, kudos to PC Thwaites and Olga, and many more like them. This is a wonderful story!
ReplyDeletePeople too easily overlook what the emergency services did in the war. They enabled civilian life to continue and took enormous risks to make life safer..
DeleteI think the older lady's response to your father was quite typical, a real 'British Bulldog' attitude.
My father would never speak about the war, either. It was a job that had to be done, and that was all.
Another wonderful story.
ReplyDeleteLovely photographs of Olga too.
All the best Jan
Such a beautiful animal, and P.C. Thwaites looks so proud, seated on her.
DeleteMy heart bleeds for horses working in war zones = what do they know of the inhumanity of mankind to each other? They don't deserve the pain and sacrifices they were forced to make.
ReplyDeleteCertainly a lot was expected of them and their lot was pretty miserable, many often not returning to civilisation after the war, but being left, or shot. Man's inhumanity to those not man!
DeleteSuch a brave horse! xxx
ReplyDeleteShe was. I have tremendous respect for police horses. Although they're big, they're also vulnerable to attack.
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