VE Day: A tribute to the heroic dogs of the Second World War
May 8, 2020
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Bravery is to be commended in many forms, but some of the most unusual examples during the Second World War came from more than 3,300 of our four-legged friends. From sniffing out mines or ferrying messages to being parachuted – yes, literally – over enemy lines for search and rescue missions, dogs played a crucial role in the Allied war effort.
Particular tribute should be paid to the 18 dogs who received the PDSA Dickin Medal, the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross – and the highest honour that can be given to a creature in military service. Recipients included Beauty, a wire-haired terrier, who found and saved 63 animals during air raids, and Judy, an English pointer, who survived a Japanese prisoner of war camp. About half the dogs made it home, but all were heroic in their own way.