I went to the Animals at War exhibit at the Imperial War Museum. It was excellent. Of course, being completely potty about animals, I went around the exhibit in tears! It looked at all the animals that have been used in warfare – like horses, dogs, pigeons, and even rats, pigs, camels, elephants and dolphins.
It was actually really fascinating – giant rats are used to sniff for mines. They have a much more acute sense of smell than dogs and cost a third of what it costs to train a dog. The cutest bit was a letter to Lord Kitchener from 3 children begging him to spare their pony from war service. He even wrote back to them, assuring them that he would!
They had lots of ‘decorated’ pigeons that carried messages in the world wars. My favourite dog was the one that some how followed his master to a French battlefield after he was shipped out from England. No one knows how that dog crossed the channel, but the story is verified as true by the RSPCA. Also, very moving are the accounts of people who gave up their dogs for service. Bob was lent to the US Army by his family, and received loads of medals. He was used to parachute out of planes – because he could parachute silently – and would round up the men on night jumps. Even ship cats were decorated – they were vital to stopping rats and mice from contaminating food supplies.
They also had stuff on the effect that war has on domestic animals. During the blitz, thousands of animals were injured and lost. The British govt had registers and issued posters for people to put up on their properties in case they were bombed, to alert the rescue teams about the number of people who were living there – on it there was also room to put whether you had a cat or a dog, and where their bed was located.
Mostly, I think what I liked the best was the accounts of how the animals just boosted the morale of the soldiers. A dog, Jennie, kept up the spirits of men in a Japanese POW camp, and there was a great picture of a ship’s mascot – a tiny kitten – reclining in a specially made hammock, with a big smirk on his face.
It was actually really fascinating – giant rats are used to sniff for mines. They have a much more acute sense of smell than dogs and cost a third of what it costs to train a dog. The cutest bit was a letter to Lord Kitchener from 3 children begging him to spare their pony from war service. He even wrote back to them, assuring them that he would!
They had lots of ‘decorated’ pigeons that carried messages in the world wars. My favourite dog was the one that some how followed his master to a French battlefield after he was shipped out from England. No one knows how that dog crossed the channel, but the story is verified as true by the RSPCA. Also, very moving are the accounts of people who gave up their dogs for service. Bob was lent to the US Army by his family, and received loads of medals. He was used to parachute out of planes – because he could parachute silently – and would round up the men on night jumps. Even ship cats were decorated – they were vital to stopping rats and mice from contaminating food supplies.
They also had stuff on the effect that war has on domestic animals. During the blitz, thousands of animals were injured and lost. The British govt had registers and issued posters for people to put up on their properties in case they were bombed, to alert the rescue teams about the number of people who were living there – on it there was also room to put whether you had a cat or a dog, and where their bed was located.
Mostly, I think what I liked the best was the accounts of how the animals just boosted the morale of the soldiers. A dog, Jennie, kept up the spirits of men in a Japanese POW camp, and there was a great picture of a ship’s mascot – a tiny kitten – reclining in a specially made hammock, with a big smirk on his face.
2 comments:
Dear Angela.
I love what you sya about the animal exhibition. Jusr as well I didn't go round it I wouldn't have sen a thing! But you would have heard me
Muu
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