Free Sergeant Gander by Robyn Walker

in Norway. The crew was thrown into the water and found themselves clinging to debris. Winkie’s broken container had also been thrown from the plane and she freed herself. Her wings were covered in the oil that was leaking from the wreckage, but she managed to take flight and head for home. She returned to her loft the next morning, soaked with both oil and water. A sergeant from the RAF Pigeon Service was able to identify which plane she had been on and to log a route to the plane wreckage, using wind direction, and predicted flight timing from the time the plane ditched and when Winkie returned home. A rescue team located the downed airmen. Just over a year later, Winkie was awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal, “For delivering a message under exceptionally difficult conditions and so contributing to the rescue of an Air Crew while serving with the RAF in February 1942.”
    Mary of Exeter was another member of the British National Pigeon Service. She served her country for five years and was wounded twenty-two times, most often by enemy birds of prey. After one mission, Mary returned with three bullet wounds and part of her wing shot off. Despite being badly hurt, she still completed her mission to bring her message home.

    Simon, playing while in quar–antine.
    The only cat ever to be awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal was a black and white tomcat named Simon. Simon joined the crew of the HMS Amethyst in 1948. On a mission on China’s Yangze River, the Amethyst came under fire from Communist shore batteries. A direct hit on the ship’s captain’s cabin badly injured Simon — his whiskers were burned off, his fur was singed, and he sustained several shrapnel wounds. Pinned down on the river by enemy fire, the Amethyst was besieged all summer. Rats on board the ship began spoiling food and stealing from the supplies. The men were fearful and depressed. Simon spent his days patrolling the ship, hunting to help control the rat population. In the evenings he visited the sick bay, providing comfort and companionship to the injured sailors. In July 1949, after being stranded for three months, the Amethyst finally broke free from the river. Simon’s contribution throughout the ordeal was widely recognized by his ship mates, and his commanding officer recommended him for the PDSA Dickin Medal. Unfortunately, Simon’s medal had to be awarded posthumously. During his six-month quarantine after his arrival in England, Simon became ill and died. His citation reads, “Served on the HMS Amethyst during the Yangtze Incident, disposing of many rats though wounded by shell blast. Throughout the incident his behaviour was of the highest order.”
    The PDSA Dickin Medal has been awarded to dozens of dogs for a wide variety of heroic acts. During the Second World War thousands of bombs were dropped on the City of London. After each round of bombing, rescuers combed the debris in search of survivors. Dogs, with their keen sense of smell, were an integral part of this rescue effort. Margaret Griffin had two Alsation dogs, Psych and Irma, who were well trained in performing search and rescue missions. Griffin kept extensive and detailed records of her dogs’ work throughout the London Blitz. A typical diary entry reads as follows,
    Call to Osborne Road, Tottenham at 21:00 hrs. In house No. 1 Irma
found two live casualties. In No. 2 Irma again gave good indication
just to one side of [a] fairly large and fierce fire burning through
collapsed house debris … Family of five found. In No. 3 a strong
indication from Irma over the debris. Rescue found a live cat.
Working over No. 4 I got another clear indication under a collapsed
floor, later had report from Rescue Leader on this site that 4 adults
had been taken, 2 more located and one was suspected lying behind
the 2 located ones…. 5
    Irma located twenty-one live victims and 170 dead victims, as well as several pets. She was awarded the PDSA