Stratford Guild REVIEW of 14 October talk
Updated: 5 days ago
‘Unsung heroes - Animals at war’ Speaker Phil Whitemore
I’ve been lucky enough to have listened to many of Phil Whitemore’s talks and always found them engaging and informative and his presentation to the Stratford Guild on 14th October was no exception.
Man’s close bond with many types of animals has developed over thousands of years, allowing humans to make use of an animal’s highly developed characteristics of smell, strength, hearing, flight and sight. A bond of loyalty between human and animal is mutual and based on the trust of both parties in one another.
Phil’s talk covered many different animals carrying out a range of specialist roles. Mules, horses and elephants as draught animals, dogs using their highly sensitive smell to detect explosives, as well as pigeons to carry messages back to headquarters. Cats should never be forgotten, their skill at reducing the mouse and rat populations onboard ships and in the trenches during WW1 was vital to maintain health and morale.
During WW2, 16,000 homing pigeons were parachuted into occupied territory enabling many of the local people and the resistance networks to report on enemy dispositions. Of the 16,000 only 1,500 made it back to GB. It was reported that many of the birds were eaten by hungry locals.
The fearless sacrifice made by many animals was eventually recognised. In 1943 the PDSA Dickin Medal (left) was instituted and sometimes called the “Animals’ Victoria Cross”, the highest military honour an animal can receive in conflict. A total of 75 have been awarded since its introduction, with many being awarded posthumously. The tragedy of human sacrifice during war is always measured, yet we do forget the scale of the slaughter of animals.
Please remember our unsung heroes.
Steve Mayall
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