Remembrance Day-the animals who served

[Catherine]

On this Nov 11 Remembrance Day let us remember any family or friends that served in the wars.
Let us also remember the animals that served. Many gave their lives for a cause that they would not have understood. They were there because we asked them to be there.

WW1: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/hor...ar_one.htm

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/dog...ar_one.htm

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/pig...ar_one.htm

I am sure there are many more stories from WW1 and from the wars since then where animals have served.
http://www.animalsinwar.org.uk/index.cfm?asset_id=1422
We can't know all who gave their lives, but we can remember them when we remember the fallen soldiers.

[Tobi]

Thanks for posting this Catherine. Many people do forget the animals who served, and many passed away in battle. Let us not forget their Souls as well.

Actually a little while ago, I remember seeing a Memorial wall, (somewhere online) for the fallen canine soldiers, and many of them recent. That was somewhere in USA. If I find it I will post the link.

We mustn't forget the many horses who also lost their lives. Horses were used extensively in the first world war.

But apart from battle itself, hundreds (probably thousands) of companion animals were euthanised in Britain during the second world war, as part of the "War Effort". That is a sad story by itself. Some 'pets' survived, particularly if they were deemed 'useful' in some way -such as cats kept as mousers and ratters, and working-dogs.

War wreaks such havoc.

[Catherine]

Quote:But apart from battle itself, hundreds (probably thousands) of companion animals were euthanised in Britain during the second world war, as part of the "War Effort". That is a sad story by itself. Some 'pets' survived, particularly if they were deemed 'useful' in some way -such as cats kept as mousers and ratters, and working-dogs.

I was unaware of this. I guess things were desperate and food was scarce. There were no table scraps for pets. There was not enough for the children.

You are so right...War wrecks such havoc.

When I see a picture of a bomb blast I am aware that the land was not bare. There were creatures living there, in the soil, in the grass, in the bushes and trees. They never stood a chance and they do not even know why it is happening.

I hope you find the info about the Memorial wall. There should be memorials to animals who served. I guess the musical War Horse is trying to show us some of what animals suffered. It was pretty intense. I cried all through it for the many horses that died.

[Knight of Albion]

I've only just learned of this myself....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24478532

[Catherine]

I did not know about this. I sit here stunned by the information. I am overwhelmed by the numbers.

I work with seniors who were there in the war and in fact both my parents were there in the military and I have never heard one word of this pet holocaust. Not even a hint. Why?

Strange irony. I am listening to a book right now, called David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell. It is sub-titled, Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants. He was just talking about the Blitz and how it affected people. It was thought that there would be wholesale panic and a lot of mental disorders. Oddly people handled the bombing very well. The dead were gone. The people with near misses were traumatized, but most people felt stronger and more energized by the danger. The Government totally misread how people would react. There were surprized how people coped.

The directive for the mass killing of pets fit how they thought things would be. People would have coped and somehow fed their pets. Certainly the cats would have helped with pest control.

I really think this needs to be made public. It is a dark phase of British history and bringing it to light can only help. People remember what they did. They must have thought about it. It is better to admit that a tragic mistake was made than to pretend it never happened.

They have had to admit that evacuating the children was not always the best idea either.
I hope someone puts up a memorial to all the pets that died needlessly.

[Tobi]

(11-13-2014, 07:56 AM)Knight of Albion Wrote: I've only just learned of this myself....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24478532

I didn't know the number was so high. 750.000 all in one week.
My mother told me her mother and father kept the family cat. And my father's parents had a spaniel. They kept him too. So I gathered, from stories about this which I was told as a child, that euthanising them wasn't compulsory. I always found it hard to understand as a child. I thought, "I wonder why anyone did it if they weren't going to be shot or something for not doing it!"

I grew up on some pretty grim wartime stories..... Nowadays children wouldn't be allowed to hear those stories.

Yes people did cope very well with the bombing, the V1s, and the devastation and deprivation which affected every British family in one way or another. They did feel the effects though. My aunt told me about a girl who was her best friend at school. One day she went to school, and her friend wasn't there. Their home had been flattened by a bomb the night before, and the whole family gone instantly.

My grandfather obtained some land, and had chickens, and grew vegetables. He also had a goat for milk. I don't know how this worked exactly, but the family had good food during the war. The cat ate a lot of bread and milk, my mother told me. No doubt it caught mice too.

[Catherine]

There is no doubt it was a very hard time, but it sounds like your family was resourceful. Some of the stories I heard from my father were pretty intense. The stories I have heard from other war veterans were as bad or worse.

It just seems incredible that so many people rushed out and killed their pets before anything had actually happened. As you say, it was no compulsory. The numbers are staggering. I wonder how the veterinarians coped with the work.

I hope the whole story comes out and people talk about it. That is the best way to prevent something like this ever happening again. I am sure people would never turn their children over to strangers for evacuation again. Sometimes the people in authority do not have the right answers.
Is there a memorial to the pets who died?