52
and Bobbyon her estate at Dun-
mow, Essex. All three horses
served throughout the War.
Of the other notable War
animal survivors, mention must be
made of Ragtime, Lord Middle-
ton's handsome grey Arab, who
saw fierce fighting in the desert
during the Mesopotamia Cam
paign, and is now, at the age of
twenty-four, living with his
master at Malton, Yorks. Rocky,
a dog who was born in the
front line near Roclincourt in
1918, and is now living in
Dundeeand Dickybush, a wire-
haired terrier who was born
within a few miles of the
Salient his mother being one
of the numerous strays ren- Photo] [Imperial War Museum, Crown Copyright
dered homeless by the invad- submarine officer attaching message to leg of
ing hordesand who is now carrier pigeon
living at Toulon, South of France, having attained the ripe age of eighteen years.
Dickybush (he takes his name from the village, Dickebusch) experienced a most
remarkable escape from death when only a few weeks old. A bomb fell on the
house he was in, and, exploding in the room, killed his mother and four brothers
and sisters. Dickybush escaped unharmed and was nursed through puppyhood by
Major Hall of the Intelligence Service who had previous to the arrival of the litter
found the mother-dog wandering vainly amid the ruins in search of a haven of rest.
It is now nearly twenty years since the drums of war first echoed across the
fair plains of Flanders, and the ranks of our four-footed comrades of the battle
fields are becoming sadly thinned. True, there are still quite a few left with us,
some in private ownership, others
continuing to ply the daily round
and common task of useful em
ployment. But their number is
dwindling day by day, and, by
the natural order of things, the
time is rapidly approaching when
they all will have passed from us.
Even so, their memory will remain
ever green in the minds of those
who enjoyed their companion
ship during the long drawn-out
struggle.
There is no national memorial
to the War Animals in this
country, but several practical
schemes have been inaugurated
to commemorate the great sacri-
fices they made. The Governors
of the Royal Veterinary College
have opened a special Lest We PhotoJ [Imperial War Museum, Crown Copyright
T7 i TT A iUIL U" i f GERMAN DOG CARRYING APPARATUS FOR LAYING
Forget Fund with the object of telephone wires
