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Crumstone Irma, a.k.a. Irma, was a
Irma was initially used as a messenger dog to relay messages when telephone lines were down. She was teamed with another dog from the same kennel, named Crumstone Psyche (commonly referred to as Psyche), and they were both retrained to become search and rescue dogs. The pair of dogs were handled by their owner, Mrs Margaret Griffin, and together the two dogs found 233 people, of which 21 were found alive.
In one incident, Irma refused to give up on the scent of two girls who were trapped under a fallen building for two days.
Irma specialised in being able to bark differently depending on whether the buried victim was dead or alive. This included one occasion when Irma signalled with an "alive" bark and rescuers dug out a victim who was apparently dead. Irma was proved correct, as the man eventually stirred.
Following their work during the Second World War they became demonstration dogs along with Crumstone Storm at the Dog School in
PDSA Dickin Medal, including "Roll of Honor" PDF
{{Dickin Medal Individual dogs German shepherds Recipients of the Dickin Medal
German Shepherd Dog
The German Shepherd or Alsatian is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899.
It was originally bred as a herding dog, for he ...
who assisted in the rescue of 191 people trapped under blitzed buildings while serving with London's Civil Defence Services during the Second World War. During this period she worked with her handler and owner, Mrs Margaret Griffin, and another dog named Psyche. Noted for her ability to tell if buried victims were dead or alive, she was awarded the Dickin Medal
The PDSA Dickin Medal was instituted in 1943 in the United Kingdom by Maria Dickin to honour the work of animals in World War II. It is a bronze medallion, bearing the words "For Gallantry" and "We Also Serve" within a laurel wreath, carried o ...
in 1945, and is buried at the PDSA Animal Cemetery, Ilford.
Rescue career
Irma was initially used as a messenger dog to relay messages when telephone lines were down. She was teamed with another dog from the same kennel, named Crumstone Psyche (commonly referred to as Psyche), and they were both retrained to become search and rescue dogs. The pair of dogs were handled by their owner, Mrs Margaret Griffin, and together the two dogs found 233 people, of which 21 were found alive.
In one incident, Irma refused to give up on the scent of two girls who were trapped under a fallen building for two days.
Irma specialised in being able to bark differently depending on whether the buried victim was dead or alive. This included one occasion when Irma signalled with an "alive" bark and rescuers dug out a victim who was apparently dead. Irma was proved correct, as the man eventually stirred.
Following their work during the Second World War they became demonstration dogs along with Crumstone Storm at the Dog School in Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
.
Awards
She was awarded the Dickin Medal on 12 January 1945 with a citation that read "For being responsible for the rescue of persons trapped under blitzed buildings while serving with the Civil Defences of London." Irma, along with Jet was one of two dogs to participate in theLondon Victory Celebrations of 1946
The London Victory Celebrations of 1946 were British Commonwealth, Empire and Allied victory celebrations held after the defeat of Nazi Germany and Japan in World War II. On 1 November 1945 the Prime Minister appointed a committee under the cha ...
held in Pall Mall, London on 8 June 1946. Both wore their Dickin Medals during the parade.
Irma's owner, Mrs Margaret Griffin, was awarded the British Empire Medal
The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to ...
for her work in training her dogs and accompanying them on rescue missions.
The Dickin Medal is often referred to as the animal metaphorical equivalent of the Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
.
See also
*List of individual dogs
This is a list of individual famous actual dogs; for famous dogs from fiction, see List of fictional dogs.
Actors
Advertising
* Axelrod, Basset Hound, appeared in commercials and print ads for Flying "A" Service Station advertisements in ...
References
External links
PDSA Dickin Medal, including "Roll of Honor" PDF
{{Dickin Medal Individual dogs German shepherds Recipients of the Dickin Medal