Ricky was a dog who received 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 1947 from the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals for bravery in service during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Military service

During the Second World War, Ricky, a

Border Collie The Border Collie is a Scottish breed of herding dog of medium size. Widely considered to be the most intelligent dog breed, they are descended from landrace sheepdogs once found all over the British Isles, but became standardised in the Angl ...

Old English Sheepdog The Old English Sheepdog is a large breed of dog that emerged in England from early types of herding dog. Obsolete names for the breed include Shepherd's Dog and . The nickname ''Bob-tail'' (or ''Bobtail'') originates from how dogs of the bre ...

cross, was purchased by the father of Sheila Litchfield-Stander for seven

shillings The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence or ...

and six pence in

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

while he was on

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting w ...

duty. The dog had previously been owned by a family who found themselves destitute. Soon afterwards, the Litchfield family moved to

Sedlescombe Sedlescombe is a village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. The village is on the B2244 road, about north of Hastings. The parish includes the hamlet of Kent Street, which is on the A21 road. The parish is i ...

, and again in 1941 they moved to Kent near to Biggin Hill airbase. After suffering from food shortages due to the ongoing rationing, Ricky was offered to the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

to become a

war dog Dogs in warfare have a very long history starting in Ancient history, ancient times. From being trained in combat, to their use as scouts, sentries, Courier, messengers, mercy dogs, and Tracking (dog), trackers, their uses have been varied and s ...

. He was assigned to Maurice Yelding (of the circus family) during his military service after graduating from the War Dogs Training School at

Northaw Northaw is a village in the Welwyn Hatfield district of Hertfordshire, England. It is part of the civil parish of Northaw and Cuffley (where at the 2011 Census the population was included), which was originally known as Northaw. The parish ha ...

in Hertfordshire. Long (2012): p. 59 Yelding and Ricky were assigned to the 279th Field Company,

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

of the

15th (Scottish) Infantry Division The 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that served during the Second World War. It was raised on 2 September 1939, the day before war was declared, as part of the Territorial Army (TA) and served in ...

. In December 1944, they were in the Netherlands where they were assigned to mine clearance along the canals near

Nederweert Nederweert (; li, Ni-jwieërt ) is a municipality and a town in southeastern Netherlands with a population of as of and has an area of of which is water. Nederweert lies at the intersection of three channels: the Zuid-Willemsvaart, the Noord ...

. Long (2012): p. 60 His handler would send letters home to his family, but they found out the duo's most famous action through a

mention in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. On 3 December 1944, Ricky found a number of

land mines A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

on the canals. During the process of mine clearing, his section commander was killed and Ricky himself suffered serious head injuries. Long (2012): p. 61 Yelding expanded on this, saying that he and Ricky were both within of the mine when it exploded, and were in the middle of a

mine field A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automatic ...

. Despite this, the pair continued to clear the mines from the surrounding area. He was awarded a special collar by the War Office in recognition of his actions. After the end of the war, the military offered his family £25 to retain Ricky but they refused and he was returned home. It was the maximum amount allowed to be offered to retain a dog following war service. Subsequently, his family has produced a range of dog products in his name, with Ricky's face on some of the packaging.

Dickin medal

For his actions, Ricky was subsequently awarded the

for bravery by the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals. This is considered to be the animal's 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 ...

. His award was announced alongside that of another dog,

Brian Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word me ...

, in March 1947. Their medals were presented to them by Air Chief Marshal Sir

Frederick Bowhill Air chief marshal Sir Frederick William Bowhill, (1 September 1880 – 12 March 1960) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force before and during World War II. RAF career Bowhill started his career as a midshipman in the merchant navy in ...

Notes

References

External links

PDSA Dickin Medal, including "Roll of Honor" PDF
{{Dickin Medal Individual dogs awarded the Dickin Medal Individual dogs British Army animals Military animals of World War II British Army personnel of World War II

Military service

Dickin medal

See also

Notes

References

External links