Tirpitz (pig)

Tirpitz was a pig captured from the Imperial German Navy after a naval skirmish (the Battle of Más a Tierra) following the Battle of the Falkland Islands in 1914. She became the mascot of the cruiser .

Early life

Pigs were often kept on board warships to supply fresh meat. Tirpitz was aboard , when she was ordered into the South Atlantic to join with the forces of Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee to raid Allied merchants. The ship's first encounter with was at the Battle of Coronel, where the German fleet was victorious. They were later defeated at the Battle of the Falkland Islands, though the faster ''Dresden'' managed to escape. She was located in Cumberland Bay on the Chilean island of Más a Tierra (today known as Robinson Crusoe Island), by HMS ''Glasgow'' and off the coast of South America on 15 March 1915. The Germans scuttled the ship, but Tirpitz was left on board as she sank.

Capture and Royal Navy service

Tirpitz was able to make her way above deck and swim clear of the sinking ''Dresden''. She struck out for the nearby Royal Navy ships and was spotted an hour later by a petty officer aboard HMS ''Glasgow''. The officer entered the water, but the frightened Tirpitz nearly drowned him. He was however eventually able to rescue the pig and bring her aboard. The animal was adopted by the crew of HMS ''Glasgow'', who made her their mascot, and named her 'Tirpitz', after Alfred von Tirpitz, the German Admiral, and Secretary of State of the Imperial Naval Office. Tirpitz remained with the ''Glasgow'' for a year and was then placed in quarantine until she was allowed to be adopted by the Petty Officer who had first seen her, who transferred her to Whale Island Gunnery School, Portsmouth for the rest of her career. ''The Times'' newspaper reported:

The animal, which is known as 'Tirpitz', was once owned by the German light cruiser ''Dresden'', and when, during the action with ''Glasgow'', ''Kent'', and ''Orama'', the Germans escaped to the shore after causing an explosion which sank the ''Dresden'', and 'Tirpitz' was left to its fate, the pig struck out boldly, and was seen swimming near the ''Glasgow''. Two sailors dived into the sea, and the animal was brought safely aboard. The ship's company of the ''Glasgow'' awarded 'Tirpitz' an 'Iron Cross' for having remained in the ship after its shipmates had left, and it became a great pet.

As a fundraiser

Tirpitz was eventually auctioned off for charity as pork in 1919. She ultimately raised £1,785 for the British Red Cross. Tirpitz was bought by William Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland, who donated Tirpitz's stuffed head to the Imperial War Museum. Tirpitz's head was put on display as part of the museum's original exhibition at The Crystal Palace in 1920, and also featured in the museum's 2006 temporary exhibition 'The Animals' War'.

Another of Tirpitz's legacies was bequeathed to the next , which retained a pair of silver mounted carvers made from Tirpitz's trotters. These carvers were later also acquired by the Imperial War Museum.

See also

* List of individual pigs

Notes

{{Reflist

References

'Pig in the Post' - A presentation to the Royal Philatelic Society London by Colin Mount FBSAP

Military animals
Prize warfare
Individual pigs
Collection of the Imperial War Museum
Military animals of World War I
Individual taxidermy exhibits