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HANDOUT “ANIMALSTHATSERVEDINTHEFIRSTWORLDWAR”

AspresentedtotheVenturaCountyGenealogicalSociety.Over 16 million animals served in theFirst World War. They were used for transport, communication andcompanionship.In1914,bothsideshadlargecavalryforces.Horseandcamel-mountedtroopswereusedinthedesertcampaignsthroughoutthewar,ontheWesternFront,newweapons likethemachine-gunmadecavalrychargesdifficultanddeadly.Horses,donkeys,mulesandcamelscarried food,water,ammunitionandmedical supplies tomenat the front,anddogs andpigeons carriedmessages. Canarieswereused todetectpoisonous gas, and cats anddogsweretrained tohunt rats in the trenches.Dogs,cats,andmoreunusualanimals includingmonkeys,bearsand lions,werekeptaspetsandmascotstoraisemoraleandprovidecomfort. Someregimentalmascotsrepresenttheirhomecountryandcountieshistory.

When the custom of having regimentalmascots first started is not clear; the earliest record is that of a goatbelongingtotheRoyalWelshFusiliers inthe1775AmericanWarofIndependence.SomemascotsintheBritishArmyare indicativeoftherecruitingareaofaregiment,suchastheDerbyshireRam,StaffordshireBullTerrier,IrishWolfhoundsandWelshGoats.

OfficialBritishArmymascotsareentitledtotheservicesoftheRoyalArmyVeterinaryCorps,aswellasquarteringand foodatpublic expense. Therearealsomascotswhoseupkeepareborneby the regimentorunit itself. In1914,theBritisharmypossessed25,000horses.TheWarOfficeneededtosourceahalfmillionmoretogointobattle.Theywereessentialtotransportweaponsandsupplies,tocarrythewoundedanddyingtohospitalandtomount cavalry charges. In the first year, the countryside was emptied of shire horses and riding ponies,heartbreakingforfamilieswhosawtheirhorsesrequisitionedbythegovernment.It was traumatic. Transported to the ports, they were hoisted onto ships crossing the Channel before beinginitiated into the horrorswar.Men formed close relationshipswith the horses, but they couldn’t prevent theappallinglyhighdeathrate.Ambulance horses carried wounded soldiers and artillery horsescarriedweapons,ammunitionandotherheavy loads.Here in thefirst picture - allied cavalry troops' horses are lowereddown in aslingontothequaysideastheyarriveinSalonika,Greece. PICTURE1The British government arranged for half a million horses to betransported across the Atlantic in convoys. Between 1914 and1917 around 1,000 horses were sent from the United States byshipeveryday.AconstanttargetforGermannavalattackandovertwo thousand seven hundredwere drowned although this is notgreatly advertised. Horses were so vital to the continuation of the war effort that German saboteurs alsoattemptedtopoisonthembeforetheyembarkedonthejourney.

The British public petitioned the government to improve animalwelfare during thewar. The RSPCA and the Royal Army VeterinaryCorps were active in treating injured horses and trying to preventunnecessarysuffering.Indeed,thelossofhorsesgreatlyexceedsthelossofhumanlifeinthebattlesoftheSommeandPasschendaele.AttheendofthewarsomeofthesurvivinghorsesweresoldasmeattoBelgian butchers, being regarded as unfit for any other purpose. Itwouldbe the last time thehorsewouldbeusedonamass scale inmodernwarfare.

Before1914,warshadmainlybeenfoughtbycavalries–AshereinPicture2–TheFamousRoyalScotsGreys-soldierswhofoughtonhorsebackusingswordsandguns.Butbothsidessoonrealisedmenonhorsescouldnotwinthewarinthetrenches,sotheywereusedfortransportationinstead.

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Howeverthemajorityofthehorseswerenotusedonthebattlefield.In1918justover75,000wereallocatedtothecavalry,while450,000horsesandmuleswereusedtolugsuppliesaround.Another90,000werechargedwithcarryinggunsandheavyartillery,andover100,000werehorsesthatcarriedfoodandammunitiontosoldiersandbearingthewoundedacrossthetrenchestohospitals.In1918 theBritisharmyalonehadalmost500,000horsesdistributing34,000 tonsofmeatand45,000 tonsofbreadeachmonth.Sincetheanimalsthemselvesalsoneededfeedingandwateringtheywouldalsodistributedsome16,000tonsof forage.The foodration forahorsewas20 lbsofgrainaday.25% less thanwhatahorsewouldusuallybefed.Findingenoughfoodforhorsesandmuleswasaconstantproblemandwhengrainwasinshortsupply,thehorsesandmuleshadtobefedonsawdustcake. CAMELSAtthebeginningofthewar,theMaharajaofBikanerinIndia,senthiscamelcorpstosupporttheBritishinEgypt.Britishsoldierssooncametoappreciatetheadvantagesthatcamelshadoverhorsesinadesert.Notonlycouldacamelcarryasoldierandsixweek’sworthofsuppliesfordaysatatimewithoutwater,butcamelsprovedtobemuchcalmerthanhorsesunderfire.Incavalryunits,onemanoutoffourhadtoholdtheteam’shorseswhilehiscompanionsfought;butwithcamels,justonemanwasneededtolookafter12to16animals.Sothe“cameliers”hadmuchgreaterfirepowerthantheirhorse-ridingcounterparts.TheImperialCamelCorps(ICC)wascreatedin1916andincludedtroopsfromBritain,NewZealand,AustraliaandIndia.ItfoughtinEgypt,Sudan,theSinaiPeninsulaandPalestine–AsshownhereinPicture3atBeersheba.Whilethesoldierswereallmale,almostallthecamelstheyrodewere female – they were quieter than males and had moreendurance. (SOUNDS FAMILIAR!) and Old or injured camelswouldserveasasourceofmeat.

Whenwe think of camels during the FirstWorldWar, the first thing that comes tomindmightbetheArabRevoltanditsspecialliaison,TELawrence–orLawrenceofArabiaasheisbetterknown.LawrencesaidthatoneofhisreasonsforadoptingArabclothingwasthatitwaseasiertorideacamelinrobesthaninanArmyuniform–AsshowninPicture4.

Fortunatelyfortheanimals–ifnotforhumans–bythetimetheSecondWorldWarcame around, both horses and camels had largely been replaced by motorisedtransport.

ELEPHANTSTherewasamassiveshortageofhorsesduringWWI.Farmersand traderswereata loss, left looking foranalternative.TheIndianelephantshownhereinPicture5-fitsthebillandgotajob carting munitions, scrap metal and machines aroundSheffieldinYorkshire.

Now, an elephantwasn’tconventional.Thiselephantwasfittedwithaharnessandshewasgivenaspecialpairof leatherbootstoprotectherfeetfromthemetalwastethatcoveredthegroundatthescrapmetalyard.InHorley,Surrey,Elephantsfromacircusalsofilledinforthemissinghorsesandevenhelped toplough fields–Ashere inPicture6 -andtransporthayandagricultural loadsaround farms.Apparently, theseelephantswere from ‘LordSanger'sCircus’,whichbased itself in thearea.

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DOGSDogshadavitalpart toplay inWorldWarOne,as thecomplexesof trenches spread throughout theWesternFront.Itisestimatedthatby1918,Germanyhademployed30,000dogs,Britain,FranceandBelgianover20,000and Italy 3000. America, at first, did not use dogs except to utilise a few hundred from the Allies for specificmissions. However, the USA produced the most decorated and highly-ranked service dog in military history,SergeantStubby.LotsofdogbreedswereusedduringWorldWarOneandtwoinparticularwereusedbecauseoftheirsuperiorstrength,agility, territorialnatureandtrainability;DobermanPinscher’sandGermanShepherds,bothnativetoGermany. Doberman’s because they are both highly intelligent and easily trainable and possess excellentguardingabilities.Needless tosay, theywereemployedmost frequentlybyGermany.GermanShepherdswereusedalsobecauseoftheirstrength,intelligenceandtrainability.OtherbreedsassociatedwithWWIweresmallerbreeds such as terriers, whoweremost often employed as ‘ratters'; dogs trained to hunt and kill rats in thetrenches.Thenextpicture(Picture7)showsaFrenchCasualtydog-trainedtofindwoundedordyingsoldiers.Theycarriedmedicalequipmentsoaninjuredsoldiercouldtreathimselfandtheywouldstaybesideadyingsoldiertokeephimcompany.

InPicture8-Sentrydogsstayedwithonesoldierorguardandweretaughttogiveawarningsoundsuchasgrowlingorbarkingwhentheysensedastrangerintheareaorclosetocamp.

Soldiers living in trenches encountered millions of pestsduring the war including rats. They fed on rotting foodbecausetherewasnoproperwayofgettingridofrubbishinthetrenches.HereinPicture9-Alittleterrierdogshowsoffits catch after a 15 minute rat hunt in French trenches inSeptember1916. Scout dogs were highly trained and had to be quiet anddisciplined. Their role was to work with soldiers on footpatrollingtheterrainaheadofthem.

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Thesedogswereuseful because they could detect enemy scentupto1000yardsaway.Insteadofbarkingand thusdrawingattention to the squad, thedogs would stiffen raise its hackles and point its tail, whichindicated that the enemy was encroaching. Scout dogs werewidely used because they were highly efficient in avoidingdetection.

PIGEONS Before radio, carrier pigeons were frequently used on the battlefield to communicate with a stationaryheadquarters. In the 6th century BC,Cyrus, King ofPersia, used carrier pigeons to communicate with hisempire.InAncientRomepigeonswereusedtosendmessagesbyJuliusCaesar.IntheFranco-PrussianWar(1870-71),besiegedParisiansusedcarrierpigeonstotransmitmessagesoutsidethecity;inresponse,thebesiegingGermanArmyemployedhawkstohuntthepigeons.

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TheFrenchusedballoonstotransporthomingpigeonspastenemylines.MicrofilmimagescontaininghundredsofmessagesallowedletterstobecarriedintoParisbypigeonfromasfarawayasLondon.HomingpigeonswereusedextensivelyduringWorldWar I. In1914duringtheFirstBattleoftheMarne,theFrencharmyadvanced72pigeonloftswiththetroops.TheUSArmySignalCorpsused600pigeonsinFrancealone.

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One of theirhoming pigeons, a Blue-Check hen namedCher Ami, wasawarded the French "Croix de Guerrewith Palm" for heroic servicedeliveringtwelveimportantmessagesduringtheBattleofVerdun.

On her final mission in October 1918, she delivered a message despitehavingbeenshotthroughthebreastorwing.Thecrucialmessage,foundinthe capsule hanging from her shattered leg, saved 194 US soldiers ofthe77thInfantryDivision's"LostBattalion".

United States Navyaviators maintained twelve pigeon stations in Francewithatotal inventoryof1,508pigeonswhenthewarended.Pigeonswerecarried inairplanes to rapidly returnmessages to these stations;and829birds flew in10,995wartimeaircraftpatrols.Airmenthrewthemessage-carryingpigeoneitherupordown,dependingonthetypeofaircraft,tokeepthepigeonoutofthepropellerandawayfromairflowtowardtheaircraftwingsandstruts.Elevenofthethrownpigeonswentmissinginaction!.Somepigeonsalsofelltoearthfrozen! COWS WorldWarOnekilledtwiceasmanycowsaspeopleinGermany.Butwhy?Becausetheskinofcalves’intestines(knownasgoldbeater’sskin)wasusedasanairtightmaterialforcarryinghydrogenonboardGermanZeppelins.This required the innards of up to 35 million cows, resulting inasausage banin all countries under German control! The Cowswerealsocamouflagedasshowninthepicture! PICTURE12CowintestineswereusedtomakesausageskinsweresuchavitalcomponentintheconstructionofZeppelinairshipsthattheKaiser’smilitarychiefssacrificedbratwurstandothertypesofsausageinthepursuitofvictory.These created the special bags to hold the hydrogen gas used tokeepZeppelinsaloft.Ittookmorethan250,000cowstomakeoneairship.Thetechniquebywhichtheintestines,calledgoldbeater’sskins,wereturnedintogasbags.Bymakingsausageskinswet,stretchingthemandallowingthemtodryagain,couldbebondedtogether,idealvesselsforgas. PIGSAmasspigslaughter,orSchweinemord,hadbeenrecommendedrightatthebeginningoftheFirstWorldWarbythe German physiologistNathan Zuntz. Bad weather and the lack of fertiliser led to a shortage of grain andpotatoes,twostaplefoods.Zuntz’ssuggestionwastoslaughterthepigswhich,hepointedout,"competed"withhumans for food; itwasmoreefficient forpeople toconsumethevegetableandcerealcrops. In latesummer1914theGermanysetupaninquiryintotheconsequencesofwartimeblockadesandimportbans.It’sreportinDecember1914reportedon"theGermanpeopleandtheEnglishplantostarvethem".Zuntzwasoneoftheadvisoryboard,andthereportrecommendedtheslaughterofninetotenmillionGermanpigstofreeupgrainandpotatoesforhumanconsumption;aroundninemillionanimalswereslaughteredinthespringof1915.TheslaughterdidnotsolvetheGermanfoodproblemsandbecauseofthisfailure,duringHitler’srise to power,anti-semitic political commentatorssuggested that the whole Schweinemord plan had actuallybeenaJewishplottocrippleGermanagricultureandstarvethepopulation.

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Tirpitzwas a pig carried on the German warshipSMSDresdenin1914asa foodsource.TheDresdenwassunk in battle with the Royal Navy cruiserHMSGlasgowoff thecoastofSouthAmericaduring theBattle of Más a Tierra. Tirpitz managed to escape thesinking ship and swam towards theGlasgow. The crewbrought him aboard and adopted him as a mascot,namedhimafterGermanadmiralAlfredvonTirpitz.Hewas transferred to theWhale Island Gunnery School inPortsmouth. PICTURE13‘Tirpitz’thepigonHMSGlasgowinWW1Tirpitzwaseventuallyauctionedoff,but inhis finalactheraised£1785fortheBritishRedCross.HisheadwasmountedandcanbeseenattheImperialWarMuseuminLondon.GOATSThe tradition of goat mascots in the military dates to the AmericanWar of Independence when a wild goatwanderedontoabattlefieldinBoston,andendedupleadingtheWelshregimentalColoursoffthebattlefieldattheendoftheBattleofBunkerHill.In1884,QueenVictoriapresentedtheregiment,thencalledtheRoyalWelchFusiliers,withaKashmirgoatfromherroyalherd,andatraditionwasstarted.TheRoyalgoatherdwasoriginallyobtainedfromtheShahofPersia,whenhepresentedthemtoQueenVictoriaasagiftin1837uponheraccession.SHEEPIn1915,TheQueenslanderpublishedanarticlecallingfordonationsofsheepskinsfor the troops. Sheep skins vests had proved a great success with AustraliansoldiersinEurope,particularlythroughthecoldmonthsofthepreviouswinter.Thevestsweredescribedas‘asleevelesscoatmadehighatthebackandcutlongenoughtocoverthevitalorgansofthebody.Thewoolsideisturnedin,theleathersideout,andthewholeisfasteneddownthefrontwithleatherstrapsandbuckles’

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PICTURE15 Thesightof sheepgrazingon thesouth lawnof theWhiteHousemayseemunusual, itwasahighlyvisiblesymbolofhomefrontsupportofthetroopsoverseas.The flock, saved manpower by cutting the grass naturally

andearnedover$50,000fortheRedCrossthroughanauctionoftheirwool.TheWilson’swantedtobea‘modelAmericanfamily’helpingthewareffort.SLUGSEvery creature that had been tested by the Army for gas-detectionpurposeshaddevelopedpneumonia except for theslug.Whenexposedtomustardgas,thegardenslugcloseditsbreathingaperture,thusprotectingitslungmembrane.Mustard gas in contact with moisture produces hydrochloricacid, which attacks the delicate lung membrane. Theremarkable slug could endure many successive gassings andnotbeinjuredorhaveitsabilitytodetectthepresenceofgascompromised. PICTURE16

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The slugwas thenmade available to theU.S. Army for duty in the trenches starting in June 1918. Thus, slugsservedwithArmyforcesforfivemonthsandsavedcountlessAmericanlives.Imaginetheconvenienceofaslugina trench.Animals arehigh-maintenancecreatures requiring specialhandling, special food, andveterinary care.Whatcouldbeeasierthanaslug?Justputhiminashoeboxwithawetsponge,andyou’reallset!

GLOWWORMSOneofthemostunlikelynon-humancontributionstotheWarwasmade by Lampyris noctiluca,more commonly known asthe European glow worm, which emits light throughbioluminescence. Huddled in dank, dark trenches, menturnedtotheincandescentinsectsforhelp,collectingtheminjarsbythethousands.PICTURE17These instant but ephemeral lanterns allowed soldiers to

examineintelligencereports,studybattlemapsorsimplyreadcomfortingletters.Accordingtoa2010study,just10glowwormscanprovidethesameamountofilluminationasamodern-dayroadwaylight.DONKEYSANDMULESAfter promising beginnings with the Sydney Morning Herald, Charles BeanwontheAustralianJournalists’Associationnominationballotin1914andwascrownedAustralia’sfirstofficialwarcorrespondentandthepictureshowshimatGallipoli. PICTURE18He boarded a ship for Egypt with the Australian Imperial Force, and wasembeddedwith the Australian troops for over four years. He endured thesamesqualidconditionsasthesoldiers,andwassubjecttothesameenemyfire.Donkeyswereroutinelyloadedwithatleastthreetimestheirownbodyweight. Pictures and stories show donkeys carried food supplies, clothing,potsandpans,andofcoursewater.Summer was hot. Water, always rationed, came fromMalta red with rust,tasted terrible, andwasoften lacedwith chemicalsdesigned to kill theenemy.WaterWellsonGallipoliwereoftenpollutedordry,soanyinterruptionofthedonkeyswasconsideredacrisis.TheGallipoliwinterclimatewasespeciallyhardondonkeys.Afterdonkeysandmuleswereclassifiedasunfit,orovertwelveyearsold,theyweredestroyed and their manes and tails shaved and sold.Many were even skinned to producemore leather forsupplies.Ofthe34,000donkeysused,only1,000survived.

TheArmyMule required less food thanhorses. Theyweremoretolerantofextremeheatandcold,andtheycouldgofor longer periods without water, critical in battle wherecleanwaterwas so scarce.Muleswereproven tobemoreresistant,verylowmaintenanceandseldomneededshoes.Less than half the mules died from infected bullet holescompared to the percentage of horses killed. The firstanimals departed in November 1914, and in the four halfyears of war 287,500mules were purchased.Mule trainswerehitchedinthrees,15to20long,alwaystravellingatatrotandunderfire.

Whenamulewashithewasunhitched,theammunitionboxesrolledoffhim,andthemuletrainjustcarriedon,often14to16hoursaday(AsinPicture19above).Therewasnowayofdiggingaholefordeadmulessomanywere thrown into the sea washing up like submarine periscopes and reportedly panicking the Navy. 56,000surplusmulesweresoldafterthewar.

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ANIMALSASMASCOTS Jimmy 'TheSergeant'wasadonkeybornat theBattleof theSomme in1916.JimmywaswoundedthreetimesduringWorldWarOne.Helearnttoraisehishoofinsalutebysoldierswhobroughthimupasinthenextpicture.Afterthewar,JimmyraisedthousandsofpoundsfortheRSPCAcharity. PICTURE20

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Togo,thecatmascotofthebattleshipHMSDreadnought.ThefoxcubmascotofNo.32SquadronatHumieres Aerodrome,StPol,France,5May1918.

AgunneroftheYorkandLancasterRegimentwiththe VenustheBulldog regimentalcatinatrenchnearCambria,6February1918.

BABOONS

Jackie thebaboonwastakentoFrancebySouthAfricansoldiers. Jackie had excellent eyesight and hearing andused to warn soldiers of enemy movement or possibleattacksbymakingnoisesandtuggingontheirclothing.

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FINALLY

Upon the outbreak ofWorldWar I, Lt.Harry ColebournofThe FortGarryHorse, a Canadian cavalry regiment,volunteeredhisservice.Whileen-routetoValcartiertoreporttotheCanadianArmyVeterinaryCorps(CAVC),hepurchasedayoungbearcubfor$20atatrainstopinWhiteRiver,Ontario.

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Colebourn named the bear "Winnipeg", "Winnie" for short, after his home city. Winnie accompanied him toValcartier and all the way to England, becoming themascotof the CAVC and a pet to the Second CanadianInfantryBrigadeHeadquarters.Before leaving forFrance,Colebourn leftWinnieatLondonZoo,whereshewasmuchloved.

AmongherfanswasA.A.Milne'ssonChristopherRobin,whoconsequentlychangedthenameofhisownteddybearfrom"EdwardBear" to "Winnie thePooh", providing the inspiration forhis father's stories aboutWinnie-the-Pooh.

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Thankyouforreading!

NormanBambridgeBasildonBoroughHeritageSociety-EssexEnglandJune2021.