Maria Dickin was a social reformer and animal rights activist. She created the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals in 1917. It’s motto was: “Bring your sick animals/Do not let them suffer/All animals treated/All treatment free”. She even created a horse-drawn wagon that travelled the streets of London providing care for the animals of the poor. In 1929, she created the Busy Bees for children who had an interest in animal care. In 1943, she got the idea for a medal to honor animals who helped the British in World War 2. It was given for “conspicuous gallantry or devotion to duty.” The award was a bronze medallion with the words “For Gallantry” and “We Also Served”. Any animal serving with the armed forces or civil defense was eligible. It was awarded 54 times from 1943-1949. It was awarded to 32 pigeons, 18 dogs, 3 horses, and one cat. The medal became known as the “animal Victoria Cross”. The Victoria Cross is the equivalent to the American Medal of Honor. The Dickin Medal was revived in 2000 since World War 2 turned out to not be the last war, unfortunately. It has been awarded 74 times in the 21st Century. In 2014, a symbolic award was given to all the animals that served in World War 1.
The first Dickin Medals were awarded to three pigeons who aided the recovery of Royal Air Force crewmen. Carrier pigeons were used to deliver messages. The names of the pigeons were White Vision, Winkie, and Tyke. They were part of the program called the National Pigeon Service. 200,000 were provided by pigeon lovers. They were given various jobs. Some were put in waterproof carriers on bombers. If the plane went down, the pigeon would carry a message back to their base. The pigeons were also used to send messages to and from the French Resistance. They carried news about operations like D-Day.
The first recipient was Winkie. He was on a bomber with four crewmen. It was on patrol of the coast of Norway on February 23, 1942. It developed engine trouble and crashed in the North Sea. The four men, Winkie, and another pigeon ended up in a raft. Winkie got loose and flew away before a message could be attached. He flew 100 miles in terrible weather back to his owner’s house. His owner called the base. The personnel at the base were able to get a rough idea of where the plane went down based on the flying speed of the pigeon and the time it took for him to get to his owner’s house. The plane was located and the men were rescued. The second pigeon flew with a message, but was never seen again.
White Vision and Tyke had similar stories. White Vision flew nine hours in very bad weather into a strong headwind. All three had citations that read: “For delivering a message under exceptionally difficult conditions and so contributing to the rescue of an Air Crew while serving with the Royal Air Force.” They all received their medals in a ceremony held on Dec. 2, 1943. The three brave birds flew far to save bomber boys.
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