![]() ![]() RF 2CC4AG6 Humour British propaganda postcard from the World War Ones time. “As part of the great Red Cross army of mercy, he is beyond price. RM 2M0NHDA Original WW1 era postcard of attractive land girl standing outside a country house wearing uniform of breeches, felt hat, a knee-length overall tunic, (with a button-fastening integrated belt) arm band, leather leggings and boots, circa 1917, 1918 U.K. knows that medical assistance cannot be far away, and will be summoned by every means in the dog’s power. "Here at last is help, here is first aid. “To the forlorn and despairing wounded soldier, the coming of the Red Cross dog is that of a messenger of hope. Not many people will have come across Oliver Hyde’s book, 'The Work of the Red Cross Dog on the Battlefield', written in 1915.īut in this long-forgotten book, a paean to the bravery of the daring canines, the author captures perfectly the value of the First World War's most unlikely group of heroes. It is purely a matter of their instinct, far more effective than man’s reasoning powers.” One surgeon recalled: “They sometimes lead us to bodies we think have no life in them, but when we bring them back to the doctors…always find a spark. Their heightened senses brought another priceless benefit. They were especially useful when working with search parties in hostile territory, because their keen noses would locate wounded soldiers in thickets and bushes who otherwise might have been missed. (Each hound was taught to ‘freeze’ on the ground if hostile fire lit up the sky.)Īccording to war medics, the Red Cross dogs saved many lives. The resourceful pooch would then silently lead a stretcher party straight back to the victim, still in pitch darkness, right under the enemy’s collective nose. If a soldier was unconscious or unable to move, however, the dog would run back to its handler carrying a cap, glove or torn scrap of clothing as evidence. Lightly injured men could then treat their own injuries and be guided back to their own trench. ![]() Carrying harnesses filled with medical supplies and small canteens of water, they searched out their own troops. Because once the dogs were fully trained, what they achieved on the battlefield was incredible.Īs soldiers lay injured or dying out in no man’s land, the dogs were sent out under cover of darkness. It was a long and exhaustive process, but worth it. (After all, nobody wanted them leading a search party to an injured but still-armed German soldier.) They uncomplainingly wore restrictive gas masks.Ĭritically, they were also taught to distinguish between British military uniforms and those of the enemy. They could understand a huge range of hand signals. The level of sophistication in the dogs’ training was jaw-dropping. ![]()
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