Hello my name's Clare and I work at Imperial War Museums. And this is my friend
Rolly. And we're here today to help you learn more about history from home. Now
Rolly is very good at digging but in my job as a public engagement producer
I dig and seek out all the fascinating personal stories that we
have in IWM's collections. Now when I say collections I mean all
the interesting objects, documents, art, photographs, film that all help to tell
the personal stories of war and conflict about real people and even some animals.
Now Rolly and I are going to tell you three fascinating stories about animals
in wartime and we both really like this topic because no matter who you are,
where you're from, whether you've got feet, wings or paws, everyone that has
been affected by war and conflict has a story to share. So are we ready for our
first story? I think Rolly is.
Our first story takes us back to the Second World War which happened over 70
years ago. Now if you watched my friend Craig's Adventures in History last week
you'll remember all about Grumpy the pilot and his very special pet dog Flash.
Now we're going to talk to you about another very important dog from the
Second World War but don't worry if you missed Craig's
video you can go back and watch it on IWM's YouTube channel. But for now
we're going to talk about Rip. Rip the dog was a very special dog indeed. What
makes Rip so special is that he was a stray and that means he didn't have a
family or a home before the Second World War. We also don't know what breed of dog
he was either but that didn't matter because he had a very important job to
do during the Second World War and the Blitz. Blitz is a bit of a funny word and
it comes from the German word Blitzkrieg this means lightning war and when
we say blitz we mean the attacks over British cities during the Second World War
often at night time which meant that
people had to stay safe in air-raid shelters and the ARP wardens or air raid
precaution wardens had the really important job of making sure that everyone was safe
during the Blitz. This included going out after the attacks to check if anyone was
trapped in any rubble from buildings that had been destroyed. This was
incredibly difficult and incredibly dangerous, often rubble was piled so high
and there were lots of tight nooks and crannies so these ARP wardens really
needed some helping hands - or should I say paws.
Introducing Rip. Now dogs like Rip are very good at two things in particular:
the first is sniffing, dogs have a really good sense of smell they have over 300
million receptors in their little noses compared to just 6 million in our human
noses. This means they're very good at sniffing out people that might be
trapped under rubble during the Blitz. Dogs are also very good at listening.
They have around 18 muscles in their furry little ears compared to just
around 6 muscles in human ears so this means they're really really good at
listening and hearing if anyone is trapped under rubble - and this is exactly
what Rip did in London during the Blitz. Rip would sniff out and listen out
for anyone that might be trapped under the rubble and he would stay where he
could hear or smell them and often he would woof or bark to let the ARP
wardens know that someone was trapped under the rubble. Now Rip also had a
very important job - not just saving people but something that dogs do even
today. Can you guess what that might be? Well that is keeping us humans company
and making sure our spirits are kept up. So Rip the dog would often go and visit
children in air-raid shelters to make sure that they were all tucked up and
safe and he even enjoyed a spot of gardening in his spare time helping ARP
wardens grow cabbages in their 'Dig for Victory' garden. Rip was such a brave dog
that he was even awarded the Dickin Medal. The Dickin Medal is the highest
medal of honour and bravery that an animal can receive in wartime
and it was founded during the Second World War by Maria Dickin, the animal
welfare pioneer who founded the PDSA veterinary charity.
Now lots of other animals have received the Dickin Medal including some other
dogs, some horses some pigeons and even one cat. But Rip was so brave he was
awarded his medal. So had it not been for the ARP wardens that took Rip in and
trained him up, life would have been very different for Rip and the people that he
met during the Second World War. Not bad for a stray. For our next story
we're heading back even further in time to the First World War. Now when we think
about animals from the First World War, we often think of the very brave horses
that carried equipment for soldiers and the very clever little pigeons that would
fly around the trenches and deliver messages. But what if I were to tell you
that all sorts of animals were involved in the First World War, from elephants
carrying really heavy shells for the army, to a poor little tortoise called
Tommy who ended up with a piece of shrapnel stuck in his shell after an air
raid, to even a very special animal that lives in the desert. The First World War
took place over a hundred years ago and it affected the whole world and everyone
in it including animals. Now some of you may know already that the First World
War took place in trenches but it also took place in some really faraway places
like parts of Africa and the Middle East. Now if I were to say the word ANZAC to you
you might think of the delicious biscuit but the word Anzac actually stands for
something really important. Can you guess what that might be?
Shall we tell them Rolly? Well it stands for Australian and New
Zealand Army Corps and we recently had Anzac day on the 25th of April, a day
when we remember all the Australian and New Zealand soldiers that have fought in
wars from the First World War to the present day. Now during the First World
War lots of Anzac soldiers were stationed in
parts of Africa and the Middle East. This meant they had to deal with some really
difficult conditions like the desert where it would have been scorching hot
and there would have been some creepy crawlies to deal with - yuck!
With such difficult conditions to deal with Anzac soldiers needed all the help
they could get from a very special animal indeed - an animal so extraordinary
that they couldn't trek for months in the desert without even needing a drop
of water. Can you guess what animal it might be?
Well, it's camels. Camels are extraordinary creatures and in 1916 the Imperial Camel
Corps was founded. Camels have lots of special skills including carrying water
in the two humps on their backs, this means they can trek for months at a
time in the scorching hot desert without needing a drink. Pretty handy when you're
in the desert. Camels are also very tall and sturdy animals this means they're
strong enough to carry lots of equipment and food and medicine that would have just
been too heavy for soldiers to carry. Camels are also very good at trekking in
the sand. Now have you ever tried to run on sand? It's pretty tricky but camels
have really special flat hooves which means it's much easier for them
to trek in the desert. Camels are also incredibly brave animals - they would
help to carry injured soldiers who were fighting on the front line all the way
back to hospitals that were stationed further away from where the fighting was
taking place. Camels are just such amazing animals and not only because
they have some incredible skills that us humans just simply don't have but
they were also so brave and helpful for Anzac soldiers in the First World War.
For our final story we're jumping forward in time back to the present day.
Now you might think in more recent conflicts it all takes place with lots
of high-tech modern equipment that's really complicated and really complex to
use and needs lots of specially skilled people to operate - and you'd be right.
But what if I were to tell you there's one very special little animal that's become
one of the most bravest and smartest animals to be involved in recent war and
conflict. Now this is an animal that often gets a bit of a bad reputation for
being dirty or scary but this unlikely animal is incredibly brave and that
animal is rats. Now when we think of rats in wartime we often think of the First
World War and the horrible conditions of the trenches which a lot of rats were
involved in. But in more recent conflict rats have become incredibly special indeed.
You would think that when the fighting stops
the war ends but often in places where fighting has happened there are
reminders of the war for many years later,
this could include bomb damage to buildings, it could also mean that some
weapons are left behind. These weapons could be
live which means they haven't exploded yet and could be a real danger to people
living in these areas after the fighting stops. In countries like Rwanda and
Mozambique where the wars ended years ago there are still reminders of the
fighting that took place - this includes landmines. Landmines are bombs buried in
the ground that are triggered when you step on them. They're really difficult to
spot which means they're very very dangerous for people living in areas
where fighting has taken place. It also means that specially trained people such
as aid workers and soldiers have to work meticulously and very slowly, very
carefully with high-tech specialist equipment such as metal detectors to
make sure an area is clear of landmines stopping to inspect any suspicious ping.
Enter the African pouched rat. Now they might have bad eyesight but these rats
have an incredible sense of smell they're also light enough so that if
they were to tread on a landmine they wouldn't set it off. This means aid
workers and soldiers can train up these clever rats to use they're very clever
noses to sniff out TNT the explosive that's often used in landmines that
to us humans doesn't smell of anything but not for the African pouched rat. Now
these rats are so hard-working that they can even search up to 11 kilometres
in just 20 minutes - that's an area that would take even the most specially
skilled and trained person up to four days to search. This means that aid
workers and soldiers who are working in places where recent conflict has
happened can safely search for landmines and deactivate them which means the
area will be safe for people to live in after the fighting has taken place.
All thanks to the African pouched rat.
So we've talked about lots of different animals involved in war
from dogs to more unusual animals like camels and rats.
But what is it that makes all these animals so amazing?
Well the answer to that is that animals are already amazing - they can do things that
even the most modern equipment and skilled humans just simply cannot do.
They are also incredibly brave and this means us humans are very lucky to have them indeed.
Have a think about your favorite animal and what it is about them that makes them so amazing. Could it be
that they can fly high in the sky, they can swim underwater
or if they're anything like Rolly then they're very good at sleeping. Now have a go at
designing your own Top Trumps card about your favorite animal including
what it is that makes them so amazing. We would love for you to share these with
us on IWM's Facebook and Twitter accounts and if you head over
there you can even see an example that I've made for Rolly. Hearing about these
amazing animals in wartime might have left you with some questions so pop them in
the comment section below or head over to IWM's Facebook and Twitter
accounts. In next week's IWM's Adventures in History, you'll meet my
friend Vicky, who will be telling you all about VE Day. Now we can't wait to
welcome you back to the five sites of Imperial War Museums soon but in the meantime look
after each other, stay safe and take care. Bye!