Simon: The Only Cat Ever Awarded a Medal for Bravery
Wounded by a shell blast, a Royal Navy ship's cat kept the crew's food safe from rats and their spirits up. He remains the only cat to win the Dickin Medal.
Simon was the ship's cat aboard the Royal Navy frigate HMS Amethyst. In 1949, during the Yangtze Incident of the Chinese Civil War, the ship was hit by artillery fire and left stranded on the river for about ten weeks.
Wounded, but not finished
The blast that struck the ship also caught Simon, leaving shrapnel in his legs and burns on his back and face. He recovered, and once he was back on his paws he went straight back to work.
Guarding the food, lifting the crew
Trapped on the river, the crew faced a serious rat problem that threatened their dwindling food stores. Simon hunted them down and kept the supplies safe. Just as importantly, he padded between the wounded sailors and gave them something to smile about during a frightening standoff.
A medal all his own
For his service, Simon was awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal, often called the animals' Victoria Cross. To this day he is the only cat ever to receive it. He is remembered not for what the war cost him, but for the calm, dogged courage he showed a crew that needed it.
A small cat did a small cat's job, catching rats and keeping company, and did it so well under fire that a nation gave him a medal. Big hearts come in ordinary packages.
✓ This is a true story. Sources:
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