historicalfirearms:Able Seacat SimonAble Seacat Simon, ship’s cat of HMS Amethyst. Simon and the Am
historicalfirearms:Able Seacat SimonAble Seacat Simon, ship’s cat of HMS Amethyst. Simon and the Amethyst were at the focal point of the Yangtze River Incident, during which the Chinese People’s Liberation Army besieged the grounded Amethyst for much of 1949 during the Chinese Civil War. Born on Stonecutters Island at Hong Kong in 1947 Simon was taken aboard Amethyst in 1948 and quickly became well liked by the crew. Soon began hunting rats, often laying them at the captain’s feet for inspection. In April 1949 Amethyst was ordered up the Yangtze River to Nanking but while on route was shelled by shore batteries of the Communist Army even though Britain remained neutral during the conflict. Amethyst became grounded while maneuvering under fire taking heavy casualties. Simon was one of those wounded by the shell fire but was nursed back to health by his shipmates and resumed his duties keeping the ships rats at bay and raising the crew’s morale. The ship remained besieged by Communist forces until July when she was able to escape down river. The Dickin MedalSimon was awarded the Dickin Medal for animals involved in war work for “surviving injuries from a cannon shell, raising morale, and killing off a rat infestation during his service.” Sadly in late 1949 Simon became ill with a virus and passed away. By the time of his death Simon had become quite famous and many tributes were paid to him with an obituary even appearing in Time magazine, he was buried with naval honours. Simon was one of only 64 animals to be awarded the Dickin Medal, the animal’s Victoria Cross.Image One SourceImage Two Source -- source link