The Dickin medal was instituted by the founder of the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals -  Mrs Maria Dickin  in 1943. It is recognised as 'the Animals’ equivalent or our Victoria Cross.

The idea was to reward “any animal displaying conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty whilst serving with armed forces or civil emergency services”

The species with most winners with 32 out of 60 is the pigeon; many messenger pigeons were used during the Second World War.

Perhaps the best known non-pigeon winner to be honoured is Simon - the ships cat of HMS Amethyst on the Yangtze River in China. Then there was Rob - a dog who parachuted down behind enemy lines with the SAS, keeping guard over the soldiers on their missions.

Medals Awarded 1943 - 1949

Recent awards include the guide dogs:  "Salty," and "Roselle" who led their owners to safety down more than 70 floors of the World Trade Centre. The Search and Rescue dogs were also honoured for their service to humanity at Ground Zero and the Pentagon.

 Seafaring Simon - The cat awarded medals

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