Page 29 - Chiron Calling Autumn 2019

Doing Their Bit: The British Employment
of Military
and Civil Defence Dogs in the Second World War
by Kimberley Brice O’Donnell. Published Helion 2018. Published in paperback,
253 pages with 29 black and white photographs. ISBN 978-1-912390-68-7. £15.95
This is the first comprehensive scholarly account of the training and employment of canines by the British Armed Services and Civil Defence in the Second World War on operations overseas, the Home Front and in British society. Although the author focuses on the British military scheme, this is not studied in isolation, and examines the use of dogs by foreign militaries such as France, Germany, Japan and Russia with a particularly informative comparison with the United States. The author found little evidence to show collaboration to any extent during the 1939-1945 war between the British and French when developing their respective military dog schemes; co-operation between Britain and the Soviet Union was non-existent. Among Allied powers, the United States and Britain collaborated most. Unlike most of the major Allied and Axis powers, Britain and the United States instituted their military dog schemes afresh after the outbreak of war.
The author traces the development of the British military dog scheme from the short-lived War Dog School and Messenger Dog Service establishments of the 1914-1918 war to the more recent employment of canines during wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The focus however is on the 1939-1945 war. Why and how dogs were trained and employed, by the British Armed Forces and London Civil Defence Region is examined, as is how humans perceived and shaped their wartime use.
Utilising a rich range of archival material the author analyses the performance of guard, military police, patrol, mine detection and rescue dogs in training and operationally, considering the advantages and disadvantages of utilising canines in such roles.
Often portrayed as a war in which technology and scientific innovation took centre stage, Military and Civil Defence dogs offered a number of advantages over the employment of humans and technological equipment. The author makes a valid case, albeit on a smaller scale, for the employment of military dogs in supporting such innovation. Of particular interest is the author’s work on the ways in which dogs as pets were
By Dr Graham Winton, PhD, FRGs, FRHistS
involved in, or contributed to the war effort and animal welfare. The effect of rationing on animals and the number of dog owners who opted to euthanize their pets during the early period of the war, the “September Holocaust” is highlighted, as is how the mutual hardships of war generally led to an improved and enhanced relationship between the remaining household pets and their civilian owners. The perception of military dogs within scientific circles and wider society is considered and later attitudes towards dogs in Britain and United States in the post-war period.
The author argues, successfully, that the Second World War marked a turning point in the history of the British military dog, ushering in the seemingly permanent training of dogs for police and military roles. The experiences gained by dog trainers and handlers during the War led to the continued employment of canines in the post-war period. During the 1939- 1945 war, belligerent nations utilised some 250,000 dogs. The British Armed Forces employing nearly double that used during 1914-1918. Throughout the course of the war, the British Army and Ministry of Aircraft Production [MAP] utilised between 3,000 and 5,000 canines. These dogs were trained at the Army’s War Dogs Training School or the MAP Guard Dog Training School prior to deployment to units on the Home Front or overseas.
Divided into seven manageable chapters with convenient subheadings the book is easily read. Chapter 1 examines the employment of dogs by foreign militaries prior to, and during the 1914-1918 war. The role and importance of dog breeder and trainer Major E. H Richardson in developing the British Military Dog School during the war is reviewed. (Richardson was a 1914-1918 veteran and dog trainer; he began training military dogs for
the Army, Navy and Police before the outbreak of war in 1914). Turning to the interwar period the author highlights the upsurge in dog keeping, breeding, showing and use of police dogs such as in London, Cheshire and Lancashire Constabularies. Within this period, unlike Britain, foreign military dog schemes continued, or emerged, such as in, Germany, Japan, Soviet Union, France, Switzerland and Finland. Chapter 2 considers the impact of the 1939-1945 war on canine pets, as concerns over rationing and air raids prompted many dog owners to donate their animals for military use. The British declaration of war also resulted in the “figurative mobilisation” of British dogs (‘the manipulation of dogs to rally human populations in pursuit of victory’). The development of the British Military Dog Scheme from 1939 onwards is examined, and the reasons behind the establishment of the War Dog Training School and MAP’s Guard Dog Training School are reviewed. The author focuses on the important work of H. S. Lloyd (a dog
breeder working for the Home Office and a police dog trainer) and Major J. Baldwin (an Army veteran and a dog breeder with experience of the use of dogs during the 1914-1918 war, who developed the role of guard dogs with MAP). An examination of the recruitment and training of dogs for the British Armed Forces highlights the anthropomorphic idea that an animal has feelings or characteristics like those of a human being; this perception of military and civil defence dogs was perpetuated by handlers, dog owners and the press during the war.
Chapters 3, 4 and 5 examine the employment of dogs in specific military and civil defence roles. Chapter 4 focuses on the training and employment of guard, military police and patrol dogs. Chapter 4 begins with a brief but fascinating history of landmines before
discussing the reasons for the British Army’s decision to employ canines as mine detectors in addition to human operators or electronic mine detectors. The chapter concludes by analysing the performance of British mine detection dogs in NW Europe during 1944-1945. Chapter 5 examines the use of dogs in locating casualties during the V1 and V2 rocket attacks in and around London. It considers the performance and perception of rescue dogs trained at MAP’s Guard Dog Training School and their use in the London Civil Defence Region, 1944-45. Chapter 6 describes the demobilisation of British military dogs in the months following the end of the war and the challenges faced by the War Dog and MAP Guard Dog Training Schools stemming from the wartime use of pets, and the blurred distinction between military dogs and pets. Finally, Chapter 7 considers the legacy of the wartime training schools and significance of the 1939-1945 war as a turning point in the history of the British military dog. Examining the employment of guard, military police, patrol, tracker, detection and rescue dogs, as well as use of canines by civil police, in immediate post-war period through to the early 21st Century, it demonstrates how the war influenced the future employment of military and police dogs.
Military historians have largely ignored the subject of military dogs. They are omitted from or largely ignored in official histories and publications on the two world wars and the period prior to the 1960s, (with a few exceptions such as, Brigadier J. Clabby’s History of the RAVC 1919-1961 and S. R. Davies, RAF and Police Dogs on Patrol: An Illustrated History of the Deployment of Dogs by the RAF 1942-2004). The author radically redresses the balance with this excellent, well-produced book, illustrated with good quality photographs. This is a necessary read for anyone with an interest in military canines.
Chiron Calling Book Review
CHIRON CALLING 27