Blitz rescue dogs: how they searched London's bombed streets in WWII

Part 1

What blitz rescue dogs actually did

Rip, one of the dogs that worked during the Blitz, searched through collapsed buildings for survivors and casualties trapped beneath the rubble. The PDSA also ran specialist Animal Rescue Squads that attended the aftermath of bombing raids to rescue and treat injured animals. If you picture your own dog doing this kind of work today, it would look quite different. Rip, for one, was never given formal training and simply took to searching rubble instinctively.

Part 2

The dogs who became known for this work

Rip, a mixed-breed terrier, was found as a stray in Poplar, London, after a bombing raid in 1940 by Air Raid Warden Mr E. King. He was adopted as the mascot of the Southill Street Air Raid Patrol and began sniffing out casualties trapped in bombed buildings, becoming the service's first search and rescue dog. In the twelve months between 1940 and 1941 he is believed to have found more than a hundred people. He received the Dickin Medal in 1945 for locating many air-raid victims during the blitz of 1940, and he wore it on his collar until the day he died. He was the first of twelve Dickin Medal recipients to be buried at the PDSA cemetery in Ilford.

• Beauty, a wire-haired terrier, is thought to be the world's first rescue dog and found 63 animals during the war after starting search work on her own initiative.
• Irma, an Alsatian, helped rescue 191 people trapped under blitzed buildings and was said to be able to tell whether buried victims were alive or dead.
• Jet and Thorn, both Alsatians, were also awarded the Dickin Medal for locating casualties in bombed and burning buildings during the war.
• Rex, an Alsatian, received the Dickin Medal in 1945 for locating casualties in burning buildings.

Part 3

How dogs were trained or simply learned the job

Rip never received any formal training but had what was described as an instinctive ability to find survivors. Beauty likewise was untrained before she began digging through rubble on her own, and only afterwards became an official member of a rescue team. If your dog has ever followed a scent across a garden without ever being taught to, you have seen a small version of the same instinct these dogs relied on. Rip's success is credited with prompting authorities to start training search and rescue dogs towards the end of the Second World War.

Part 4

The Blitz itself as context

The Blitz began on 7 September 1940, a night known as Black Saturday, and continued for around eight to nine months. London was bombed on 57 consecutive nights, and other British cities, including industrial centres and port towns, were also hit. The largest single raid came on the night of 10 to 11 May 1941, when the Luftwaffe dropped an estimated 711 tons of explosives on London. By the time the Blitz ended, around 43,500 people had been killed and between 46,000 and 139,000 had been injured.

Part 5

Recognition given to these dogs

The PDSA Dickin Medal was created in 1943 by Maria Dickin to honour outstanding bravery or devotion to duty by animals serving with the Armed Forces or Civil Defence units. It is a bronze medallion carrying the words "For Gallantry" and "We Also Serve," and it is often called the animals' Victoria Cross. Several dogs who worked during the Blitz received it, including Rip, Beauty, Irma, Jet, Thorn and Rex. Rip's medal was later sold at auction in 2009 for £24,250, a record price for a Dickin Medal. If your own dog could earn a medal for devotion to duty, it would probably look a lot like these citations.

Part 6

What this history led to

Rip's success is often credited with prompting British authorities to begin training search and rescue dogs towards the end of the Second World War.