Skip to content
Watch Live
British Broadcasting Corporation
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Innovation
  • Health
  • Culture
  • Arts
  • Travel
  • Earth
  • Audio
  • Video
  • Live
  • Documentaries
Watch Live
News imageWitness History, Witness History, When Animals Go To War

Witness History

Witness History

When Animals Go To War


Up next

News imageWitness History, Witness History, Rebels Rout The Army In El Salvador

Rebels Rout The Army In El Salvador

News imageWitness History, Witness History, Brazil's Marijuana Summer

Brazil's Marijuana Summer

News imageWitness History, Witness History, Barbara Cartland - Queen of Romance

Barbara Cartland - Queen of Romance

News imageWitness History, Witness History, Ceausescu's 'House of the People'

Ceausescu's 'House of the People'

News imageWitness History, Witness History, Vikings in North America

Vikings in North America

News imageWitness History, Witness History, The Doomsday Seed Vault

The Doomsday Seed Vault

News imageWitness History, Witness History, Fidel Castro Takes Havana

Fidel Castro Takes Havana

News imageWitness History, Witness History, When Stalin Rounded Up Soviet Doctors

When Stalin Rounded Up Soviet Doctors

News imageWitness History, Witness History, Diary of Life in a Favela

Diary of Life in a Favela

News imageWitness History, Witness History, 'Fat is a Feminist Issue'

'Fat is a Feminist Issue'

News imageWitness History, Witness History, Judy Garland's Final Shows

Judy Garland's Final Shows

News imageWitness History, Witness History, Mexico's Miracle Water

Mexico's Miracle Water

News imageWitness History, Witness History, Strikers In Saris

Strikers In Saris

News imageWitness History, Witness History, The Thames Whale

The Thames Whale

News imageWitness History, Witness History, The Case of Dr Crippen

The Case of Dr Crippen

News imageWitness History, Witness History, India's First Call Centre

India's First Call Centre

News imageWitness History, Witness History, The Carry On Films

The Carry On Films

News imageWitness History, Witness History, Vatican II: Reforming the Catholic Church

Vatican II: Reforming the Catholic Church

News imageWitness History, Witness History, The Publisher Who Tried to Change the World

The Publisher Who Tried to Change the World

News imageWitness History, Witness History, Musicians of the Iranian Revolution

Musicians of the Iranian Revolution

News imageWitness History, Witness History, Ayatollah Khomeini Returns From Exile

Ayatollah Khomeini Returns From Exile

News imageWitness History, Witness History, Iran Hostage Crisis

Iran Hostage Crisis

News imageWitness History, Witness History, Iran Hostage Rescue Mission

Iran Hostage Rescue Mission

News imageWitness History, Witness History, Women and the Iranian Revolution

Women and the Iranian Revolution

News imageWitness History, Witness History, The Death of Hitler

The Death of Hitler

News imageWitness History, Witness History, The Capture of Che Guevara

The Capture of Che Guevara

News imageWitness History, Witness History, The Soweto Uprising

The Soweto Uprising

News imageWitness History, Witness History, Disney Goes to Europe

Disney Goes to Europe

News imageWitness History, Witness History, The Bombardment of Baghdad

The Bombardment of Baghdad

News imageWitness History, Witness History, Iceland Jails Its Bankers

Iceland Jails Its Bankers

28 December 2018

9 minutes

Available for over a year

In December 1943, a British charity created the Dickin Medal to honour the bravery of animals serving in war. The first medals went mainly to pigeons used in World War Two, although dogs and one cat were also among the winners. Simon Watts tells the story of the Dickin Medal using recordings from the BBC archive.

PHOTO: Winkie the Pigeon receives a Dickin Medal in 1943 (Getty Images)

See more episodes

Programme website


British Broadcasting Corporation
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Innovation
  • Health
  • Culture
  • Arts
  • Travel
  • Earth
  • Audio
  • Video
  • Live
  • Documentaries
  • Weather
  • BBC Shop
  • BritBox

The BBC is in multiple languages

Read the BBC In your own language

Oduu Afaan Oromootiin
Amharic ዜና በአማርኛ
Arabic عربي
Azeri AZƏRBAYCAN
Bangla বাংলা
Burmese မြန်မာ
Chinese 中文网
Dari دری
French AFRIQUE
Hausa HAUSA
Hindi हिन्दी
Gaelic NAIDHEACHDAN
Gujarati ગુજરાતીમાં સમાચાર
Igbo AKỤKỌ N’IGBO
Indonesian INDONESIA
Japanese 日本語
Kinyarwanda GAHUZA
Kirundi KIRUNDI
Korean 한국어
Kyrgyz Кыргыз
Marathi मराठी
Nepali नेपाली
Noticias para hispanoparlantes
Pashto پښتو
Persian فارسی
Pidgin
Polish PO POLSKU
Portuguese BRASIL
Punjabi ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਖ਼ਬਰਾਂ
Russian НА РУССКОМ
Serbian NA SRPSKOM
Sinhala සිංහල
Somali SOMALI
Swahili HABARI KWA KISWAHILI
Tamil தமிழில் செய்திகள்
Telugu తెలుగు వార్తలు
Thai ข่าวภาษาไทย
Tigrinya ዜና ብትግርኛ
Turkish TÜRKÇE
Ukrainian УКРАЇНСЬКA
Urdu اردو
Uzbek O'ZBEK
Vietnamese TIẾNG VIỆT
Welsh NEWYDDION
Yoruba ÌRÒYÌN NÍ YORÙBÁ
Follow BBC on:
  • Terms of Use
  • Subscription Terms
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Contact the BBC
  • Advertise with us
  • Do not share or sell my info
  • BBC.com Help & FAQs
  • Content Index

Copyright 2026 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.

You might also like:

news | sport | weather | worklife | travel | future | culture | world | business | technology