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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-09-19 Daily Xml
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Animals of War

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (16:31): I move:

That this council—

1. Recognises the extraordinary and inspiring service of Digger the war dog—the devoted companion of Sergeant James Harold Martin, a South Australian soldier who spent 3½ years fighting with the Australian Imperial Force in World War I;

2. Appreciates and respects the unique place Digger has in the hearts of South Australians; and

3. Praises the distinguished international award bestowed on Digger and Bill the Bastard, a horse in the Light Horse Brigade, this year in recognition of their outstanding service to the war effort.

In war, animals can be heroes, too. Today I salute Australia's bravest dog of war, Digger, a boxer cross who served king and country for 3½ years in one of the bloodiest campaigns of World War I. I also salute Australia's greatest war horse, Bill the Bastard, so named because of his cantankerous nature. But, like Digger, he served with bravery and distinction in the Gallipoli campaign and then with the Light Horse in a famous victory against the Turks, the Battle of Romani.

They have just been honoured with a Blue Cross for their valour by the UK-based animal charity of the same name, founded in 1897. It is the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross. The heroism of Digger and Bill the Bastard are of epic proportions. Both were at Gallipoli at the same time. Digger went on to the Western Front, while Bill went on to gallop to glory in the Middle East.

Digger hailed from Broadmeadows in Victoria, but had a very strong Adelaide connection. I stumbled across Digger's remarkable story while researching material for an ANZAC centenary feature I was preparing for Channel 7's Today Tonight in 2015. With a backdrop of the horrors of war and human sacrifice, I decided on an uplifting simple piece that focused on the dog and his unbreakable bond with his master, Sergeant James Martin, an electrician from Hindmarsh who was South Australia's very first Great War volunteer in 1914. Mr Martin was a signalman with the 1st Australian Division Signals Company. Digger was a stray who followed Mr Martin and a group of fellow soldiers back to the barracks in Williamstown, Victoria, and became their mascot.

Digger was smuggled aboard their troop ship bound for Egypt, and then the fatal shores of Gallipoli. Signalmen were among the first in line in battles because they were needed to roll out the vital communications lines. At 6am on 25 April 1915, the 1st Australian Division Signals Company was among the very first on Anzac Cove. There is a famous picture of the unit in their longboat at the Australian War Memorial.

While you cannot see Digger, he was on board as a never-ending torrent of bullets sprayed around them. As the ANZACs dug in for the nine-month campaign, Digger was in the trenches with them, running messages or going over the top to check on the wounded or ferry food and medical supplies. He was at Lone Pine, where a bullet shattered his jaw. It later had to be removed while he was under chloroform.

Packhorse Bill the Bastard was also dodging bullets at Gallipoli. His fractious behaviour made him unrideable, and legend has it that troops placed bets on whether Bill or his rider would survive a suicidal seven-kilometre gallop to Anzac Cove to deliver the post. Tragically, the rider lost, but the horse's courage was noticed by Major Michael Shanahan, a skilled horse whisperer who adopted Bill and tamed him on a diet of affection and licorice allsorts.

Digger and Sergeant Martin, and Bill and Major Shanahan, were inseparable to the very end. In the Battle of Romani on 5 August 1916, 100,000 horses took part in an attack by the Light Horse to capture two vital wells from the Turks. In the ensuing fight, Major Shanahan rescued four Tasmanian troopers, who were all placed on Bill's back and ridden back to safety. Major Shanahan was shot in the leg and collapsed on his horse but, showing enormous stamina, Bill took him three kilometres to medics. His leg had to be amputated, but the horse had saved his life.

Around the same time, Digger and Sergeant Martin were on the Western Front, first at Pozières and then at Ypres. They were the worst theatres of war, with huge casualties on all sides. With artillery shells containing mustard gas constantly raining down on them, Digger would sound the alarm in the trenches for soldiers to don their masks. They also had one for him. Digger went over the top and cheated death countless times to check on the wounded until he, too, became a casualty, suffering burns from the mustard gas.

There is a famous postcard showing Digger sitting on a Union Jack, which was sold to raise money for the ointment to treat his wounds. Sergeant Martin was also gassed and, with Digger, convalesced in Britain, but you can never keep a good dog down. Digger soon took to the skies with the AIF in a Gipsy Moth. Digger's heroic exploits were humorously recorded in the Adelaide Register newspaper in December 1918, almost 100 years ago. The report read in part:

Digger has the wounds of battle. A hole in the top jaw, three teeth gone, blind in the right eye, deaf in the left ear.

He always was a venturesome dog, but he was invalided home a couple of months ago and now has to lead a more or less hum-drum life. However, so his present keeper says, he could not be kept in on the day of the news of the Armistice. He caught a train to Sydney to knock around with the boys and, several days later, had to be bailed out of the Dogs' Home for half a crown. He had the reputation of being a hard drinker 'over the other side.'

Digger was given a silver collar with his medals for 3½ years of service. Digger marched proudly with his unit and Sergeant Martin for the last time in Sydney on Empire Day, May 1919. That night, fireworks celebrations spooked Digger. Perhaps thinking he was back in the trenches, he made a dash for a fence but burst a blood vessel trying to leap it. He crawled back to Sergeant Martin's room, where he died at the foot of his bed, loyal to the very last. Digger's hide was tanned and, along with his medals collar, is an exhibit at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

Sergeant Martin lost two brothers and a sister in active service. He returned to Adelaide, where he married Frances, the girl he met in Britain. Like so many World War I veterans, he battled PTSD in silence and had one functioning lung because of the mustard gas poisoning. He died in 1963 aged 71. His family is rightly proud of his exemplary service and that of Digger, who has been immortalised in a striking memorial unveiled a year ago on the front lawn of the Croydon RSL, where the annual ANZAC service is held.

If members are interested, you can view my short film by searching 'Digger the war dog' on YouTube. As for Bill the Bastard, he was retired after the Battle of Romani. Major Shanahan found him a new home with the villagers in Gallipoli. He too is remembered in Major Shanahan's home town of Murrumburrah in New South Wales. There is a life-size bronze sculpture of Bill carrying Major Shanahan and those four troopers from the battlefield.

Eight million horses, mules and donkeys, and one million dogs died on both sides during the Great War. While the Blue Cross medals were awarded to people who helped rescue animals, medals were awarded in 1918 to honour several horses which had served in the First World War. Medals were then given out between 1940 and 1951 to a number of dogs, including Juliana, who reportedly extinguished an incendiary bomb by urinating on it. In 2006, Jake, a police explosives dog, was given the honour after helping to clear out the London Underground following the 7 July 2005 London bombings.

The Australian War Memorial will formally commemorate Bill the Bastard and Digger's Blue Cross later this year. I commend this motion to members. My plan is to bring it to a vote on 7 November, four days before the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins.

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