1949: Able seaman Simon, hero of the post-war Yangtse IncidentFormer stray Simon became the only cat to win the Dickin Medal after heroically continuing to catch rats despite being wounded aboard a Royal Navy ship during a 101-day siege by Chinese communists.
The intrepid feline, who sadly died in British quarantine before he could receive the honor, was praised for his courage and support during the 1949 Yangtze Incident. Seventeen sailors were killed during the standoff after HMS Amethyst sailed up the Yangtze river from Shanghai to Nanking to protect the British embassy there during China’s civil war.
Simon suffered severe shrapnel wounds and burns after the captain’s cabin was hit by a shell, which killed Lieutenant Commander Bernard M. Skinner. Yet somehow the scraggly black and white cat who was discovered stray in Hong Kong, fought through the pain and was able to recover from his injuries by licking his wounds.
According to the citation he received for his Amethyst campaign ribbon, Simon, who was also given the rank able seaman, rid the ship “of pestilence and vermin with unrelenting faithfulness.”
This task became particularly important because the men were strictly rationed during the long, hot months aboard. He was best known for killing a rat the sailors nicknamed Mao Tse Tung after the Communist leader.
Simon and the rest of the crew made a daring escape as the Amethyst limped back down the river under the cover of darkness. Sadly, he died from an infection after arriving in British quarantine.[Read other incredible stories here, photos]
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