Terriers in British War Stories

Bobby of Maiwand
In British military history the Battle of Maiwand is as iconic as General George Custer's last stand is in America. The battle occurred in July 1880 -- just two years after Britain had invaded Afghanistan as part of the Second Anglo-Afghan war. It came to pass that a small contingent of British troops were in the southern city of Kandahar, when word reached the city that Ayub Khan, the younger brother of the deposed Amir of Afghanistan, was on the march to raise troops from among tribesman to the north of Kandahar.  Brigadier George Burrows was dispatched  with his force of 2,500 British and Indian troops, supported by nearly 3,000 native Afghan tribesmen, to stop Khan in his tracks.  Things did not go well,  Within days many of Burrow's Afghan tribesmen had mutinied or left to join Ayub Khan's force. On July 26 Burrow received word that Ayub's forces were moving through the Malmund Pass and would reach the village of Maiwand the next day. Two days later, Burrow's attacked, but the Afghans completely out-shot the British as they had more guns and heavier guns as well.  Burrows had never commanded in battle before, and his men were not used to Afghanistan's summer heat, and were also short of food and water.  The result was catastrophic failure as his men were slaughtered in the sun.  The British were heroic in their bravery, but they were crushed and routed.  Burrows ordered a retreat, 45-miles back to Khandahar, telling some infantry to remain behind to slow down the rampaging Afghan forces.  The men in the retreating column, of course, were picked off and killed by pursuing Afghan tribesmen.  In the retreat, 21 officers and 948 British soldiers were killed, along with more than 2,000 horses.  Hundreds more were wounded.   What to do in the face of such a defeat?  Why, give out medals, of course!  And who better to get a medal than Bobbie, the mascot dog of the 66th unit, who was presented with an Afghan campaign medal by Queen Victoria at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight.  By the way, the fictional Dr. Watson of Sherlock Holmes fame was based on the real-life figure of the 66th's Medical Officer, Surgeon Major A.F. Preston, who was wounded at Maiwand. 

Rorkr's Drift Dick
The white fox terrier by the name of "Dick" was owned by Surgeon John Reynolds of the Army Medical Department and both dog and doctor were part of the carnage that occurred on January 22, 1879 when 5,000 Zulu warriors surprised and annihilated a small band of British foot soldiers at a location called "Rorke's Drift."  While Reynolds fearlessly attended to the wounded and dying, his dog stayed at his side unmoved by the hail of shots and spears falling about him. When the Zulus finally retreated, Reynolds was among the living and he was awarded the Victoria Cross and his dog, Dick, was specially mentioned in the dispatch for "his constant attention to the wounded under fire where they fell."

Snob of the Crimean War
Snob, a white mongrel terrier was found by the British Royal Engineers at the Battle of Alma on September 20th, 1854, during the Crimean War, guarding the body of his dead master, a Russian officer. He was " taken prisoner " by the Royal Engineers and treated with great kindness. Under this treatment he soon became fond of his new masters and would accompany them into the areas where the worst fighting was going on. At the end of the war, Snob went to Chatham with the Royal Engineers and was given comfortable quarters in the guardroom. The little mongrel terrier died peacefully of old age in 1866 and his remains were buried under the Crimean arch of Brompton Barracks, Chatham. His skin was stuffed and now finds an honoured place in the Royal Engineers Museum in Chatham, England.

Jock of The Black Watch
Jock was a terrier who "joined" the Black Watch in 1882 and went with it through the Egyptian Campaigns, being wounded at El Teb and Kirbekan. He earned the Egypt Medal and Khedive's Star and died in April, 1891, when about twelve years old.