Published
in the Petit Journal,
A
letter, written by a French soldier,
From
Le Mans, informs his family,
How
the pet dog of the regiment,
With
the name of Tom, saved him.
Among
the corpses on the battlefield,
Half
covered by the fallen bodies
Of
comrades - the soldier lay still –
In
his arm was lodged a fragment
Of
a shell, a bullet rested in his jaw,
And
blood of a sabre cut, to his head.
Then
a light touch to his forehead -
He
looked to find the regimental dog,
Tom,
stood over him. The soldier tried
To
move - fighting against his pain.
Tom
was trained to carry the képi
Of
a wounded man, but his was lost.
The
dog hesitated, as the man spoke
Telling
him to run, to find comrades.
Understanding
Tom turned and ran
Back
to their camp - Gaining attention,
By
pulling at men’s capes and barking.
Finally
Tom drew two ambulance men,
To
where the wounded man lay,
Waiting
until the soldier was rescued.
Bravely
Tom stayed with his regiment,
Out
in the line - when the bullets start
He
dug a hole a and crouching, waiting
For
the fighting to lull, only then Tom
Emerged,
to help the ambulance crew,
To
find and save wounded soldiers.
by Jamie Mann.
Anon.,1914.
Red Cross Dog – Saving the Wounded. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 30
Sept. p.7. Col.4. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11129046/Daily-Telegraph-September-30-1914.html
[Accessed: 30 September 2014].
Mann, J., 2014. 100
years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 30
September 2014).
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