A Cat Story

[herakles]

I am going to give you a brief description of a remarkable cat. Name of Trim.

Trim was the beloved companion of Matthew Flinders and travelled with him on all his voyages of exploration. As a result, Trim was the first to circumnavigate Australia.

Trim was born on HMS Roundabout in 1799 and was always Flinders companion. He even survived shipwreck on the Barrier Reef and suffered heroically the privations that his master suffered during his voyages.

He was also incarcerated with Flinders on Mauritius. Which is where he met his untimely death. This is what Flinders said about him:

To the memory of
Trim,
the best and most illustrious of his Race, –
the most affectionate of friends, –
faithful of servants,
and best of creatures.
He made the Tour of the Globe, and a voyage to
Australia,
which he circumnavigated; and was ever the
delight and pleasure of his fellow voyagers.
Returning to Europe in 1803, he was shipwrecked
in the Great Equinoxial Ocean;
This danger escaped, he sought refuge and assistance
at the Isle of France, where
he was made prisoner, contrary to the laws of
Justice, of Humanity, and of
French National Faith;
and where, alas! he terminated his useful career,
by an untimely death, being devoured by the Catophagi of
that island.
Many a time have I beheld his little merriments with delight,
and his superior intelligence with surprise:
Never will his like be seen again!
Trim was born in the Southern Indian Ocean, in the year 1799,
and perished as above at the Isle of France
in 1804.

Flinders wrote a book about his friend and you can read it here: http://www.nmm.ac.uk/flinders/DisplayDocument.cfm?ID=92&CurrentPage=1&CurrentXMLPage=1

I am able to mention the name Flinders in the same breath as James Cook. An extraordinary sailor and navigator.

There is a statue of Trim in Hyde Park, Sydney. There is a statue of Flinders and the Tom Thumb in the centre of Melbourne.

Trim's story forms the basis of a work of fiction by Bryce Courtenay called "Matthew Flinders Cat". One either loves Courtenay or hates him! I was very moved by this book.

Whilst researching for this, I came across a remarkable book: Ships' Cats in War and Peace by Val Lewis. There are 79 chapters each describing a particular cat. The front cover has a photo of the Prince of Wales ship's cat wishing Churchill good luck with his forthcoming talks with Roosevelt that culminated in the Atlantic Charter.

[The Sailor]

My view is that Mathew Flinders was the greatest and best of all the seafarers who came out of Britain. An incredible man and sailor.
Many places in the world show his name. He is greatly revered in Australia, much moreso than James Cook.

The pic below is his statue outside St Pauls Cathedral.

[cissystar650]

Excellent... There seem to be a lot of Cat stories out there, but I wonder about dogs or other animals? .... off to google!

[herakles]

I'm glad you had a photo of the Flinders statue. I couldn't find one.

I'm not so sure that Cook is as far behind in the popularity stakes as you suggest. He was an amazing navigator. And extraordinary leader of men.

Recall that it was Cook that did all the navigation prior to the successful capture of Quebec. And that he navigated close to the north and south poles.

I know his name is revered in Alaska even to this day.

And perhaps fondly remembered in Hawaii but for the wrong reason!!!

[John Brown]

Good post about the cat Herakles. Being an animal lover, I'm always pleased to read of their exploits!


Cissy, it will be interesting to hear what your reseach turns up as there have been many gallantry awards given to animals in wartime. Similarly with some serving with the police force I expect?


Regards...John

[herakles]

Thanks John. I've had a soft spot for Trim for quite a few years.

I think I read of a statue erected in England recently to honour the animals who served in war. Do you know of this?

Mind you, in the good old days - the days of sail - the ships were alive with animals - mostly destined for the pot.

I couldn't help but think when you mentioned police dogs, of the report today that the Met seems to have lost two of them. Along with quite a lot of other gear. Hmmmm.

[John Brown]

Herakles

The erection of a statue to animal bravery rings a bell. I'll check it out.

just as a point of useless information.....

In the train station in my home town of Slough there is a stuffed dog mounted in a glass case and standing on a platform. He was the Station Masters dog many years ago and was called 'Station Jim'.

Have a look:

http://www.thamespilot.org.uk/ixbin/hixclient.exe?a=query&p=slough&f=generic_theme.htm&_IXFIRST_=1&_IXMAXHITS_=1&%3Dtheme_record_id=sl-sl-stationjim

[herakles]

That's a nice story John!

Another faithful dog story.

I do hope the local hoodies leave it alone.

[tomsam]

Hi Cissy. I like your new Avetar but you seem to have only half a child, poor thing LOL
Tomsam

[herakles]

I noticed that too. Cut off in his prime as they say!

So cissy - erm - include him perhaps?

[cissystar650]

I noticed that too. Cut off in his prime as they say!

So cissy - erm - include him perhaps?

I'll include HER :

[cissystar650]

I found surprisingly little about pets in the RN... here's a good article though:


The life of a Royal Navy cat, who gained fame for his exploits in helping to save the lives of the crew of HMS Amethyst in 1949, was commemorated at a special ceremony in East London yesterday, 1 November 2007.

Former Royal Navy officers paid tribute to famous rat catcher 'Simon the Cat', who was awarded the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross, by laying wreaths on his grave at the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) Animal Cemetery in Ilford, on the anniversary of his death.

Simon is the only feline ever to receive the prestigious PDSA Dickin Medal – the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross - for his role in the infamous Yangtse River incident which cost the lives of several British sailors.

HMS Amethyst was heading up the Yangtse River to relieve the guard ship HMS Consort, who was protecting the British Embassy at Nanking, during the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomingtang (KMT) and the Chinese Communists.

Amethyst came under heavy fire from Communist shore batteries and a series of direct hits virtually crippled the ship, killing 15 men and wounding numerous others. With the ship run aground, some of the crew managed to swim to safety but some 50 others remained on board. HMS Consort soon came to the rescue but also came under heavy fire, taking 56 hits, resulting in nine more deaths and more wounded.

Other rescue attempts were made resulting in even more deaths. For more than three months Amethyst was held a virtual prisoner by the communists who withheld vital supplies as they insisted Lieutenant Commander J. S. Kerans, sign a statement that the Amethyst had wrongly invaded Chinese national waters and had fired upon them first.
Simon the cat was credited with saving the lives of the surviving crew members by protecting the dwindling food stores from an infestation of rats, even though he had been badly wounded by shrapnel during the initial shelling.

[herakles]

I'll include HER :

Oh! Sorry! It's just that you mentioned a him before.

[cissystar650]

Oh! Sorry! It's just that you mentioned a him before.

lol..no worries, I have one of each :-)

[herakles]

I found surprisingly little about pets in the RN... here's a good article though:


The life of a Royal Navy cat, who gained fame for his exploits in helping to save the lives of the crew of HMS Amethyst in 1949, was commemorated at a special ceremony in East London yesterday, 1 November 2007.

Former Royal Navy officers paid tribute to famous rat catcher 'Simon the Cat', who was awarded the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross, by laying wreaths on his grave at the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) Animal Cemetery in Ilford, on the anniversary of his death.

Simon is the only feline ever to receive the prestigious PDSA Dickin Medal – the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross - for his role in the infamous Yangtse River incident which cost the lives of several British sailors.

HMS Amethyst was heading up the Yangtse River to relieve the guard ship HMS Consort, who was protecting the British Embassy at Nanking, during the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomingtang (KMT) and the Chinese Communists.

Amethyst came under heavy fire from Communist shore batteries and a series of direct hits virtually crippled the ship, killing 15 men and wounding numerous others. With the ship run aground, some of the crew managed to swim to safety but some 50 others remained on board. HMS Consort soon came to the rescue but also came under heavy fire, taking 56 hits, resulting in nine more deaths and more wounded.

Other rescue attempts were made resulting in even more deaths. For more than three months Amethyst was held a virtual prisoner by the communists who withheld vital supplies as they insisted Lieutenant Commander J. S. Kerans, sign a statement that the Amethyst had wrongly invaded Chinese national waters and had fired upon them first.
Simon the cat was credited with saving the lives of the surviving crew members by protecting the dwindling food stores from an infestation of rats, even though he had been badly wounded by shrapnel during the initial shelling.

This is a great story.

I'm old enough to still remember that dreadful incident.

There was also a film made of it but I don't recall whether Simon featured in that or not.

Thanks. I enjoyed this post!

[John Brown]

Cissy.

Good post, very interesting!

Herakles.

When do you sleep? :-)

Regards...John

[herakles]

Point taken John. Have you seen where I reside? Currently it's 15:30 here and I've had my siesta! Just about to have a cuppa in fact.

[John Brown]

How long have you been in Thailand?

My brother lived in Bangkok for about nine years but came back, as our parents aren't too clever, a couple of years ago.

John

[herakles]

Couple of years now. I'm very fond of things Asian. Especially here. I couldn't cope with Bangkok. I even get lost on its motorways. I'm in a lovely out of the way spot surrounded by rice paddies.

[John Brown]

Herkales asked:

'I think I read of a statue erected in England recently to honour the animals who served in war. Do you know of this?'



Yes there is a monument to them and it's quite a big one judging from the pictures. Rightly so!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animals_in_War_Memorial

Regards...john

[herakles]

Still here John - but not for much longer!

Yes, this is the one. Most impressive isn't it. And well deserved too.

I like this part: "They had no choice."

That says it all I feel.

Well done that man for locating it!!

[cissystar650]

I'll second that! As a displaced Londoner, I didn't even know it was there! DOH! I will take the children to see it when we are in the big smoke next time!

[seaJane]

For Trim enthusiasts, young or otherwise, I can highly recommend The mostly true story of Matthew and Trim by Cassandra Golds, illustrated by Stephen Axelson. Only available from Penguin Australia as far as I know but I have still managed to get hold of a copy or two. Delightful.

[greenrw]

Hi Herakles,
In answer to your questions re the original "Simon" taking part in the film made of "The Yangtse Incident".
Simon died on 28th November 1949, of an acute enteritis infection whilst in quarantine.
Some said at the time that it was another name for a "broken heart", having been separated from his ship and his shipmates?
He was buried in The PDSA Pets Cemetery with full Military Honours, his tiny coffin being draped in a Union Jack in grave number 281.
On 13th December 2007 the cemetery was reopened and rededicated.
Lt Commander Hett was there to honour Simon`s memory.
A Kitten known as Simon the second was subsequently presented to the crew of HMS Amethyst.
The film of the Incident made during 1956/7, actually showed more than one cat.
Next time it is shown on Film4, watch out for the cat on the Galley range, it can be seen to be quite different to the other shots of the actual Simon the second swinging in a hammock.
I have a picture of Simon the second with his donor. However as is usual for me, Iv`e been unable to post it due to its size.
Able Sea cat Simon DM picture of his grave taken by Lt Commander Hett at the PDSA cemetery attached
Bob W Green

[herakles]

Bob,

What a touching story. I was quite overcome by the image of the little flag draped coffin.

Seajane,

I bought a copy of Flinder's own work on Trim. It is a charming and small book.

Bob, re the pic being too big. Send Kc a PM and he will tell you how to send the picture to him to be reduced so it can be posted. I want to see that photo!!!!

[greenrw]

Hi herakles,
I believe after a considerable amount of trial and error that you can now see Simon the second on the shoulder of his donor. Hope you like it
I have tried to contact kc, re your suggested help source, but my e-mail provider has been, to say the least a tad unreliable of late.
Bob W Green

[herakles]

That's great Bob! Thanks for that.

It's said that dogs have masters, cats have staff. How true.

You can email from within the forum. There's a place in a member's profile that lets you send him an email.

Again thanks.

[Eggs-11]

Good evening people
Have been reading your posts about simon the cat, their was also
a 4 year old terrier called peggy on HMS Amethyst.

[herakles]

Good morning Eggs!

There are a couple of threads here about animals on board ships and some comments on the new pets memorial opened recently.

[Eggs-11]

Hows the weather mate

[herakles]

Well, it's always predictable. 24 at night and 35 every day. At the moment the fan is on 1. Thins the blood you know!

[Eggs-11]

Its normal here cold and wet.

[herakles]

And the endless grey skies! Don't forget that!

[Eggs-11]

To true mate off to bed now will speak to you soon
Mark!

[tim lewin]

the memorial to animals in war is on Park Lane near Brook gate (Marble Arch end), easy to see from the road but more difficult to reach on foot. Park Lane is 2-3 lanes in each direction.
tim

[tonclass]

Regarding Herks post yesterday. On this paticular Forum, Dogs are 'Ratings', Cats are 'Officers'.
Nuff said !! :)

[herakles]

Nuff said indeed! Most appropriate.

[greenrw]

Hi Eggs-11,
Recently added to the "MaritimeQuest.com" site are photographs of the crew of HMS Amethyst taken by Lt Cmdr Hett, taken whilst she was aground on Rose Island.
As you referred to "Peggy" the dog, these shots should, I hope, be of interest to you. She is with Petty Officer (Cook) George Griffiths. Not forgetting Able Sea cat "Simon" being held by Petty Officer Alfred White.
HMS Amethyst U16, is listed on the "Main site" under "Vessel Index". The crew pictures are on page 1
Bob William Green

[Eggs-11]

Bob thanks for the info, Am really interested in HMS Consort
but thanks any way

[tomsam]

Hi all.
FAO "Egs11 . Some info on HMS Consort/Amethyst and her casualties was unearthed when i came across a link showing a letter from Surgeon Lt Mark Bentley of HMS Consort. It makes grim reading http://www.thehmsconsort.co.uk/ships.html
A good site for those interested in the "Yangtze Incident"
Tomsam

[Eggs-11]

Tomsam
Have looked at the site and yes it does make grim reading
Thank you. Mark

[herakles]

That site made fascinating reading. If it did nothing else, it reinforced my intense dislike of the people that run the country. Especially the non-elected ones. Who know better than all of us.

Infamy like the one described here is far too common. A similar story has been told about the Falklands War. What a farce that was. Yet because it did so much for the Prime Minister of the day and caused much positive sentiment in the population (read nationalism), the true story has had almost no coverage. Because the truth hurts.

As more and more data are released after their 50 year quarantining, we are going to be shocked over and over again at the perfidy and disinformation.

If there's one reason why the Internet's openness and lack of censorship should be jealously guarded, it is for reasons like the above.

[bob shayler]

6031


Another ship's pet.
HMS Iron Duke's pet cockatoo taken just after Jutland. Apparrently remained totally unperterbed throughout the action,
Bob

[al1934]

Here's our ship's cat HMS EAGLE 1956-57

[greenrw]

Hi Bob,
What a fabulous picture!
It would be great to hear some more of the background story about the Cockatoo?
Did you have a relative on board the "Iron Duke" at the time?
Bob William Green (greenrw)

[bob shayler]

Hi Bob,
I didn't have a relative on Iron Duke. My great uncle was on Queen Mary and was killed in action at Jutland.
Afraid I have no more info on the cockatoo but pleased you liked the photo,
regards,
Bob

[herakles]

6031

Another ship's pet.
HMS Iron Duke's pet cockatoo taken just after Jutland. Apparrently remained totally unperterbed throughout the action,
Bob

How come it didn't fly away?

[bob shayler]

It couldn't Herakles. The bird was on watch that night and couldn't leave it's post (or perch)
Bob

[Collind]

I think I have posted this before. During WW2 there was a cat called Oscar, he became the Uncle Albert (from Only Fools and Horses) of the cat world. He started off as the ships cat on the Bismark. After iks sinking it was rescued by a British Destroyer which was itself sunk and Oscer was transfered to the the Arc Royal, later torpedoed in the Med. The cat survived and was sent to a shore station in Northern Ireland and lived an uneventful life.

[herakles]

Sounds like Oscar used a few of his lives up!

[John Odom]

A nice story about Trim, and Simon as well. I am a lover of Yangtze naval stories, and a cat lover as well.

[alanbenn]

Larger version of my avatar, ships mascot for Hms Modeste.
named 'sippers' due to it's fondness to a sip of the 'tot' according to my Dad, how true that is I'm not sure, he may have been under the influence himself, I do remember seeing the mascot once. it was wearing a small set of 'whites'.

regards
Alan

[astraltrader]

A truly great pic Alan. Sippers has been enrolled in my ships cats file, which I know might risk confusing him should he be looking down on us from paradise but I am hoping he will regard it as an honorary position and a compliment!:D

[herakles]

I'm sure we could fill the forum with ship's pets! This one - sippers - is very interesting.

[Batstiger]

Nice picture of the Modeste Alan. I notice both the whaler and the cutter (is it a Putt Putt?) are manned, do they know something that the Skipper doesn't?

Bob.

[CYLLA]

When on the "ARLINGHAM" they had a dog called "tramp"...nice friendly fellow .
Would any one who was out at GIB during the late 60,s early 70,s ..know what came of him ???
When i was duty at weekends ,the wife brought our 2 year old son along to see me ,and he was as daft as a brush with him,but any one else ,was a different story.
Tramp made a good few visits to H.M.S ROOKE,during his runs ashore ,so he was well known on the main gate.

This question came about ,as we were talking about Gib last night.

cylla

ps I apologise if i have got on the wrong thread

[kookaburra]

A nice story about Trim, and Simon as well. I am a lover of Yangtze naval stories, and a cat lover as well.

BUMP:
John, if you love Yangtze-type naval stories you MUST have enjoyed Richard McKenna's 1963 Harper Prize winning novel ' The Sand Pebbles' - one of the best of them all.

Jake Holman...I get it out and read it again on holidays every five years or so.

Meantime, here's a Down Under cat who obviously had a hard war. HMAS Kanimbla's pet who got a WHOLE PAGE to himself in the R.A.N.'s 1944 annual HMAS Mk 1V - just a little after the opening five-page treatise on 'The Triumph of Sea Power.'

[vivian]

Aaah! Steve McQueen AND a cat story. You can't go far wrong there. :D

regards,
Vivian

[kookaburra]

This is a photo of a prisoner from the sunken steamer SS Zam Zam feeding the ship's cat aboard the German prison ship Dresden in 1941.

Please see my forthcoming extended photo essay on LIFE (magazine) aboard the Dresden, which I think some folk will find very evocative of an interlude in the life at sea. I did. Not sure where to place it yet, probably Photo Gallery or Everything Else. The photographer's name was credited as David E. Scherman.

Also attaching here for John Odom in view of his attachment to all things Yangtze mentioned in this thread - the cruiser USS Astoria in Shanghai in 1948.

[SCRG1970]

A couple for all you cat-lovers !

Regards

Gerry

[SCRG1970]

One more found in the back of the locker !!!

Regards

gerry

[herakles]

This is the story of a little black kitten with a very special job: mascot of the warship HMAS Perth. At the beginning of 1942, HMAS Perth and its crew were famous across Australia. Only the year before it had been fighting the Italian Navy in the Mediterranean Sea. HMAS Perth also evacuated thousands of war-weary Australian troops from Greece.

Now HMAS Perth and its crew of over 600 men were back in pacific waters where they were needed for a very important task - to stop the Japanese advance across south-east Asia. They left Sydney in January 1942, stopping off at Fremantle on the way.

It was perhaps, at this time that Perth's animal mascot Red Lead, joined the ship. We know it was only a kitten in February 1942. What a place for a little kitten to explore! There were the sailors' quarters with their swinging hammocks, the wide, wooden deck, towering masts, the round signal lamps and deep in the bowels of the ship the growling engines. But Red Lead's favourite spot was curled up in the captain's cabin. The new captain, Hec Waller, always had a moment to spare for the playful kitten.

But Red Lead had little time to settle into its new home. On 27 February, HMAS Perth joined a fleet of British, Dutch and American ships to stop a Japanese naval convoy from landing on the island of Java. The fleet was hopelessly outnumbered and one by one, the Allied ships were crippled, sunk or forced to withdraw. The sound of firing ack ack guns and the shouting of the men surrounded the kitten! Japanese planes zoomed over ahead - there was no safe place to hide, except its one special place, Captain Waller's cabin. There it firmly stayed until the Captain gave orders to withdraw from the battle. Embattled but not defeated the warship steamed back to the harbour.

Back in the safety of the harbour, Red Lead somehow knew it would not survive another battle like that. It was time to find another job and another home. Quietly and stealthily it crept down the gangway. "Where do you think you are going?" yelled out one of the sailors and scooped up the little kitten, returning it to the deck. Foiled, Red Lead tried again and again. Three times in total, the kitten tried to leave the ship but to no avail. Some of the sailors looked at the unhappy cat and shook their heads - this was a bad omen. The official log at the end of the day read

"Red Lead, ship's kitten, endeavoured to desert, but was brought back on board, despite vigorous protests."

Red Lead was right that things would not improve. The next day HMAS Perth and USS Houston sailed for the south coast of Java and met a large fleet of Japanese ships. After a desperate battle, the Perth was sunk. Over 350 men (including Captain Waller) and one little black kitten went down with the ship.

http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/remembering1942/perth/index.asp

[ivorthediver]

I am often called a hard a.... b...... But I have a soft spot for animals of all types but cats are the best!

I will admit that I have never heard of that story, but was very moved reading that tale....thank you for posting and resurecting it.