PURPLE POPPY Brooch  in Remembrance of Animals Sacrificed in Combat

Ref: LWF_423

Dedicated to all the animals that served and died alongside British and allied forces in wars and campaigns for all time. The beauty is in it’s simplicity, made in casting metal Rhodium plated and enameled.

A variety of animals were employed to support both sides in WW1 and as a result millions died. They had no choice. From the Canary, pigeon and dogs to Horses, Mules, Camels and Elephants, even cats* they all played a vital role in the cause of human freedom. * officers & men adopted strays

Brave Cat,  Simon (c. 1947 – 28 November 1949) was a ship’s cat who served on the Royal Navy sloop-of-war HMS Amethyst. In 1949, during the Yangtze Incident, he received the PDSA’s Dickin Medal after surviving injuries from a cannon shell, raising morale, and killing off a rat infestation during his service.

During World War I, the British army employed nearly 500,000 of the felines to fend off unwanted critters on land and at sea; nearly every World War II vessel had at least one aboard at all times.

“They had no choice, their contribution should not be forgotten.”