A large pet cemetery in Ilford, East London, with graves of more than 3,000 animals, is waiting to find out today whether they have got money from the Lottery and ITV 'People's Millions' funds to help restore its site. The PDSA charity (People's Dispensary for Sick Animals) is looking for money for its Cemetery Restoration Project, to maintain and repair existing graves, make it more accessible to visitors and to tell the stories of many of the animals buried there.12 animals buried there were awarded medals for outstanding services to people during the Second World War... dogs sniffed out people buried under bombed buildings during the Blitz; 'Seacat' Simon, (above, with his crewmates), helped the crew of HMS Amethyst by catching the rats that were stealing their meagre rations while they were all held captive, following a bomb blast which killed 17 men and also injured Simon the Cat.
The special Dickins Medal for animal bravery was awarded 54 times between 1943 and 1949. 32 recipients were pigeons, valued for delivering messages under difficult circumstances to troops and frequently contributing to rescues being carried out. The same creatures which are popularly regarded as 'flying rats' or 'vermin' by many Londoners today... reminds me of the arbitrary nature of 'The Inequality of Being'...
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