Angus Whitson - Sea Dog Bamse: World War II Canine Hero

Montrose Docks Area 193945

S ea dogs and their stories abound throughout naval and maritime history. A wolfhound accompanied Christopher Columbus on his fourth voyage of discovery across the Atlantic Ocean and helped repulse an attack on the garrison Columbus established at Panama. The splendidly named 18th-century admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, scarcely remembered now but regarded as the finest admiral of Queen Annes navy, had his favourite Italian greyhound on board with him when his flagship, Association, foundered on the Scilly Isles during a disastrous storm. Perhaps the greyhound had drowned by the time dog and master were cast up together on the islands rocks, but in any event it proved no help to Sir Cloudesley his throat was cut by an island woman who then stole his emerald rings. Peggy was a bulldog who served with Admiral Sir John Jellicoe on HMS Iron Duke at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916. She helped maintain the crews morale throughout the noise and tumult of the most important sea battle of World War I.

In more recent military history, the events of World War II are peppered with tales of dogs and other animals that behaved with great heroism and inspired the men of the units to which they were attached. This story is about perhaps the most remarkable of all these wartime animals, a fighting sea dog and a ships mascot who not only served and inspired his fellow crew members, but was renowned across Europe and beyond as a patriotic symbol of loyalty and freedom.

Bamse (pronounced Bum-sa), known as the largest dog of all the Allied Forces was a friendly giant, over six feet tall when he stood upright on his hind legs, and with a hefty build and muscles indicative of his 100-kilogram frame. Wearing his sailors cap emblazoned with its Kongelige Norske Marine ( KNM = Royal Norwegian Navy) ribbon, he was instantly recognisable as the gentle Viking who had, with his king, escaped by sea from German-occupied Norway in 1940, and was engaged in fighting for the liberation of his country.

Bamse was originally bought as a puppy for his masters four children. He was the gentlest of animals with his human companions; indeed, his name in Norwegian means teddy bear or simply teddy an apt name for the St Bernard who began his life as a much-loved family pet, though it concealed the depth of character and courage of the animal who was to become a dog of war. But for the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Bamse might have grown up in a secure, happy family environment, knowing little more excitement than chasing balls and sticks and giving piggy-back rides to his child companions. As it was, he took his place in the roll-call of conspicuously brave animals who repaid their human masters trust with selfless loyalty.

Bamse went to war with his master Erling Hafto, who commanded the Royal Norwegian Navy ship KNM Thorodd (pronounced Too-rod). During minesweeping patrols protecting the Atlantic and North Sea convoys in World War II, Bamse saw action, taking his place on Thorodds bow gun platform with his own made-to-measure steel helmet to protect him from enemy fire. His composure in action and his contribution to the ships morale had a tangible effect on Thorodds crew, who regarded him as their good-luck symbol and adopted him as ships mascot. He displayed a true fighting disposition on a number of occasions when he defied attacking German fighter planes and was challenged by other dogs and, remarkably, when he saved a fellow Free Norwegian Navy officer from a knife-wielding assailant.

Word spread of the dogs devotion to duty and his self-control and indifference under fire. Soon he was adopted as mascot of the entire Royal Norwegian Navy, and then of all the Free Norwegian Forces. Reports of Bamses legendary wartime exploits were told and retold, and the dogs great contribution to morale in the dark days of war eventually inspired much of the Allied Forces fighting in Europe and beyond.

Thorodd operated mainly from the Scottish east-coast ports of Montrose and Dundee, and Bamse became as familiar a figure to residents of the area as to his shipboard companions. His death in July 1944 on the quayside at Montrose, just yards from his beloved Thorodd, was somewhat undistinguished compared with his wartime exploits. However, the effect on Thorodds crew and the loss to the community was profound, such was the universal respect for the dignified dog. Today, Bamse is still regarded as a national hero in his native Norway and his memory has been rekindled in Scotland with the unveiling by HRH Prince Andrew, himself a Royal Navy captain, of a larger-than-life statue of Bamse on Montrose harbour front.