RIFLEMAN KHAN and his act of bravery on the mud flats near Nieuwdorp. The PDSA “Dickin” Medal for a Brave Dog – Written by Hans van Dam
As early as the prehistoric days, man has always tried to utilize animals for his benefit. Carrier pigeons for sending messages, dogs for hunting, cats for vermin control. In wartime too, animals were used. A couple of these animals managed to perform heroic deeds by making sure their boss and others didn’t get hurt or killed during battle. Humans would have been awarded medals for these actions, but at the time there was no such thing for animals. Their remarkable actions were usually forgotten about. It wasn’t until the Second World War for this to change. Maria Dickin (1870‐1951) founded PDSA (the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals) in 1917. This British foundation that stood for the wellbeing of animals, introduced the Dickin Medal during the Second World War.
Maria was touched by the dedication of the animals in the British armed forces and decided to institute a special medal for those animals that showed conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in situations of conflict.
One condition for the eligibility of the Dickin Medal was that the animal was to have served under or had been taken care of by a division of the British Commonwealth armed forces or civil emergency services. The prestigious medal was only awarded on recommendation and was exclusively for animals. It was therefore regarded as the animal equivalent of the “Victoria Cross”, the highest British military medal of honour. The medal is made of bronze, and features a laurel wreath bearing the words “For Gallantry” and “WE ALSO SERVE”. At the top of the medal you see the letters PDSA. The ribbon is green, brown and pale blue: signifying water, land and air as the symbols for navy, army and civil defence, and air force.
The family of Harold Railton, manager in a clothes shop in Tolworth, Surrey, couldn’t really afford a dog. However, on June 7, 1941, 7 year old Barrie Railton saw his dream come true when his dad decided to buy a dog. That evening they went to have a look at a litter of pedigree German Shepherd dogs. When the youngest puppy out of the litter was offered half price, the family decided to take him. In a bag attached to mum’s handlebars the little animal was brought back home, where that evening they decided on a name. It wasn’t to be a common name, like Rocky or Buster, but Khan, named after the Persian honorary title Aga Khan. Because there was no dog food available, the puppy was being fed rice pudding. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, because Khan developed well and rapidly grew into a big, strong animal. Barrie and the clever Khan were inseparable. Khan was very good at opening and closing doors and sitting up. The problem however, was the amount of food that disappeared into the mouth of the ever hungry Khan. When food was rationed, this became a serious problem.
It was therefore very convenient that around 1942 the British army started a recruitment scheme for dogs. By lending out Khan to the army, the food problems would be solved. Khan would, after having completed a gruelling selection procedure, be stationed with an army unit. After the war, Khan would then return.
At first Barrie was not impressed, but he was eventually won over. Khan was put forward and not long after he left Tolworth behind for the “War Dog training centre” in Potter’s Bar. With tears in his eyes, the then 9 year old Barrie said goodbye to his friend.
After his training, which was completed without an incident, Khan was stationed as War dog 147 with the 6th Battalion “The Cameronians” in Lanarkshire, Scotland. Khan and his companion L/Cpl Jimmy Muldoon became friends in no time. At first Khan led a relatively easy service in Scotland, until he and Muldoon were stationed on the mainland in 1944. He arrived in Nieuwdorp via Baarland on November 2nd. On November 3, 1944, Khan was assigned to a unit division that was ordered to relieve the troops that had become trapped for days on the 40 meter wide and one kilometer long Sloedam. These troops that had been trying to cross the dam since October 31th, were sitting ducks for the Germans. They were shot at from the bunkers with which the Sloedam was defended. Some liberators had managed to get onto the Walcheren side of the dam, helped by a smoke screen cover, but they got pinned down there. It was decided to deploy the 6th Battalion The Cameronians in an operation named “Mallard”. The purpose of this operation was to cross the creeks and mud flats of the Sloe to reach Walcheren and attack the German troops holding the Sloedam from behind. This plan worked, but not without a fight. Early in the morning of November 3rd, small boats set off from the harbour of Nieuwdorp towards the coast of Walcheren. During this ‘hellish’ journey across the mudflats and all the skirmishes that ensued, 18 soldiers in the unit in which Khan served lost their lives3. Without Khan, this figure would have been 19.
Before the nightly crossing of the muddy and mine infested Sloe between high and low tide was to take place, a group of 4 military engineers had cleared the route of mines and marked the area with ribbons. By staying within these ribbons, the crossing would be relatively safe. The first troops reached the other side without any major incident and quite a number of surprised Germans were taken captive.
The Germans who had thought crossing the mud flats of the Sloe would have been impossible, quickly realized their miscalculation and started to attack the small boats. Because a number of men were wounded by the German Schü mines (*), the British decided to deploy dogs in order to help find them.
(*) A Schü mine was a small German fragmentation mine, packaged in a 4 x 4 inch wooden box. Because it was mainly made of wood, Schü mines were difficult to detect (except with dogs). The mine did generally not kill, but maim the unfortunate person that triggered it.
During the crossing, a mortar shell exploded near Muldoon and Khan’s boat, causing a number of boats to capsize. Muldoon and Khan also went overboard. Muldoon and the other soldiers that hit the water, had to try and swim to the other side wearing their full military kit, in the icy water, while being shot at by the enemy. To reach the shore on the other side, they had to cross perilous mud flats, in which one would easily sink as deep as the knees . Khan who didn’t wear any gear, managed to reach the shore, but Muldoon, who couldn’t swim, was in a lot more trouble. Khan quickly realized that his master hadn’t managed to reach the shore yet, so he went back into the water to try and find him. In the dark and violent night, it was almost impossible to see anyone or anything, let alone someone drowning and fighting for his life in the icy water, under a hail of incoming grenades. Yet Khan must have heard his master as he suddenly jumped into the water and swam towards the unfortunate Muldoon. As soon as he had reached him, he bit into his uniform until Muldoon was able to get hold of his collar. Khan dragged Muldoon to the shore. Muldoon had to use his last bit of strength to pull himself out of the water, after which he collapsed exhausted. Khan lay down against his exhausted master to keep him warm. That is how they were found later on. Muldoon was taken to hospital by the troops, where he remained the next 24 hours. During all that time, Khan never left his side. Khan’s act of bravery did not go unnoticed. Rifleman Khan, as the dog had become known, was nominated for a Dickin Medal. He was awarded this medal on March 27, 1945 in front of the entire force in Bremen, Germany.
Khan continued travelling through Europe with Muldoon, but on August 7, 1945 he was hit by an army truck in Olsene, Belgium. A nerve in the hip was injured what caused him to limp slightly with his hind leg. Khan never fully recovered from this accident. Now it was Jimmy’s turn to look after Khan. Meanwhile Muldoon had become seriously attached to the dog to such an extent that he lodged an appeal with his superiors to be allowed to keep the dog. The war was almost at an end and it wouldn’t be for long that Khan was to be returned to the Railtons.
After two years of not having heard any news, the Railton family received a letter from the Ministry of War in November 1945. The letter mentioned that Wardog 147 had saved the life of his companion and that he had been awarded the Dickin Medal for this. The letter also mentioned that his carer would very much like to keep the dog. After having declined this, the Railtons received another letter on January 14, 1946 from Mrs Muldoon. In the letter she again asked if they could keep Khan. Muldoon had become so attached to the dog, that having to say goodbye to him would be extremely painful for him. But within the Railton family, things had also changed. Barrie Railton had caught polio in Augustus 1943, which meant he was in hospital for a prolonged period of time with two legs paralysed. He was still recovering and wanted nothing other than getting his dog back. Despite the efforts of the media, which often times chose Muldoon’s side, the Railton family did not back down.
The paths of Khan and Muldoon parted on May 5, 1946. Muldoon returned to Scotland and went back to being a roofer and plasterer. Khan went back to the Railtons. Despite being a hero, no exception was made for Khan and he nevertheless had to spent 6 months in quarantine in the Hackbrick Quarantine Kennels. Meanwhile Barrie, who had reasonably recovered but still needed the use of a walking stick, visited him 3 times a week during this period. And that would have been the end of the story, had it not been for the newspaper “The Star” to organize a national dog tournament in the Wembley Arena in July 1947.
Part of the show was a parade of War Dogs, for which Khan and nine other Dickin Medal winners had been invited. The organisation had asked Muldoon to accompany Khan during this parade. Muldoon, who hadn’t seen Khan for over a year, agreed. After an emotional reunion with “his” dog, he appeared for more than 10,000 visitors in the parade. He knew absolutely nothing about the surprise that was awaiting him. The polio had weakened Barrie Railton’s legs and that would sometimes cause problems with the big and strong Khan. Another problem was housing. The Railton family was experiencing housing problems and they now had to share a house in which there really was no room for Khan anymore.
When Barrie saw the bond that still existed between Khan and Muldoon, he decided to give Khan to Muldoon after all. During the parade he discussed this with his father. Muldoon must have not believed what he heard, when on returning Khan Harold Railton told him; “He is yours, take him home with you!”. The crowd thought it was sensational.
Muldoon and Khan left the following day for Lanarkshire in Scotland by train. Meanwhile, Khan had become so popular with people that he was offered a lot money for him. Muldoon dismissed all these offers with the remark; “Not even all the money in the world would be enough to buy Khan”. Khan was the high point of the Lanarkshire parade on July 24, 1947 and his popularity remained high.. After his death in 1955, Khan was cremated and his ashes scattered in Lanarkshire. Jimmy Muldoon passed away in 1978 after a serious illness. The Dickin Medal is now owned by Jimmy’s son, and in 2004 it was valued at 10,000 pounds. In March 2009 it was displayed in an exhibition in het Low Parks Museum in Hamilton, Scotland.