Isabel George - The Dog that Saved My Life

The dockhands were busy loading the crates of supplies and ammunition, and the area was heaving with the hustle and bustle of dockyard activity. It was just the kind of chaos the men needed. Who was going to notice one dog in a muddled crowd like that? They just needed to get Sergeant Gander through one more roll call and they would soon be on the open sea.

As the men boarded the HMCS Prince Robert , they gathered to hide Gander as best they could. Just as before, they walked very closely together, Gander between them, and marched up to the gangplank. The stevedores noticed the dog, however, and refused to allow ‘the bear’ onto the boat. The regimental officers agreed but the men howled in protest when it was discovered that one of the officers had been allowed to take his small pet dog. The men pointed out that Gander was simply a large dog, so the authorities relented and Gander boarded the ship. They were home and dry! Gander was as exhausted as the men, who still had to hang their hammocks before they could rest. Gander couldn’t wait for such a luxury. After nudging his head against some of his friends, by way of maybe saying ‘thank you’, he slumped down onto the cabin floor and fell fast asleep. No one was going to move that huge slumbering dog, even though he was right in the middle of the accommodation area. So, they covered him with a blanket and left him in peace.

Several hours later Gander bolted out of his sleep to find that he was surrounded by his soldier friends. It was another new environment and he seemed somewhat unsteady on his feet as the ship rolled and swayed a little in the water. Fred was quick to move to give the dog a hug and say, ‘It’s all right Gander. You’re on a troopship and, like the rest of us buddy, you’re on your way to war.’ The men had guessed before the official announcement was made that they were bound for the Far East. Departing from Vancouver had been the biggest clue and now they were about four weeks from entering a war zone.

The entire regiment and now the crew of the Prince Robert knew the dog was onboard, so it was decided to allow Gander to enjoy the freedom of the ship at last. But how best to do that? Fred suggested that Gander make his entrance the next morning away from land; the thought of another long, uneventful day ahead would be brightened when the soldiers saw Gander. And so as the men finished their breakfast next morn ing Fred chose his moment to release Gander, when the men were chatting and finishing the dregs of their coffee. The big dog trotted into the mess area and immediately picked on a few of the men to brush up to and plant his great web-footed paws on! It was a great moment for all the men to see their mascot looking so fit and healthy and full of fun. He was the morale boost they needed at this stage of their journey. He ‘rough and tumbled’ with them and slobbered on them, commandeered their hammocks for a sleep and begged anything they cared to give him from their meagre rations. Gander was on the way to war amongst the men he loved and they, in return, loved him for it!

It was hot and uncomfortable in the cramped quarters of the HMCS Prince Robert . Gander probably felt it most of all and there was little that Fred Kelly could do to cool the big dog down, especially as there was a shortage of water on board and they needed every drop for drinking. The dog was now the most popular soldier aboard and his fellow soldiers did what they could to help him settle. But when his panting got bad all he could do was find a breezy companionway to lie in. The men knew if they saw Gander lying down it was a cool spot and they would often join him.

It was going to take four weeks for the troopships to reach the island of Hong Kong. It was a long journey but Gander was good company and a happy distraction for the men. Many were very young, some just 16 years old and away from home for the first time. All of them were proud to be fighting for their country and for freedom, but at the same time terrified of what lay ahead. For now they were on a voyage where the hours were filled with playing card games and any kind of activity to distract everyone from the smothering heat and the rolling of the ship. Conditions were the same on both troopships but it was fortunate that Gander was on the smaller vessel as there were fewer bodies around and it was possible to find a space away from every other hot person on board. Now that he was able to walk the ship freely, it was a great relief to the men who had sheltered him for so long and a bigger relief for Gander. It meant that Gander could perform another duty on the ship, that of ship’s comforter. Being in the presence of such a young crew, Gander was with men who were afraid they might never see home again. Many of them had never travelled outside their home towns in Canada; now they were heading for part of a country that they knew nothing about, and which did not share their culture or their way of thinking. They might fight an enemy on this foreign battlefield and perhaps that is where they would fight and die. So it was that Gander became a great comfort to the men of the Royal Rifles just by being around them. He reminded many soldiers of their dogs back home and provided that vital psychological link to the memory of home comforts, of a dog stretched out on the family hearth.

At sea, with no sighting of another ship for days, news of the world beyond the troopships gave the soldiers a glimpse of what was going to face them in Hong Kong. Tensions ran high in the confines of the ship as news of world conflict and worrying developments at their destination reached them. Soon they had their first glimpse of land since hitting the open sea. The view was dim and hazy but behind the cloudbank lay the craggy coastline of the Philippines. During the journey one of the men had become ill and died in the early hours. In the mists of morning the men gathered on the deck for a service that ended with a burial at sea. Later that same day, they reached Manila harbour. American fighter planes patrolled the skies, protecting US warships docked in readiness for an order to defend US interests in the event of an outbreak of hostilities and to engage any Japanese invaders. It was a sobering sight seeing so much hardware ready and waiting to be used in the event of war. The troopships Awatea and Prince Robert looked small and insignificant alongside the grey giants of the US Navy. Rising up out of the water like menacing sea monsters, they boosted the confidence of the Canadian soldiers looking on. Just seeing them ready and waiting was a strange comfort to the young men. Taking on oil and water, the troopships sailed out, giving the men one last view of the mountain peaks shrouded in cloud. Forty-eight hours later the men had been issued with their rifles and steel helmets and were preparing to disembark at what was to be their last port of call for a long time.

As dawn broke on 16 November 1941, the Awatea and the Prince Rupert rolled in the swell of the South China Sea as the men of ‘C’ Force, accompanied by two nursing sisters and several personnel from Brigade Headquarters, caught sight of the Hong Kong shoreline. As they stood on deck watching the activity ashore, everyone remembered and understood why, for several days, they had been drilling, exercising and familiarizing themselves with the equipment. There had been no time for card games of late. The Bren guns had been unpacked and training had begun. Dismantling, assembling, loading, firing, cleaning and caring for their guns and rifles were drilled into the young soldiers. Drilled in because their lives, very definitely, were going to depend on it.

Just the sight of dry land was a relief to everyone aboard, and Fred thought Gander must have felt it too. Sitting at Fred’s feet he looked excited and kept looking back to Fred, perhaps asking, ‘Are we there now? Is this where I can smell the grass again and have a shower and a beer?’ Even with the sting of saltwater still on his face and its taste on his tongue, he seemed happy to see other ships and other signs of life beyond the confines of the Prince Rupert . Feeling the dog straining at the leash, Fred would probably have said, ‘Calm down now Gander, it won’t be long until you can get off this ship and sleep in a proper bed. You must not get too excited now. We still have things to do to keep you safe.’