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{{Short description|Military dog during World War II}}
{{Infobox animal
| name = Tich
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| othername =
| species = [[Dog]]
| breed = [[Mixed-breed dog]]
| gender = Female
| birth_date = 1940
| birth_place =
| death_date = 1959
| death_place =
| resting_place = PDSA's pet cemetery in [[Ilford]], [[Essex]]
| resting_place_coordinates =
| relativeage =
| nationality = {{flagicon|Egypt}} Egyptian
| occupation =
| employer = [[King's Royal Rifle Corps]]
| role =
| years_active =
| known =
| tricks =
| awards = [[Dickin Medal]]
| title =
| term =
| predecessor =
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| owner =
| parents =
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}}
'''Tich''' (1940–1959) was a [[military dog]] during the [[Second World War]]. She was awarded the [[Dickin Medal]] in 1949 for her actions during the war as a battalion mascot to the [[King's Royal Rifle Corps]]. After the war she lived with her battalion handler at his home in the UK. When she died she was buried in the [[People's Dispensary for Sick Animals]] (PDSA)'s [[Ilford Animal Cemetery]].

==Military service==
[[File:Tich DM.jpg|thumb|Tich's grave at Ilford Animal Cemetery]]
During the fighting in the [[Western Desert Campaign]] in 1941, a small [[mongrel]] bitch was found by soldiers of the 1st Battalion [[King's Royal Rifle Corps]]. Named "Tich" and nicknamed "The Desert Rat",<ref name=desertrat>{{cite web|title="Tich" - The Desert Rat|url=http://www.krrcassociation.com/swiftandbold/tich_the_desert_rat.pdf|publisher=King's Royal Rifle Corps Association|access-date=10 December 2022}}</ref> she acted as a mascot to the Battalion. In 1943, the dog was passed to Rifleman Thomas Walker. The dog accompanied Walker whilst on the front line, riding usually on the bonnet of a [[Bren gun carrier]] or a [[jeep]].<ref name=rgjm>{{cite web|title=PDSA Dickin Medal Awarded in 1949 to 'Tich' a Black Mongrel Terrier|url=http://www.rgjmuseum.co.uk/pages_object/obj_0009.asp|publisher=Royal Green Jackets Museum|access-date=10 December 2022}}</ref>

In 1944, she was smuggled aboard the ship which took the battalion to Italy and whilst on board had puppies.<ref name=desertrat/> Walker was awarded the [[Military Medal]] for his work as a battlefield medic whilst under fire. On each occasion where he was in danger, Tich remained by his side. 1KRRC's commanding officer Lieutenant-Colonel [[Edward Alexander Wilmot Williams|E. A. W. Williams]] recommended Tich for the [[Dickin Medal]] stating, "Her courage and devotion to duty were of very real and considerable value and her courageous example materially helped many men to keep their heads and sense of proportion in times of extreme danger. The sight of her put heart in the men as she habitually rode on the bonnet of her master’s jeep and refused to leave her post even when bringing in wounded under heavy fire."<ref name=rgjm/>

Her Dickin Medal was dated 1 July 1949, with it being awarded to her by Major Peter Earle, MC, on 3 September 1949 at Wembley in front of eight thousand people during the Animals' Rally.<ref name=desertrat/> Her citation reads, "For loyalty, courage and devotion to duty under hazardous conditions of war 1941 to 1945, while serving with the 1st King's Rifle Corps in North Africa and Italy."<ref name=pdsadog>{{cite web | url = http://www.pdsa.org.uk/about-us/animal-bravery-awards/dickin-medal-dogs#awards-made-between-2000-ndash-to-date | title = Dickin Medal dogs | publisher = [[People's Dispensary for Sick Animals]] | access-date = 14 September 2014 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100212182318/http://www.pdsa.org.uk/about-us/animal-bravery-awards/dickin-medal-dogs#awards-made-between-2000-ndash-to-date | archive-date = 12 February 2010 }}</ref>

The Dickin Medal is often referred to as the animal equivalent of the [[Victoria Cross]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Long|first1=David|title=The animals' VC: for gallantry and devotion: the PDSA Dickin Medal - inspiring stories of bravery and courage|date=2012|publisher=Preface|location=London|isbn=9781848093768|ref=long2012|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/animalsvcforgall0000long}}</ref><ref name=pdsadickin>{{cite web|title=PDSA Dickin medal|url=http://www.pdsa.org.uk/about-us/animal-bravery-awards/pdsa-dickin-medal|publisher=PDSA|access-date=10 December 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924092934/http://www.pdsa.org.uk/about-us/animal-bravery-awards/pdsa-dickin-medal|archive-date=24 September 2022}}</ref>

==Later life==
Tich gave birth to fifteen puppies during her life, and lived after the war with Walker at his home in [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]], England. Together they took part in fundraising activities for the [[People's Dispensary for Sick Animals]], the issuing body for the Dickin Medal.<ref name=rgjm/> She died in 1959, and was buried at the PDSA's [[Ilford Animal Cemetery]] where several other Dickin Medal holders are interred. Her Dickin Medal was passed into the hands of the [[Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum]] in Winchester.<ref name=rgjm/>

==See also==
*[[List of individual dogs]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140924092934/http://www.pdsa.org.uk/about-us/animal-bravery-awards/pdsa-dickin-medal PDSA Dickin Medal, including "Roll of Honor" PDF]

{{Dickin Medal}}

[[Category:1940 animal births]]
[[Category:1959 animal deaths]]
[[Category:Individual dogs]]
[[Category:Individual dogs awarded the Dickin Medal]]
[[Category:King's Royal Rifle Corps]]
[[Category:Military animals of World War II]]
[[Category:British Army animals]]
[[Category:Western Desert campaign]]

Tich (dog) - Revision history

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