WHO DARES WINALOT
Bravery medal awarded to SAS dog up for sale
He was the ultimate dog of war – parachuting behind enemy lines to help British special forces win key battles.
Now medals awarded to rob the border collie cross are to be sold in a collection expected to fetch more than £30,000 at auction next month.
rob made more than 20 jumps during the Second World War, becoming the only dog ever to win the animal version of the victoria Cross – the PDSA Dickin Medal for Gallantry – and the rSPCA red Collar for valour.
Also rewarded with a lifetime’s supply of dog biscuits, he served in daring SAS missions in North Africa and Italy, alerting soldiers to danger by licking their faces.
After the war rob was returned to his owners in Shropshire and died, aged 12, in 1952. His owner’s son, Basil Bayne, is selling the medals alongside rob’s collar, a portrait and photos,
Christopher Mellor-Hill, of Noonans auction house, said: ‘rob the parachuting dog is the most famous of all the Dickin Medal recipients.’