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Irma was initially used as a messenger dog to relay messages when telephone lines were down. She was teamed with another dog from the same kennel, named
Crumstone Psyche (commonly referred to as Psyche), and they were both retrained to become search and rescue dogs. The pair of dogs were handled by
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buildings while serving with London's Civil
Defence Services during the Second World War. During this period she worked with her handler and owner, Mrs Margaret Griffin, and another dog named Psyche. Noted for her ability to tell if buried victims were dead or alive, she was awarded the
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Irma specialised in being able to bark differently depending on whether the buried victim was dead or alive. This included one occasion when Irma signalled with an "alive" bark and rescuers dug out a victim who was apparently dead. Irma was proved correct, as the man eventually stirred.
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She was awarded the Dickin Medal on 12 January 1945 with a citation that read "For being responsible for the rescue of persons trapped under blitzed buildings while serving with the Civil
Defences of London." Irma, along with
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Following their work during the Second World War they became demonstration dogs along with
Crumstone Storm at the Dog School in
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In one incident, Irma refused to give up on the scent of two girls who were trapped under a fallen building for two days.
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The animals' VC: for gallantry and devotion: the PDSA Dickin Medal - inspiring stories of bravery and courage
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their owner, Mrs
Margaret Griffin, and together the two dogs found 233 people, of which 21 were found alive.
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The Dickin Medal is often referred to as the animal metaphorical equivalent of the
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for her work in training her dogs and accompanying them on rescue missions.
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285:. Anglican Society for the Welfare of Animals. Archived from
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who assisted in the rescue of 191 people trapped under
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Irma's owner, Mrs
Margaret Griffin, was awarded the
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377:"'Animal VC' will honour Gander's dash for grenade"
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626:PDSA Dickin Medal, including "Roll of Honor" PDF
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8:
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225:was one of two dogs to participate in the
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403:"Animals at War: Part One: Dogs of War"
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569:"Dog "V C" Winners in Victory Parade"
7:
543:People's Dispensary for Sick Animals
478:"Britain Salutes Animal War Heroes"
476:Jenson, Gregory (17 October 1983).
227:London Victory Celebrations of 1946
426:"A Brief History of Civil Defence"
14:
315:"Crufts Catalogue 1961 (Part 2)"
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503:"Crufts Catalogue 1961: Part 3"
1092:Recipients of the Dickin Medal
375:Judd, Terri (16 August 2000).
174:in 1945, and is buried at the
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74:PDSA Animal Cemetery, Ilford
431:. Civil Defence Association
424:Essex-Lopresti, Tim (ed.).
193:Irma's gravestone in Ilford
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451:"In pictures: Heroic Dogs"
662:Dickin Medal recipients
1082:Individual working dogs
351:"Animals at War photos"
257:List of individual dogs
179:Animal Cemetery, Ilford
1097:Search and rescue dogs
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482:The Milwaukee Journal
356:. Imperial War Museum
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129:Search and rescue dog
594:Long, David (2012).
292:on 22 September 2010
238:British Empire Medal
138:Mrs Margaret Griffin
94:51.58694°N 0.04583°W
602:. London: Preface.
549:on 12 February 2010
539:"Dickin Medal dogs"
163:German Shepherd Dog
90: /
28:Irma, The Blitz Dog
18:
405:. The Free Library
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99:51.58694; -0.04583
1069:
1068:
1056:William of Orange
812:Salty and Roselle
331:on 13 August 2011
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1087:German shepherds
946:Duke of Normandy
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575:. 31 May 1946
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457:. 17 May 2010
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185:Rescue career
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1102:World War II
1051:White Vision
1031:Ruhr Express
911:Beach Comber
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707:Bing (Brian)
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577:. Retrieved
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553:14 September
551:. Retrieved
547:the original
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521:. Retrieved
514:the original
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326:the original
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294:. Retrieved
287:the original
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172:Dickin Medal
158:
154:
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147:Dickin Medal
125:Notable role
1036:Scotch Lass
971:Kenley Lass
951:Dutch Coast
941:DD.43.T.139
936:DD.43.Q.879
921:Broad Arrow
742:Jet of Iada
386:27 February
110:Nation from
97: /
61:South Stoke
1076:Categories
1026:Royal Blue
579:21 October
523:21 October
487:21 October
461:21 October
435:21 October
409:21 October
335:21 October
296:21 October
263:References
210:Gloucester
82:51°35′13″N
991:Navy Blue
906:All Alone
573:The Argus
231:Pall Mall
157:, a.k.a.
1021:Princess
961:G.I. Joe
931:Commando
875:Reckless
455:BBC News
360:25 April
251:See also
229:held in
161:, was a
85:0°2′45″W
51:Alsatian
986:Mercury
926:Cologne
899:Pigeons
890:Warrior
885:Upstart
167:blitzed
34:Species
24:name(s)
1061:Winkie
976:Maquis
966:Gustav
862:Horses
832:Sheila
732:Gander
727:Diesel
717:Buster
702:Beauty
697:Apollo
606:
216:Awards
143:Awards
22:Other
1041:Tommy
1016:Paddy
916:Billy
880:Regal
842:Thorn
827:Sasha
817:Sadie
792:Ricky
777:Peter
767:Lucky
762:Lucca
737:Hertz
692:Antis
676:Simon
517:(PDF)
506:(PDF)
429:(PDF)
354:(PDF)
329:(PDF)
318:(PDF)
290:(PDF)
283:(PDF)
135:Owner
46:Breed
1046:Tyke
870:Olga
852:Treo
847:Tich
837:Theo
772:Mali
757:Kuno
752:Kuga
747:Judy
685:Dogs
669:Cats
604:ISBN
581:2010
555:2014
525:2010
489:2010
463:2010
437:2010
411:2010
388:2010
362:2013
337:2010
298:2010
176:PDSA
159:Irma
57:Born
822:Sam
807:Rob
802:Rip
787:Rex
712:Bob
223:Jet
39:Dog
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
