Simon
Simon was the ship’s cat aboard HMS Amethyst, a sloop which served in the Atlantic during World War II. In 1948 Amethyst was serving in the Pacific and while in port in Hong Kong one of the crew, a seaman named George Hickinbottom, found the cat undernourished and bedraggled near the docks of that exotic port.
Brought aboard Amethyst and nursed to health, Simon proved to be adept at catching rats and mice aboard the aging sloop and expressed his gratitude to his rescuers by frequently leaving the trophies of his captures in the beds of his fellow sailors. His favorite sleeping spot became the Captain’s overturned cap.
British ships routinely patrolled the Yangtze River during the ongoing civil war in China, and Amethyst became involved in a gun battle with units of the People’s Liberation Army in April 1949, now known as the Yangtze Incident. Amethyst’s commanding officer was killed during the exchange of fire, and Simon was severely wounded. Not expected to survive, the cat recovered and was soon back at his duties controlling rat infestation aboard the vessel, which had worsened as a result of long anchorage in the river.
When Simon’s story became known to the outside world, the cat was awarded the Dickin Medal, an honor established in 1943 to signify gallantry in service by animals. He also received a Blue Cross and a Campaign Ribbon, and his celebrity led to his receiving thousands of letters and telegrams.
Upon return to England in Amethyst, Simon was forced to endure the indignity of quarantine, required of all non-human entrants to the United Kingdom. While in quarantine he became ill and died of an infection which was likely caused by his wounds. He was buried with honors at Ilford Animal Cemetery in London, and his obituary was published in The Times, a distinction rare among his breed. His gravestone reads in part, “…Throughout the Yangtze Incident His Behavior Was of the Highest Order.”