RELAWM32386 - Dog's coat : Horrie the Wog Dog, 2/1 Australian Machine Gun Battalion

RELAWM32386

ID number
RELAWM32386
Title
Dog's coat : Horrie the Wog Dog, 2/1 Australian Machine Gun Battalion
Makers
  • Moody, James 'Jim' Bell;
  • Unknown;
Object type
Heraldry
Places made
  • British Mandate of Palestine: Palestine;
  • North Africa;
Date made
1941
Physical description
  • Brass;
  • Cotton;
  • Wool;
Collection
Heraldry
Description
Dog's coat made from khaki wool fabric cut from a standard issue soldier's service dress tunic. The lower edges, front leg holes and the hind leg loops are bound in lightweight white cotton canvas. There is a single seam down the centre back. The inside front of the centre back is lined, for additional warmth, with a section of hand knitted khaki wool scarf, knitted in rib and garter stitch. The neck of the coat is folded back and tacked into place, exposing the inner seam. A white embroidered 'AUSTRALIA' title is sewn to the centre top of the neck as a well as a colour patch for 2/1 Australian Machine Gun Battalion. The right shoulder bears a ribbon bar for the Africa Star and two small improvised cotton 'corporal's chevrons'. Strips have been cut in the back of the coat to loop around the dog's hind legs and are fastened with buttons. A series of buttons, a mix of Australian oxidised brass AMF buttons and British brass General Service buttons, are sewn to the right side of the coat and fasten into roughly cut buttonholes at the neck and under the belly.
Summary
Horrie the Wog Dog was a white Egyptian terrier cross puppy who was found in the Ikingi Mariut area of the Western Desert by VX13091 Private James 'Jim' Bell Moody, a despatch rider attached to 2/1 Machine Gun Battalion. Jim took him back to his signals platoon but Horrie was soon adopted by the entire battalion. He went on route marches and accompanied the commanding officer on parade. He was promoted to honorary corporal and assigned the service number 'EX1' (No 1 Egyptian soldier). Horrie travelled in Moody's kitbag when the battalion moved to Greece. His acute hearing meant that he could give the men early warning of approaching German aircraft. Evacuated to Crete on the 'Costa Rica', Horrie survived the sinking of the ship and narrowly escaped being crushed between two life boats. On Crete he acted as a messenger dog. Outlying patrols tied a handkerchief containing a message around his neck and he returned to Moody in the olive groves below. During the evacuation of Crete Horrie was wounded by shrapnel. In Palestine he suffered from the effects of severe cold and snow during winter and this coat was made for him to keep him warm. It as here that he met Imshe the female terrier mascot of another unit. In February 1942 Moody had Horrie checked by a vet in Tel Aviv before the battalion returned to Australia via Suez. He adapted his pack (RELAWM32387) so that Horrie could be carried concealed in it and trained the dog to travel quietly in it. Jim strapped his helmet over the back of the pack to conceal the ventilation holes he had cut in it. On the troop ship returning home Moody or one of his friends stayed with Horrie at all times ready to conceal him. Imshe had been discovered on the ship, as well as a cat mascot, and both had been killed in accordance with quarantine regulations. Horrie was smuggled off the ship in Adelaide and sent to live with Jim Moody's father in Melbourne while Jim went on to serve in New Guinea. Moody was discharged in February 1945 and Horrie went to live in Sydney with him. When the Kennel Club wanted to raise funds to support the Red Cross Moody offered Horrie as an attraction. This came to the attention of quarantine officials. Determined to make an example of the illegal import of a dog, they ordered Moody to surrender his dog for destruction. A dog was shot on 12 March 1945. Public outrage followed. A wreath was laid on Anzac Day at the Sydney Cenotaph for many years in Horrie's memory. Nearly sixty years later the true story of Horrie's fate was established, confirmed by two of Jim Moody's children and by one of his fellow soldiers in the signal platoon. In the week before Horrie had to be surrendered Jim searched the Dog Pound for a look alike dog. Having located one, he bought it for five shillings and surrendered this substitute 'Horrie' instead to be shot. The real Horrie was sent to live out his life near Corryong in northern Victoria where he is said to have sired many puppies.
Permalink: http://cas.awm.gov.au/item/RELAWM32386

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