#archiveanimals* My army and other animals

D/DLI 7/805/155 Two young unidentified soldiers and a goat, the mascot of the 9th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry, Conway, North Wales, August 1914

The above photograph of the 9th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry, goat and two soldiers was taken while the territorial battalion was on its annual training camp at Conway.  It was from here that they were recalled to Gateshead when war was declared. 

Once in France and Belgium, soldiers got to know some animals very well.  The transport drivers had their horses but mostly, soldiers had to contend with rats.  In a letter home Second Lieutenant John Gamble referred to them as the Verminshire Regiment. 

D/DLI 7/63/3(94) Sketch by Reverend JAG Birch, 5th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry, captioned The Tunnellers' Friends, showing a representation of rats and caged birds on a memorial, n.d.

There are sad tales of starving farm animals wandering the countryside after their farm owners have fled, and funny tales of men milking cows under shell fire and chasing a goat to try and milk it.

Captain Robert Mauchlen kept a sketch book during his time with the 9th Battalion.  He produced the following picture captioned ‘Owl hurt in trenches’.

D/DLI 7/920/8(15) Colour pencil sketch, by Robert Mauchlen, of an owl held on a man's hand, captioned Owl hurt in trenches, October 1915

On home service, it was a bit easier to keep pets.  4th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry, were garrisoned at Seaham Harbour during the war and this photograph shows Private E. Corr with a dog in one hand and a cockatoo in the other!

D/DLI 7/35/1(30) Private E. Corr, 4th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry, with a cockatoo and a dog, c.1917

*This year’s Explore Your Archive campaign runs during the week of 10 November.  As part of the Twitter campaign, on 14 November, look out for the #archiveanimals hashtag.