Dogs of Courage: When Britain's Pets Went to War 1939–45

by Clare Campbell, Christy Campbell

In Bonzo's War, Clare Campbell told the fascinating story of what it was like for Britain's pets when the world was at war. This time, she follows the incredible journey of the dogs who conscripted to fight for their country, with some even returning with medals for their bravery. During the most dangerous days of the Second World War, the British government set out to recruit an army of canines - a 'Guard Dog Unit'. This experimental team of brave hounds would later use their incredible sense of smell to sniff out the anti-personnel mines that barred the way to reclaiming Europe. Dog owners countrywide shed tears as they bid farewell to their beloved 'Brian', 'Rex', or 'Molly' and packed them off to the War Dogs Training School to learn the skills they'd need to 'do their bit for Britain' on the very frontiers of the Third Reich. The soldiers waiting out in the field to greet their canine counterparts were under strict do not get too attached to your new four-legged companion. That bit proved disastrously impossible.Based on original documents, first-hand accounts and interviews, Dogs of Courage tells a story of human determination, heartbreak and uncompromising canine courage that has never been told before.

Genres: History, Animals, World War II

379 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2015

Reviews

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this up expecting to read different tales of war hero dogs but instead it was a mish mash of historical facts and dates and breeds - it was was overwhelming to read and not the true stories that lived in the hearts of the dogs and their handlers.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed with this book, the subject is one that really interests me. I found the book to be disjointed and jumped back and forth between dogs. The author describes pictures seen of the dogs and handlers yet fails to publish them in the book.
Whilst being informative on the introduction, training and development of working dogs it is only shallow information given as the author in my opinion has tried to cover too many dogs.
Worth a read but there are better books out there.

[Belle · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/3 Great subject matter but poorly put together.

I was excited to read this, as I just adore dogs and also enjoy history but while I did enjoy this book and it did pique my interest in wanting to find out more, I think there must be better books on this subject to be read as this book was wholly let down by poor structure (and at times lacking content.)

I found the book disjointed; so much so that I struggled at times to keep up with which dog was which. There were a couple of abbreviations that weren't in the list provided at the front of the book (and it was abbreviation heavy.)

There were a few photos in this book but what I found most annoying was when the author would tell an extremely interesting story about a dog and then say that there was a photo or that she had seen the photo, so I would excitedly look for the photo only to find that it wasn't even in the book! After the second time this happened, I stopped looking for the photos entirely.

[Meander]

Such a fantastic book on the dogs of the war in Britain. The authors did a fabulous job of researching, but they also painted the full picture of the experience of the dogs, and the people involved. It was a fast read, full of good information.

[Teao · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very informative but not what I was expecting, I thought it would have picked possibly 10dogs and told of their stories in full.