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TZID:America/Anguilla
X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Anguilla
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DTSTART:19700101T000000
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UID:3783271:Event:70507
DTSTAMP:20260513T190348Z
SUMMARY:Simon who received the Dickin Award
DESCRIPTION:The Surprising Story of the Only Cat Ever to Win the Highe
 st Honor for Animal Military Gallantry\r\nSimon is the only cat to rec
 eive the Dickin Award for Bravery At Sea.\r\n\r\nAnd Remembrance Sunda
 y ( Nov 10) near Veterans Day is a time to think about those who have 
 performed heroic acts on our behalf.\r\nThis includes Simon who is a h
 ero to Larry The Cat .aka. @Number10Cat at #10 Downing Street.  Larry
  will be honoring Simon by doing what Larry does best - Keep On Keepin
 g On !\r\n\r\nSimon finally succumbed to his wounds and infection and 
 passed away on Nov 28 1949 after protecting his ship from varmints wit
 hin Theater of Action in China.  Surviving a shell blast in his bunk,
  deafened and almost blinded, he nevertheless continued with his dutie
 s to rid the ship of rats.\r\nHis is an inspiration tale.\r\n\r\nhttp:
 //time.com/5396568/simon-cat-war-medal/\r\n\r\n\r\nApril 20, 1949 - HM
 S Amethyst on peace-keeping duty relieves the HMS Consort, and is atta
 cked and 20 are killed. \r\nSimon The Cat, severely injured himself, k
 eeps morale up while in sick bay with the other injured soldiers.\r\nJ
 uly 30, 10 pm - The ship makes a 104 mile run toward open water after 
 being held hostage for 101 days, as their dwindling supplies run out.\
 r\nAugust 5 - PDSA unanimously agrees that Simon is to receive the Dic
 kin Medal.\r\nNovember 11 - Simon and the crew of the Amethyst arrive 
 back in England as heroes.\r\nDecember 11 - the date set for Simon to 
 formally receive his medal, but Simon passes away on November 28, 1949
 \r\n\r\n\r\nFor the complete story http://www.purr-n-fur.org.uk/famous
 /simon.html of which the following is but a portion of the tale:\r\n\"
  Simon caught at least one rat a day, often more, but he found another
  role in the sick bay, where caring for his own wounds he helped the y
 ounger boys get over their own traumas.\r\n'Mao Tse Tung'\r\nThere was
  one particularly large, bold and vicious rat that was causing havoc w
 ith the supplies; the crew had named him 'Mao Tse-tung'. Many attempts
  were made to trap him, as it was felt that Simon, in his weakened sta
 te, would not be able to cope with him. The rat had even evaded the tr
 aps.\r\nHowever, one day the animals came face to face: Simon sprang f
 irst and killed the rat outright. The delighted crew hailed him as a h
 ero, and he was promoted to Able Seacat Simon — the feline equivalen
 t of Able Seaman.\r\nThe days dragged on, more than two months after t
 he original incident, with fierce heat and humidity and no relief in s
 ight, with dwindling supplies of everything, including fuel. At times 
 the boilers had to be shut down to conserve fuel, so there was no vent
 ilation and no refrigeration. Even Simon started to wilt, although he 
 continued with his duties and his rounds, along with the ship's terrie
 r dog Peggy, to keep up the crew's flagging spirits. Then there was a 
 typhoon; Simon was kept shut up to avoid possibly losing him, and slep
 t through it all in the captain's cabin. Amethyst survived again — b
 ut rations and fuel were becoming desperately scarce. Captn Kerans dec
 ided he had to make a dash for it while it was still possible.\"\r\n\r
 \nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_(cat)\n\nFor more information vi
 sit http://www.agilephilly.com/events/simon-who-received-the-dicken-aw
 ard
DTSTART;TZID=America/Anguilla:20191111T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/Anguilla:20191111T235900
CATEGORIES:memorial, simon
LOCATION:London
WEBSITE:http://time.com/5396568/simon-cat-war-medal/
URL:http://time.com/5396568/simon-cat-war-medal/
CONTACT:
ORGANIZER:@Number10Cat
ATTACH;FMTTYPE="image/jpeg":https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0
 /file/get/3549864399?profile=original
ATTENDEE;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;PARTSTAT=ACCEPTED;RSVP=TRUE;CN="John Vor
 is, Lead Coordinator":http://www.agilephilly.com/profile/JohnVoris
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