b. ? d. ?
DATE OF DM ACTION: 08/1946 Jerusalem, Palestine (now Israel).
Punch and Judy were brother and sister Boxer dogs owned by Lieutenant Colonel Campbell, the Deputy Judge Advocate General of Jerusalem, and Lieutenant Colonel Niven. In 1946, both men were living in a suburb of Jerusalem, in one of the most violent periods in the history of the Middle East.
On a warm August evening, Campbell and Niven were talking in their house, with the two dogs asleep at their feet. At 10.30pm the two men headed to bed, and did a quick check around the building. Unknown to the men, a terrorist was lurking in the garden armed with a machine gun aimed at the door. As the two men rose from their chairs and moved down the hall towards the front door, Punch and Judy leapt up and began barking before running out of the house into the garden. Before Campbell and Niven could grab their weapons and follow, they heard a burst of machine gun fire and a yelp of pain.
As the men reached the garden, it was clear the terrorist had fled the scene. They then searched for the two dogs who were missing, though a blood trail was visible. Punch was found lying in a pool of blood having been hit by four bullets, and Judy was lying next to Punch, also covered in blood. Immediately, help was called for from the PDSA in Jerusalem, and on arrival he placed Punch on a table with little hope of saving the dog, having lost three quarters of a pint of blood. Incredibly, the dog responded to treatment.
Judy was then examined, and it was found that amazingly she was relatively unharmed except for a bullet graze to the back. The PDSA Superintendent guessed that she had lain across Punch to try and protect him. Both dogs recovered from their wounds and were awarded the Dickin Medal for saving the lives of Campbell and Niven. They were presented with the medals in November 1946.
DM CITATION:
These dogs saved the lives of two British Officers in Israel by attacking an armed terrorist who was stealing upon them unawares and thus warning them of their danger. Punch sustained 4 bullet wounds and Judy a long graze down her back.
BURIAL LOCATION: UNKNOWN.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: UNKNOWN.