b. ? 1932 d. ?
DATE OF DM ACTION: 03/07/1944 Tooting, London.
Olga DM
Olga was a 12 year-old bay mare with a narrow white right front coronet marking. She was used in crowd control and rescue operations in south London near Tooting. On 3rd July 1944, Olga and PC J. E. Thwaites, who had replaced her usual rider, were patrolling Besley Street SW16 near the railway line when a bomb exploded 300 feet (91 m) in front of them. The explosion destroyed four houses, killed four people and caused a plate glass window to fall directly in front of Olga. Startled, the mare initially ran a short distance away from the blast until Thwaites was able to calm her and guide her back to the area. Quickly settling down, Olga allowed Thwaites to administer help to survivors and divert sightseers that had come to see the devastation away from the area.
Olga was awarded the Dickin Medal on 11th April 1947 and was presented with her medal alongside two other equine recipients in Regal and Upstart.
DM CITATION:
On duty when a flying bomb demolished four houses in Tooting and a plate-glass window crashed immediately in front of her. Olga, after bolting for 100 yards, returned to the scene of the incident and remained on duty with her rider, controlling traffic and assisting rescue organisations.
BURIAL LOCATION: METROPOLITAN POLICE MOUNTED TRAINING EST, THAMES DITTON.
LOCATION MEDAL: METROPOLITAN POLICE MOUNTED TRAINING EST, THAMES DITTON.