In the context of psychological warfare.. and about what raises soldiers' morale.. and what drags it down to the depths.. today we want to talk about a cat...
The cat in this picture is a local cat named "Simon".. he was a year old when he sneaked into the harbour onto a military frigate of the Royal Navy called "HMS Amethyst"..
A sailor named "George Hickinbottom" found him.. he was 17 years old.. he took the cat and noticed that he was very thin and his health was not good.. and he hid him in his cabin.. and began sharing his food with him and caring for him until he regained his strength...
News of Simon's presence on the frigate began to leak out.. and the news reached the captain, who asked for George to be summoned along with the cat.. and when George reached the angry captain's cabin.. he suddenly jumped from George's hands and pounced on a pile of papers in the corner.. and snatched from it a huge rat.. and killed it on the spot...
And the captain fell in love with Simon.. and allowed him to stay on the frigate...
And Simon was very friendly and gentle.. and the whole crew loved him.. and he did not leave a single rat on the frigate.. the rats that had disturbed the sailors' sleep and bothered them for months.. became extremely rare.. and it was customary for them to offer some of their food to Simon and play with him.. and in return he would kill the rats and bring them right up to their seats or place them in front of their beds as gifts..
And in time the sailors grew used to Simon's presence and considered him a good-luck charm..
Even when the frigate's captain was changed and "Lieutenant Commander Bernard Skinner" took his place.. he fell for Simon the moment he saw him...
Skinner had a mission to move to a Chinese city called "Nanjing" during the Chinese civil war.. to exchange with the service boat there.. and he did indeed begin to move.. and while crossing the "Yangtze River".. the Chinese forces opened their artillery on him...
Simon was in the captain's cabin.. when the shells poured down and the captain was wounded.. and a bullet from a machine gun hit Simon along with ten shrapnel fragments.. and while the captain died of his wounds.. Simon crawled until he reached George.. his old lifelong companion...
George took him to the medical section.. and they began cleaning his wounds.. but the doctor told George that Simon would not live until the sun rose tomorrow...
And the strange thing is that Simon lived...
He lived, lying on his side in the sick bay, panting the whole time.. and his body almost torn apart.. and George was feeding him drops of milk or soup through a wet cloth that he squeezed into his mouth...
The frigate had been besieged and anchored in the river.. unable to advance or retreat because of the fire of the Chinese forces.. and although it was armed.. the morale of its soldiers had fallen extremely low, especially with the death of the captain...
And George was looking after Simon, who stayed alive by some miracle.. despite the doctor's daily insistence that the cat would not live...
And the negotiations with the Chinese began.. a little negotiation and a little exchange of fire.. and the instructions with the ship's officer who had replaced Captain Skinner.. as he had told him on his deathbed.. were that the frigate's crew must not surrender.. whatever the price...
Even if the price was their own lives...
And the corpses had filled the ship.. and the rats began to return again.. and the smell of death was everywhere.. and the captain met with the desperate sailors.. and some of them had actually decided to surrender.. and some were opposed.. and a terrible split occurred on the frigate...
And while everyone was deliberating.. they were suddenly surprised by Simon entering the place quietly.. and contemplating the situation for a few moments.. and then chasing a giant rat.. before seizing it and killing it...
By some miracle.. in an incomprehensible way.. the cat had healed...
And the sailors suddenly cheered.. after they had finally found something to make them happy, even a little.. amid all the horror and killing and the sound of gunfire..
At that moment Simon was not just a cat.. but a sign to them that they could defeat death and that "HMS Amethyst" had not fallen...
And with the sailors' morale rising.. they returned to exchanging fire with the Chinese.. and the battle remained ablaze between the two sides.. and the shooting did not stop..
And Simon kept doing his part and hunting the rats.. until the dawn of 31 July 1949, when the British destroyer "Concord" appeared on the horizon.. which fired its shells at the Chinese forces.. and was able to rescue the besieged frigate and escort it home...
After the frigate's return.. Simon became a public figure.. and received many medals and decorations.. among them the "Victoria Cross"..
A special lieutenant was appointed to serve Simon and receive the medals and decorations on his behalf and preserve them.. his name was "Stewart Hett" and his military title was "cat officer"..
On the return home.. Simon entered quarantine like the rest of the animals so that he could be examined.. but unfortunately in quarantine he caught a viral infection.. and it worsened as his immunity collapsed because of the wounds of battle..
And on 28 November 1949 Simon closed his eyes for the last time.. and died in quarantine in calm..
A military funeral was held for Simon, attended by the entire crew of the Amethyst...
In 1950 the Italian writer "Paul Gallico" dedicated his novel "Jennie" to Simon the cat...
A smile, a greeting, appreciation and the very simple things that seem worthless to you.. raise soldiers' morale and support them...
Do not be stingy with them for your soldiers..
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References:
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1 - http://www.purr-n-fur.org.uk/famous/simon.html
2 - http://goo.gl/u7LsVf
3 - Heroic Royal Navy ship's cat remembered in new book". Staffordshire Newsletter. 12 December 2014.
4 - https://books.google.ae/books?id=Y_pHGfV-xAwC&pg=PA173...