Messenger Dogs in the Field 115 



messages. While I was with the 107th Brigade, Keeper 

 Buckingham was with the 108th Brigade. On the morning 

 of the 14th this division advanced and the enemy put up 

 a terrific barrage. All the lines of communication were cut 

 and a battalion of the Inniskilling Fusiliers were cut off. 

 This battalion released a dog, which returned to Bucking- 

 ham, and thus gave news of the plight of this battalion. 

 The dog was thus the means of getting reinforcements sent 

 up to the relief of the Inniskillings and that gallant body 

 were saved from being wiped out. The Brigadier-General 

 was delighted with the dogs' performance and congratu- 

 lated Buckingham on his management of them." 



The " Paddy " mentioned by Keeper Dempsey is a 

 different one from that in Keeper Macleod's possession, and 

 which has been mentioned earlier. There were several Irish 

 terriers in the service, and I am afraid the tendency to call 

 them all " Paddies " was too strong to overcome, although 

 there were also a number of " Mikes " and " Mickies." Keeper 

 Hammond had a " Paddy " on which he reports favour- 

 ably : 



" I left Shoeburyness the first week in October, 1917, 

 taking with me two dogs, ' Paddy ' and ' Nansen.' 1 

 first ran them atPasschendaele, and was on that sector until 

 the beginning of March-, 191 8. ' Nansen ' was killed on the 

 first run, but ' Paddy ' was a splendid dog, and never 

 made a mistake during the six months I had him. I 

 consider his best record was carrying a message from 

 Batt. H. Qrs. on Passchendaele down nearly to Ypres, a 

 distance of five miles over about three miles of duck-boards. 

 You can imagine the time saved, when ' Paddy ' did it in 

 27-30 minutes and the Batt. runners were doing it in 



8* 



