1. Bob the dog
Bob the stuffed dog was the regimental pet of the 1st battalion
of the Scots Fusilier Guards and was with them from 1853 until
1860. A feisty little character, Bob adopted the regiment when they
were stationed at Windsor and served with them throughout the
Crimean war.
At one battle he was returned to the regiment having been listed
among “the missing” and later distinguished himself by chasing
spent cannon balls for which he was awarded a medal.
Now proudly on show at the National War Museum of Scotland along
with his collar and medal, Bob is a firm favourite with visiting
families.
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2. Wopsie the cat
In 1919, the R34 airship ‘Tiny’ made a historic return flight
across the Atlantic, departing from East Fortune airfield, now home
to the National Museum of Flight. But there were two stowaways
aboard the ship: Aircraftsman Second Class William ‘Billy’
Ballantyne and a tabby kitten called Wopsie. Billy was a regular
member of the crew who had hidden himself aboard the night before
departure, while Wopsie was smuggled aboard by one of the
engineering crew. She became the ship’s unofficial mascot for the
journey and the first feline to fly across the Atlantic!
You can see Wopsie in our film about the R34 in the Fortunes of
War exhibition.
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3. Mairi the Clydesdale horse
The Museum is home to a working farm that uses farming methods
from the 1950s. Ten-year-old Mairi, the friendly Clydesdale horse,
is one of the farm’s most popular residents. Her job is to
demonstrate historic farming methods, which died out as horse power
was replaced by machinery during the Second World War.
Mairi does not work for free, however: as payment for a hard
day’s work she gets her favourite treat in her feed, half a bag of
carrots!
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4. Cramond lioness
This is an animal with a difference. The Cramond lioness is
sculpted from sandstone and served as a memorial for a high-ranking
Roman officer. She was found in a river near Edinburgh in 1997,
having lain there for 1800 years, by Cramond ferryman Rab
Graham.
The crouching lioness is devouring a man’s torso and has two
snakes emerging from underneath her belly. She would have sat on
the structure of the tomb or on an enclosing wall, symbolising the
destructive power of death.
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5. Drunken elephant
An unusual drawing and a set of elephant’s toes are all that’s
left to tell the tale of the 78th Highlanders’ regimental pet. In
1838 the regiment returned from Ceylon bringing with them an
elephant which they’d adopted as their pet. They’d trained it to
march at the head of the regimental band and a sketch by an
Edinburgh resident shows the elephant marching out with the 78th,
accompanied by a gang of excited children.
Quartered in Edinburgh Castle, the elephant’s keeper used to
take it to the canteen. They’d both consume their fill of beer and
then retire to the stables together where they slept off its ill
effects.
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