The Dog that Saved My Life: Incredible true stories of canine loyalty beyond all bounds. Isabel George

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      Safely ashore, Gander stayed close to Fred. His dense coat hung heavy with rainwater and it slowed his pace as he clambered to keep up with his fellow soldiers. Fred was concerned that the dog might catch a chill and so he promised Gander a drying down when they reached their camp. Makeshift camps were being set up, and men and ammunition moved into position. There were not enough tents for every man there but the men were tired enough to sleep anywhere as the rumble of artillery continued throughout the night.

      The assortment of coastal guns, manned pillboxes, minefields and barbed-wire fences that encircled the island came immediately under attack. The Royal Navy presence consisted of one destroyer, and the Royal Air Force retained a maximum of three torpedo bombers at Kai Tek Airport. On the morning of 8 December Japanese fighter aircraft destroyed the airport in one single attack. On their second run, the Japanese planes dropped leaflets demanding the surrender of Hong Kong. The British refused.

      As the sirens wailed relentlessly and the sky filled with the darting shadows of fighter planes, the soldiers hurried to stock the wooden pillboxes that were strategically placed in a line of defence that was to protect against any landing from the sea. It was a race against time to get men and guns into place before the invaders made it ashore. It was a difficult time for Gander, who wanted to be at Fred Kelly’s side every second but had to content himself with spending his time confined to the makeshift barracks. But like any other good soldier, he took his turn on watch at night.

      Shells exploded all around and the sky flashed burnt orange. Huge sheets of flame carved into the inky sky as the men worked frantically to move the boxes of ammunition that still lay where the ferry had landed. With nowhere to store these vital supplies out of the driving rain, cover had to be found urgently. The pillboxes were already packed with crates of equipment but still more had to be crammed into the tiny space available. Fred decided that a pillbox was the best place for Gander while all the work was going on. Although he wasn’t upset by the steady shelling that became a constant background noise, Gander liked to be so close to Fred that he was in danger of getting in the way. He didn’t whine or whimper or cause his friends a problem, he just liked to be close to them. The thud of the shelling continued into the night. Exhausted and desperate for rest, the men found a space to sleep not knowing if sleep was possible.

      Gander was happy to have the men around him. Fred was convinced that the dog sensed the stress of the situation and was always very good at choosing the man who looked the most tired and anxious to get his full attention. Laying his head on the man’s lap, Gander heaped his full weight on too. No one wanted to move him. Wherever the dog lay, he brought a special peace and to the ‘chosen’ person he brought a tranquillity that was unknown in that place at that time. The dog was the perfect partner. Man’s best friend. The one individual who could bring a kind of peace where peace seemed impossible.

      Over the next five days the Japanese superiority in the air gave their infantry an advantage on the ground. Marching into the New Territories without opposition, a wave of khaki started to wash over the mainland. The Punjabis attempted to stem the advance by demolishing bridges and destroying road and rail links but it did not slow the enemy taking ground. By 10 December the Japanese had swarmed into and over the populated mainland city and were ready to make an approach on the island.

      By the morning of 13 December, all British, Canadian and other forces that had remained on the mainland had been evacuated to Hong Kong Island as the Japanese invasion proceeded at pace. The total defence force of over 14,500 men was now on the island. Seeing this action as a retreat, the Japanese were quick to make another demand for surrender. The British governor, Sir Mark Young, refused. Determined to smash the desperate Allied defence, the Imperial Army intensified the shelling from the mainland, taking out ammunition dumps and supply depots, and wreaking havoc on the communication lines.

      Wave after wave of shelling and artillery battered the island’s coastal defences. The roadside pillboxes, so easy to pinpoint from the air, were systematically shelled all along the north shore, which made the line of defence strain under the attack. The Japanese advance seemed unstoppable. The area around the Lye Mun Gap, where Gander and the rest of ‘C’ Force were positioned, was now coming under threat. Between 10 December and the 17th, the units sustained heavy casualties, but still the British refused to surrender to the Japanese invaders. A message was sent to them:

      The Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Hong Kong declines most absolutely to enter into negotiations for the surrender of Hong Kong, and takes this opportunity of notifying Lieutenant-General Takaishi Sakai and Vice-Admiral Masaichi Nimi that he is not prepared to receive any further communications from them on the subject.

      Undeterred by British defiance, Lieutenant-General Sakai issued his own declaration in response:

      On Thursday night, December 18, Japanese Imperial Forces will land upon the Island of Hong Kong at suitable situations between North Point and Lye Mun.

      By late evening on 18 December 1941, the Japanese launched their attack on Hong Kong, coming thick and fast into the Lye Mun Gap. Boatload after boatload of soldiers in khaki landed, and they came screaming up the beach towards the Canadians, opening fire as they ran. There was no time for Fred Kelly to secure Gander in a pillbox. The onslaught was fast and furious, and every man reached for his rifle to fire at the running targets. The Royal Rifles held their section, sweeping the beach with heavy gunfire. Gander stayed close to Fred, who had no choice but to give the dog freedom. There was no time to do anything else. It was now Sergeant Gander’s time to prove his reputation as a ‘soldier dog’. He didn’t have a gun or a bayonet but his sheer size was enough to strike fear into the heart of the advancing army. As the Japanese streamed from their boats and onto the shore, the Canadian forces stood their ground. Rifles raised, they met the challenge of the Imperial Army. Then right in front of Fred and his comrades, Gander rose onto his hind legs. Like a bear, he ran at the Japanese soldiers, baring his teeth. Not even Fred Kelly could stop Gander now. The dog had seen his friends cut down by bombs and now by bullets and bayonets, and his loathing for the Japanese was instantaneous. He stood six foot tall on his hind legs, staring into the stunned faces of the Japanese soldiers as they ran screaming from the dog that they later called the ‘Black Devil’.

      Fred thought Gander’s aggression must have stemmed from the memory of the day they arrived in Kowloon when two Chinese men had tried to abduct him. Until then he had trusted everyone. But that day he learnt there were people to be wary of and the picture he had in his mind matched the look of the soldiers facing his friends right now. For a while Gander waged his own personal war against the Japanese soldiers. If he was afraid, he did not show it. He was fearless and determined to repel the enemy and the Royal Rifles were proud to have him on their side. Time after time he ran in growling at the soldiers, who seemed too shocked to raise their rifles in the attack. Gander was a mascot but at that moment he was a brave soldier too. Gander remained determined to see off the enemy. That he remained alive seemed a miracle, even to the Riflemen serving at his side.

      The Royal Rifles gave everything they had to try and stem the flow of the attack. From their slightly elevated position they had a clear view of the enemy and their Bren gun barrels were dangerously hot to the touch from the intense volume of fire. But the invaders kept coming and coming, screeching at the Canadians, with their long bayonets flashing. The Canadians were forced back and ‘C’ Force was soon in danger of being encircled by the Japanese. Withdrawing southwards to avoid entrapment, the men had another problem – the safe evacuation of the wounded. For those still standing, this was a priority. But by this time the men were also fighting a huge battle against exhaustion. For over a week they had been on continuous front-line duty and the effects of no sleep, no hot food and being constantly under attack were taking their toll on everyone. If they slept at all it would be in a weapon pit or where they collapsed, exhausted, on the roadside. All around, the injured lay amongst the dead, waiting to be taken to safety, but sometimes this could take hours and sitting in an almost constant hail of bullets left them vulnerable.

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