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H.M.S. SCARAB
SHIP’s MASCOTS
Ship’s
mascots have always been part
of life in the Royal Navy. Used for security, pest control and
companionship for crews, mascots
have a rich history. They
include monkeys, parrots, cats and especially dogs. The photos taken aboard
Scarab include Ordinary Sea Girl (Jenny (the monkey) and Able Sea Dog Rags
- two of several mascots adopted by the crew of Scarab during WWII.
H.M.S Scarab
crewmembers
Front row,
Leading Seaman holding Jenny,
To the right of
Rags is Blondie.
Second row on
the left Buck Taylor.
Lofty Evans and Goldie are behind
crew member in white shirt
(Rags was a fine dog and much more
than a mascot)
Able Sea Dog
Rags
Fantastic
original photo of Rags
Courtesy of
Scarab crew member Harold Bainbridge
Scarab
crewmember Lazell (The Painter),
Holding
Jenny with Rags enjoying a pat and a scratch
Jenny scanning
the sky for enemy aircraft
 
Left to right
Leading Seaman
Issacs, Able Seaman Charlie Wells, Wearing the officers cap
larking about with Jenny the monkey
on his Shoulder.
Stoker Clench can be seen at the
rear, with leading Seaman Jake Westlake
and Rags the dog
aboard Scarab
Courtesy
of Derek and Kath Grainger
(Son
of Albert Harold Grainger)
 
Jenny and Rags
got on well together
(They were great
mates)
Jenny having a
feed of peanuts.
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Jenny
(left)
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The
interpreter from Cyprus
(left)
with
the Welshman holding Jenny
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Kipper was
another mascot.
The hammock was
made to measure
(by the painter)
It remains a
feature of human nature that people love and value their mascots and pets.
Stories abound the world over about such relationships.
Below is yet
another.
(Click
to enlarge)
Other Royal Navy insect class Gun Boats had their equivalent
“mascots” and in fact it appears to have been a
“tradition”. Below is a photo of the resident mascot
“Bob” from HMS Aphis when
she was with the River Danube Flotilla in 1919-20. (Note the Aphis cap tally.)
"Bob"
(Click to enlarge)
"Tilly"
H.M.S. Gnat
Ship's Mascot
Yangtze Flotilla
China
c 1931
(Click to enlarge)
Royal Navy
Mascots circa 1912
(Original postcard)
(Click
to enlarge)
This photo is a beauty of
the ship’s mascot Jamie
Crew members of
the battleship
H.M.S. Venerable
can be seen with the
Union Jack
flying in the background.
Dardanelles
c1905
(from original
photo)
Adorable puppy
“Hatuey” Ships Mascot
U.S.S. Coral Sea
CVB-43 – Age 7 weeks
(original photo)
Three little
Chinese Mascots on the China
station
Three little
Chinese boys in ‘taylor’
made ‘Jack Tar’ uniforms.
Cap tallies read
HMS Keppel, HMS Witch and HMS Bruce.
From original
1933 photograph. Shanghai.
Judy the Dog
Judy,
far right, is pictured with fellow Dickin Medal recipients in 1946.
She
survived being hunted by Japanese guards and being mauled by an alligator.
Author’s Note:
To single out any mascot above the other would be unjust as far as I
am concerned.
They were all precious, had their own personalities.
They were all little heroes.
One unique
mascot was a white pointer named Judy who served with the Royal Navy from
1937 to the end of hostilities (WW 2) and became the only canine member of
the British Returned Prisoner of War Association. Her amazing story is as
follows: Judy
the Dog.
The National Museum of the Royal New
Zealand Navy
Te Waka Huia O
Te Taua Moana O Aotearoa
In
2013 we were approached by The National Museum as a source of photos and
information for an exhibition.
Mates and Mascots
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