November 28, 1949

According to an article in the British newspaper, The Telegraph, Simon, a black and white moggy, received he PDSA Dickin Medal shortly after his death in 1949. This is the animal equivalent of receiving the "Victoria Cross." Simon was the only cat to ever receive this medal, which began awards in 1943.

Here is how the newspaper describes the action that distinguished this cat. “Simon served on HMS Amethyst during the Yangtze Incident, disposing of many rats though wounded by shell blast. Throughout the incident his behaviour was of the highest order, although the blast was capable of making a hole over a foot in diameter in a steel plate.”


This link is to his gravestone, which is how I learned his date of death. Simon died November 28, 1949.