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Simon (c. 1947 – 28 November 1949) was a ship's cat who served on the Royal Navy sloop-of-war HMS Amethyst.In 1949, during the Yangtze Incident, he received the PDSA's Dickin Medal after surviving injuries from an artillery shell, raising morale, and killing off a rat infestation during his service.
One such heroic cat was Simon, who famously guarded his soldiers aboard the HMS Amethyst, a guard ship deployed to protect the British Embassy in Nanjing, China, amidst the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
On 20 April 1949, during the Chinese Civil War between the nationalist Kuomintang-led Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party, the Royal Navy sloop HMS Amethyst, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Bernard Skinner, [12] was cruising on the river Yangtze from Shanghai to Nanjing, [Note 1] to replace HMS Consort, which had been posted as guard ship for the British Embassy there.
Simon was the ship's cat of HMS Amethyst during the Yangtze Incident in 1949 and was wounded in the bombardment of the ship which killed 25 of Amethyst's crew, including the commanding officer. He soon recovered and resumed killing rats and keeping up the crew's morale.
HMS Amethyst was a modified Black Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Alexander Stephen and Sons of Linthouse , Govan , Scotland on 25 March 1942, launched on 7 May 1943 and commissioned on 2 November 1943, with the pennant number U16.
On 19 April 1949, the Royal Navy frigate HMS Amethyst sails up the Yangtze River on her way to Nanjing, the Chinese capital, to deliver supplies to the British Embassy. Suddenly, without warning, People's Liberation Army (PLA) shore batteries open fire and, after a heavy engagement, Amethyst lies grounded in the mud and badly damaged.
HMS Amethyst (1844) was a Spartan-class 26-gun sixth rate launched in 1844 and sold in 1869 for use as a cable vessel. HMS Amethyst (1873) was an Amethyst-class screw corvette launched in 1873 and sold in 1887. HMS Amethyst (1903) was a Topaze-class cruiser launched in 1903 and scrapped in 1920. HMS Amethyst (F116) was a modified Black Swan ...
Simon, celebrated ship's cat of HMS Amethyst. In addition to being presented with multiple medals, he was the only cat to have won the PDSA's Dickin Medal, for his rat-catching and morale-boosting activities during the Yangtze Incident in 1949. He also received the rank of "Able Seacat".