Lucky

Lucky – PDSA Dickin Medal 61

Date of Award: 6 February 2006

Lucky was a German Shepherd working with the Royal Air Force Police during the little-known Malaya Campaign between 1949 and 1952. Lucky’s Medal recognised not just her contribution, but also the work of three fellow RAF Police dogs, Bobbie, Jasper and Lassie.

Like her three colleagues, Lucky had been trained as a specialist tracker. Her job involved patrolling the jungle searching for Communist insurgents. It was difficult and dangerous work. Thick tropical jungle made it easy for the enemy to hide and launch surprise attacks, especially as many of them had been trained, and indeed, armed for jungle warfare in World War II.

Lucky and her fellow tracker dog teams showed remarkable skills throughout the campaign, managing to sniff out the enemy despite the difficulty of the terrain. Owing to the dangers they faced, Lucky was the only dog to survive to the end of the campaign.

During their service, the dogs were credited with helping to save multiple lives and capturing hundreds of enemy insurgents. Lucky was posthumously awarded a PDSA Dickin Medal on 6 February 2006. The award was presented to Corporal Bevel Austin Stapleton – Lucky’s handler throughout the campaign – at London’s Imperial War Museum.

The citation read: “For the outstanding gallantry and devotion to duty of the RAF Police anti-terrorist tracker dog team … while attached to the Civil Police and several British Army regiments including the Coldstream Guards, 2nd Battalion Royal Scots Guards and the Ghurkhas during the Malaya Campaign. They displayed exceptional determination and life-saving skills during the Malaya Campaign. The dogs and their handlers were an exceptional team, capable of tracking and locating the enemy by scent despite unrelenting heat and an almost impregnable jungle.”

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