Horrie the Wog Dog

Horrie was the unofficial mascot for the 2/1st Machine Gun Battalion of the Second Australian Imperial Force

The Story

Horrie was befriended as a puppy by Australian soldier, Private Jim Moody, when he was stationed in the Ikingi Mariut area of Egypt in 1941.

The dog became the unofficial mascot of the 2/1st Machine Gun Battalion, travelling with it throughout Egypt, Greece, Crete, Palestine and Syria then to Australia in 1942.

Horrie is described by his owner as having been intelligent, and easily trained. He acted as a guard dog, giving early warning of enemy aircraft. He survived the sinking of the troop carrier, the Costa Rica, while being evacuated from Greece. He was also wounded by a bomb splinter in Crete.

In 1942, Moody was repatriated home to Australia, but, due to stringent quarantine laws, was unable to take the dog with him. Moody decided to smuggle the dog home in a canvas bag, which was reinforced with wooden slats so that the dog could breathe.

In 1945, the law caught up with Moody who was ordered by Quarantine officials to surrender Horrie to be put down. Instead, Moody substituted another dog from the pound, which was shot in place of Horrie.

Horrie lived out his natural life near Corryong, in rural Victoria.

Books

Horrie is the subject of a book published in 1948 by Australian author Ion Idriess. It's called, "Horrie the wog-dog: with the A.I.F. in Egypt, Greece, Crete and Palestine" and has been written using material from the diary of Jim Moody.

Horrie is also mentioned in "The long carry: a history of the 2/1 Australian Machine Gun Battalion 1939-46" by Philip Hocking and published in 1997.

In Memory

The Australian War Memorial in Canberra has on display Horrie's uniform and travelling pack.

* [http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/horrie/index.htm] Australian War Memorial