A Dog, A Cemetery, And An Odd Bod's Act Of Bravery

We get some wonderful stories from the UK and this one has all the elements of a best seller. Not only does it include a dog, a cemetery, and an Odd Bod, but the dog and the Odd Bod receive medals for service above and beyond.

Let's start with the dog. His name is Sam and apparently, throughout the year, he and his owner place flowers on the RAF and RAAF aircrew war graves at Selby a town on the river Ouse, just south of York in the UK. Their regular trips have not gone unnoticed, and although Sam is now too old to visit, he and his owner were asked to make one more trip so that Sam could be presented with a Royal Air Force Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. 

The medal was presented at Selby Abbey which, according to our correspondent, is a similar sized church to the famous Westminster Abbey, and was built by William The Conquerer in 1069

Our correspondent goes on to say "Before you ask, it’s a Pommie thing to give a medal to a dog in an abbey. It’s what we do. It is our normal, because we Brits are all on the eccentric spectrum. Must be something to do with the wind and the rain." 

Whatever the eccentricity, this sounds like a perfectly wonderful practice.

And now to the Odd Bod - One of the graves that Sam and his owner visits to put flowers on is that of a certain Robert Wilson Baxter, from Colac in Victoria, and winner of the George Medal no less  (The George Medal is like a Victoria Cross, but for extreme heroism that’s not in the face of the enemy. They are about as common as hen’s teeth and only awarded for unbelievable acts of the utmost bravery). 

Baxter received his award as Pilot of a Wellington Bomber which, after a successful raid on Germany, landed back in the UK, but burst into flames. The crew escaped except for the Wireless Operator, and at great personal risk, Baxter re-entered the burning aircraft to secure the release of the trapped crewmember. 

Sadly Baxter was killed in an aircraft crash near Snaith on 7th August 1942, and is buried at Selby Cemetery.

Of course this is just one of many stories to come out of WW2. However linking the brave acts of wartime, with todays generations remembering those sacrifices, has particular relevance for an Association like ours.

NOTE: A big thank you to FOTOBAI member Bryan Wilcockson who lives in Selby, and has provided us with this story and many others over the years. As Bryan says, the connection between Selby and the Odd Bods is quite amazing, and we are most grateful for his ongoing contributions.