Rob – The Special Forces collie dog

In 1942 Basil and Heather Bayne answered the call for the need to provide dogs for military service. They donated Rob their working collie dog who subsequently was given to the Special Air Service better known as the SAS, Britain’s elite special forces regiment. He then became a designated war dog with his own service number. For his actions behind enemy lines, he was awarded the Dickin Medal on 3^rd February 1945.

The SAS came to prominence in 1980 as the world watched spellbound while they attacked the Iranian Embassy to free hostages held by terrorists. The whole event was immortalised in a documentary made by the BBC, a documentary which featured many of the men who undertook the mission which was codenamed Operation Nimrod. Although well known to military personnel the mere existence of these soldiers was unknown to most of us, the general public.

With all the secrecy attached to this regiment, it is, therefore, no surprise that the exploits of Rob the collie, have been lost with the passing of the years and only years later did the real truth emerge. Or is it the truth? Who was Rob? What did he do? Was he a heroic canine dropped by parachute behind enemy lines or were his exploits a figment of the imagination designed to keep Rob with The Regiment?

Well, the story goes that having been assigned to the SAS that Rob was dropped by parachute into enemy territory in North Africa and Italy along with troopers from the regiment. He is alleged to have served heroically but there are no facts to back this up. Now it is just possible that the secrecy surrounding the exploits of such a unit made it impossible to publicise the events that took place but there is maybe another explanation.

The devastating truth maybe is that in fact Rob never left  Wivenhoe Barracks in Essex and spent his days going for walks, retrieving sticks and generally having a good time and when asked to return Rob to his owners the men of the regiment didn’t want to part with him. They even had a parachute jump arranged with a letter to the Baynes to follow but unfortunately, high winds forced the men to abandon their scheme but the letter was sent anyway and unfortunately, the Baynes informed the animal charity the PDSA and the wheels were set in motion for the awards that would follow.

In 2006 a painting of Rob featured in an exhibition called The Animals War at the Imperial War must and this raised the possibility of a hoax.

James Quentin Hughes, an officer in the SAS at the time wrote an autobiographical account of his time serving with the regiment called Who Cares Who Wins. He is the individual who claimed that the whole thing was an elaborate hoax.

So what is the truth?

Without a doubt, Rob did serve with the Special Air Service and may have been in the theatre of war but secrecy prevailed and his exploits were never recorded on paper.

It can also be argued that we only have one man’s account that Rob was no more than an unofficial mascot of sorts and the only corroboration is hearsay as those who agree were never there.

There is, however, one small clue as to the truth.

Without a doubt, it is highly unlikely that even if he did parachute jumps in North Africa and Italy it would be almost impossible for our heroic canine to have completed 20 jumps so his war record has to be a massive exaggeration. Also, there is absolutely no record of how Rob was extracted from these places and why it was even necessary to jump 20 times.

Even experienced paratroopers rarely did more than four jumps during WW11 so 20 is stretching credibility too far!!

And the truth is; well the actual participants in this story are deceased and with all the secrecy that surrounds this regiment and with no written records available we will never know the whole truth.

What is indisputable is that it made a great story and the effect on morale can never be overstated. I suggest that the legendary exploits of Rob the collie will remain an enigma forever.

For the benefit of those interested in training and behaviour, it should be noted that a number of working collies used by the military during WW11 were unable to work with sheep again as their instinctive ability to move in an arc to round the sheep up had been overridden due to their training as forward scout dogs. They had been trained to follow a road or track and warn the following patrol of the presence of the enemy.

Following his military service, Rob was eventually returned to the Baynes and lived out his life on their farm where he is buried with the following marker

To the dear memory of Rob, war dog number 471/322, twice VC, Britain’s first parachute dog, who served three and a half years in North Africa and Italy with the Second Special Air Service Regiment. Died 18^th January 1952 aged 12 ½ years. Erected by Basil and Heather Bayne in memory of a faithful friend and playmate 1939-1952.