A CAT which safeguarded the lives of soldiers in 1949 was commemorated yesterday, on the 65th anniversary of its death.
Royal Navy officers laid a wreath on the grave of Simon, their most distinguished cat, which received the PDSA Dickin Medal for its role in a naval siege which cost the lives of 17 British sailors.
The soldiers died in the Yangtse River Incident in 1949, when the warship HMS Amethyst came under fire from Chinese Communist forces during a 101-day siege.
The cat received its honour from charity PDSA for protecting food stores from an infestation of rats, despite being wounded. This helped to keep the surviving crew members alive.
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