Noonans offering up Heroic ‘Animal V.C.’ awarded to Judy, the boxer dog

Noonans - A Dickin Medal (otherwise known as an Animal V.C.) that was awarded to Judy, the boxer dog for not only thwarting a night-time terrorist attack on British officers in Palestine in 1946, but also saving the life of her severely wounded brother Punch is to be included in the sale of Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria at Noonans Mayfair on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. It is being sold by a private collector and is expected to fetch £14,000-18,000.

Christopher Mellor-Hill, Head of Client Liaison at Noonans commented: “The sale of a Dickin Medal is always hugely emotive and this story is no different reflecting bravery and courage as well as emphasising the great British tradition of the almost human-like relationship that dogs have for us and others.”

He continues: “Judy and Punch belonged to Lieutenant-Colonel A. H. K. Campbell, the Deputy Judge Advocate General of the Jerusalem Military Court, and Lieutenant-Colonel H. G. G. Niven, the Adjutant General, who shared a house in a Jerusalem suburb. On the evening of 5 August 1946, at about half past ten, the two officers were relaxing at home with their two dogs. The front door was open. All was quiet and they had no suspicion that any danger was threatening them.”

“Suddenly the dogs became aware of intruders within the compound. Racing into the darkness and barking furiously, they were met with a burst of sub-machine gun fire from one or possibly two terrorists within the barbed wire protected perimeter. Apparently, the intruders were stealthily creeping towards the house with the intent to kill the officers. The barking and gunfire, alerted the officers, thwarted the attack and thus saved their lives. Police and military parties arrived and, following a trail of blood, found the seriously wounded Punch. He had been hit four times and lay in a pool of blood, apparently dying. His sister, Judy, also covered in blood, stood protectively over him.”

The story continues that the Superintendent of the P.D.S.A. Dispensary in Jerusalem was summoned; travelling at night after curfew, with sentries ready to open fire at the slightest alarm, was not a quick or easy journey, but he arrived safely. He found that Punch had two serious wounds to his throat, as well as further wounds to his skull and groin; he had lost about three-quarters of a pint of blood and had been laid on a blanket and made comfortable to die in peace, as he did not appear to have a chance of recovery.

The Superintendent at once got busy, treating Punch’s wounds and giving him injections, and to his joy the dog responded to the treatment. He then turned his attention to Judy. She was covered in blood, but after cleaning her, the Superintendent found her to be unwounded except for a long bullet graze to her back. It was obvious that she must have covered Punch protectively with her body when he fell and having stemmed the flow was smothered with his blood. The following morning nine expended rounds were found in the garden. Both dogs made a full recovery from their wounds, and for their great gallantry in protecting their masters were both awarded the P.D.S.A. Dickin Medal. Returning to the U.K., and after undergoing quarantine, both dogs were presented with their Dickin Medals during the Royal Tournament at Olympia on 14 June, 1947.

Instituted by Maria Dickin, C.B.E., the founder of the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals, in 1943, the Dickin Medal has since been awarded on 75 occasions - 32 of them going to pigeons, 38 to dogs, 4 to horses, and 1 to a cat. The vast majority (and all those awards to pigeons) were granted in respect of acts of bravery in the Second World War, but more recently a number of awards have been made to Arms and Explosives Search Dogs of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps for their gallantry in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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NOONANS — In 1991, its first year of trading, the company held three medal auctions and sold 1,200 lots for a total hammer price of£553,000, however 30 years later, Noonans is established as the premier medal auctioneer worldwide. Two years later, in 1993, it opened a coin department which also auctions commemorative medals and tokens. In 2015 Noonans (then Dix Noonan Webb) added jewellery to its sales calendar as well as setting up a stand-alone banknote department and expanding into premises next door. In 2024, they achieved a total hammer price of £23,655,855 and the total number of lots sold across all departments was 28,906. To date the company has sold in excess of 495,000 lots totalling over £275 million.