Dickin Medal Recipient. A horse in the Mounted Branch of the Metropolitan Police force, Olga and a substitute rider were on patrol in South London during the summer of 1944. During the course of their rounds, a V1 rocket fell on Beasley Street less than 100 yards away from the pair and a plate glass window crashed to the ground immediately in front of them. The frightened horse bolted a short distance before training reasserted itself. The Police Constable calmed her and directed her back to the bomb site, the first responders to arrive, they kept the area free of civilians and directed traffic away in order to allow ambulances and civil defense squads almost immediate access to the site. Her exemplary behavior earned her a nomination for the Dickin Medal, commonly called the animal VC, which read in part: "On duty when a flying bomb demolished four houses in Tooting and a plate-glass window crashed immediately in front of her. Olga, after bolting for 100 yards, returned to the scene of the incident and remained on duty with her rider, controlling traffic and assisting rescue organisations." On behalf of the 186 horses of the Mounted Branch of the Met, she and two other police horses received medals on April 11, 1947. Upon her death, she was interred at the Mounted Branch Training Centre at Imber Court in Thames Ditton which also houses a small museum documenting the development of Mounted Police and where her Dickin medal is on display.
Dickin Medal Recipient. A horse in the Mounted Branch of the Metropolitan Police force, Olga and a substitute rider were on patrol in South London during the summer of 1944. During the course of their rounds, a V1 rocket fell on Beasley Street less than 100 yards away from the pair and a plate glass window crashed to the ground immediately in front of them. The frightened horse bolted a short distance before training reasserted itself. The Police Constable calmed her and directed her back to the bomb site, the first responders to arrive, they kept the area free of civilians and directed traffic away in order to allow ambulances and civil defense squads almost immediate access to the site. Her exemplary behavior earned her a nomination for the Dickin Medal, commonly called the animal VC, which read in part: "On duty when a flying bomb demolished four houses in Tooting and a plate-glass window crashed immediately in front of her. Olga, after bolting for 100 yards, returned to the scene of the incident and remained on duty with her rider, controlling traffic and assisting rescue organisations." On behalf of the 186 horses of the Mounted Branch of the Met, she and two other police horses received medals on April 11, 1947. Upon her death, she was interred at the Mounted Branch Training Centre at Imber Court in Thames Ditton which also houses a small museum documenting the development of Mounted Police and where her Dickin medal is on display.
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