Tuesday 26 October 2010

9 Para's War Dog

I have just been reading about Private Emil Corteil and his dog, Glenn, in a book on the Merville Battery assault by Carl Shilleto.

They were in A Company, which we believe to be the Company my uncle, Private D.R. Hurley, served with.

The following 6 year old news report from the telegraph includes a mention of 9 Para, A Company's famous War Dog:

The members of the airborne forces who died in the initial D-Day landings and are buried in the Ranville cemetery include a dog.

Glen was the only "war dog" with 9 Parachute Battalion, which parachuted into the area around Merville to silence the main German coastal defence battery on the allies' left flank.
Pte Corteil was probably known to my uncle, and they share the same cemetery in Normandy. Corteil's grave (pictured right) is shared by his dog Glenn*, said to be the only example of this, a handler being buried with his dog.

Link:
Daily Telegraph article
Para Dogs
Pte Corteil's Grave Info

*Some reports (like the Telegraph's) give Glen as the name, but most seem to refer to Glenn.

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